The Anglican evangelist J. John inspired a crowd of 300 with powerful stories about leading people to Christ during the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas’ Sharing Your Faith Conference.

The conference, spearheaded by EDOD Evangelist Carrie Boren Headington, aimed to provide a worshipful, inspiring and informational gathering to ignite renewed interest in telling others about Christianity. “Our goal, with a conference like this, is to be a resource to serve you, come alongside you and determine how we can best share the good news of Jesus.”

Bishop George Sumner kicked-off the conference with prayer and then introduced John, who is the evangelist for the Archbishop of Canterbury. He said John is committed to reaching those who do not know God, and that it’s everyone’s responsibility to do the same. “Let this be a day of encouragement.”

Sumner went on to say that it’s a cliché in the church that all baptisms and confirmations are really ordinations. “This morning that cliché is true. We are all ministers and part of a priestly nation. We all need to continually be formed. J. John doesn’t come with all the answers, he comes with the answer, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

John, who is also known for his humorous wit, offered amusing but poignant stories to illustrate his points, and even quoted a children’s book character to make his message accessible and memorable. “Even Winnie the Pooh said, ‘you can’t stay in your corner of the forest, you have to go to them sometime.’ We must be global Christians with a global mission because we have a global God.”

It’s also important in a strategy for telling others about Christ to pray first, show you care then share the Gospel. Also, that strategy can easily be effective at home. Instead of going to another country for outreach, consider praying, caring and sharing with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues, John said.

“You often hear in church let’s go on a mission trip,” he said. Walk next door it’s cheaper. You don’t have to fundraise all year. If we are going to reach the world, we have to reach our world by cultivating the relationships we have already got. It has to be with intentionality. Pray for the lost. Every morning my wife and I pray for the lost. Family, friends and people we know. We pray every morning and every evening that the Lord will reveal himself to them. We pray for divine appointments. We pray scriptures for them. Let’s pray the kingdom of God into people, he said.

He gave an example of taking a woman to coffee when she expressed anger about Christianity after one of his sermons. Each day he invited her to hear him speak, and each day he asked her to coffee. After five coffee meetings, she came to Christ. Now she is a Christian who is a prolific speaker against human trafficking. But not all stories have an immediate happy ending. Sometimes evangelism efforts can seem discouraging but it’s important to not give up. “I’ve been trying to evangelize my mother since 1975. She’s on our prayer list. Relatives, family, neighbors, and colleagues - you have to keep on sowing.”

He added that we carry the power and presence of Jesus. “When you pray to be a carrier of God’s presence, non-Christians are everywhere.” A good way to reach non-Christians is through sharing personal stories of times God made his presence known to us through friendship, mercy, prayer and times of fear.

Diocesan clergy attending the conference said it was a motivational refresher about a subject dear to their hearts. The Rev. Leslie Stewart, a church planter for the diocese, said she agreed with John on the effectiveness of personal testimony and added that it’s a good idea to connect people with their own story so they can share it with others. “It’s as easy as answering a question. Are you aware of God’s forgiveness, hope, provision or power to answer prayer? Then you have stories to tell. We need to scatter the seeds for the Kingdom.”

The Rev. Bob Corley, rector at St. Mark’s in Irving, said that John’s message resonated. “Evangelism is a scary prospect for many, and J. John has a disarming manner that breaks down barriers,” he said. “The simple formula to pray, care and share to bring people into fellowship with Jesus is profound in its simplicity.”

During the entirety of the half-day conference, an intercessory prayer group prayed for the speakers, the attendees and for the Holy Spirit to give wisdom and energy to those doing the important ministry of bringing people to Christ. Clergy, parishioners and worshippers from non-Episcopalian churches attended the conference looking to learn new ideas on reaching those who don’t have a relationship with Christ. “Today was a great reminder that evangelism is not about how much we know about God,” said Jennifer LeBlanc, executive director of Community Relations at Incarnation. “It’s about how much we show about God – through our actions, our words, and our willingness to obey.”

A street choir from South Dallas performed and Darell Smith from the Greater Dallas Coalition talked about the Dallas Champions Academy, which unites 200 youth with 17 current and former National Football League players to combine sports and faith.

The conference concluded with a discussion and question and answer session about how to reach Millennials. Speaker Grant Skeldon, age 26, acknowledged generational differences and suggested that Baby Boomers and Generation X reach the younger demographic by respecting them, showing trust and through mentoring. “Ask young adults about their passion and ask them about their parents and it will reveal a lot about who they are and where they are going,” Skeldon said.

Part of the conference also focused on discussion of making sure the church is ready to receive the un-churched. John talked about a couple he and his wife, Killy had been wooing over a long period of time and had finally convinced to attend church. The couple’s young daughter had gotten sick at the last minute and needed a change of clothes, making the family about five minutes late. When they tried to enter the parish, the doors were locked. They tried other ways to get inside but could not. “Do whatever it is, or whatever needs to be done,” he said. “The church exists for people who don’t go. That’s the reason it exists.”