But for most people, their role in daily life is what he calls “gospel-promoters.” A gospel-promoter has a different way of living out their vocational identity in the flow of daily life. Their impact is felt by the way they live their life – intentionally seeing their actions as ways to fulfill their calling to love their neighbor, and having the words to share faith in conversations and connect their faith and actions in ways that witness to the people they meet. The first three in this blog series were about how to help people have the vocabulary and the confidence to witness effectively and invite others into a faith community.

But all of this is in the context of living in the world as an agent of God. And gospel-promoters are responsible for living in ways that reflect the love of God in Christ to their neighbors. In the baptismal covenant we use the phrase, “proclaim the Good News of Christ in word and deed.” Yes, our words are essential. In fact, without them, most people won’t see our actions in the context of our faith.

But our actions do matter and are a part of our witness. While most people rely too much on them to witness (assuming other people will interpret them without words), if we have words and our lives don’t reflect the love and grace which we proclaim in a way that matches, our words will be received as platitudes or even hypocrisy.

So, how can we help people make good choices in their lives in ways that help synchronize their actions with faithful words of witness?

•      * Help people see the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) as the values we practice in Christ. This is about faith formation in ways that help us to be increasingly Christ-like as we mature in faith.
•      * Ground Christian choices and ethics in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. As Paul shares in Philippians 2, we are to have the “same mind” as Christ who was humble and sacrificial in the way he lived and died. This is how we look, too, when we are at our best.
•      * Give people the tools to envision how challenging situations come out well. Two great questions for us all to ask in the midst of a difficult choice is, “How would God like this to turn out?” and “What can I do to help this turn out that way?”
•      * Over time, there are some key elements of the Christian life that are foundational attributes. These include gratitude, humility, confession/forgiveness, compassion/empathy, hospitality/inclusion, and generosity. Teach people about these often, share stories that show what these look like in practice, and encourage people to shape their lives around these foundational concepts.

As you and the people you work with and among share these practices and values, check in regularly, use focused conversations and storytelling to help provide an environment of mutual support, and know that over time, people will be more and more able to live out their faith and make faithful choices as the live in the midst of daily life.