Will Our Generation Speak?

“We should want to be well known, not to the world, but before the throne room of God—to be someone whom angels recognize as a “frequent visitor” before the throne of God, so to speak.”

Will Our Generation Speak? by Grace Mally is a moving wake-up call to be zealous for the Gospel. It’s packed with practical tips for witnessing that you can start using immediately. If you’re a Christian, no matter your age or background, you need to read this book.

Summary

Will Our Generation Speak? is filled with dialog—recounting witnessing conversations and giving practical ideas for beginning conversations with unbelievers about the Lord. It teaches how to ask good questions and answer objections, while illustrating points with humorous cartoons and stories. Written from a young perspective, this book gives other young people a vision of how much the Lord can use them in the years of their youth! It communicates how exciting it is to be working alongside the God of the Universe in the mission of saving souls, and it gives young people courage from the Word to combat fear and reject excuses.

from Amazon

Most Christians know they should be witnessing. The Great Commission is a clear and memorable one—“Ye shall be witnesses.” But many, including myself, struggle to actually carry it out. How do I start a conversation about the Gospel? What if they ask a question I don’t know? Shouldn’t I be their friend for a while before sharing my faith? This book answers all of those and more.

Mally, in seventeen extremely practical chapters, lays out everything you need to know to start witnessing. From handing out tracts to starting a conversation to the necessity of prayer, it’s all here.

It would be quite a long review to dive into all of them; the following paragraphs are my biggest takeaways.

You Can’t Do It

This is a motivational book, but not in the “You just have to believe in yourself” way. We can’t do this in our own strength. Sharing the Gospel with the entire world is an overwhelming task for mere humans.

Fortunately, a strength much greater than ours works for us. God didn’t give a command and leave His followers to sort it out. He said, “I will be with you alway.”

The author uses a comparison. If you visited the park to witness while Jesus physically stood by your side, would you not be the boldest Christian to ever walk the earth? Fear would evaporate if you truly realized Who stood beside you. No obstacle would be enough to hinder your service.

You might wish that were the case, but you can stop wishing. It’s exactly what we have. God is literally, though invisibly, present wherever we go. Knowing this, it’s only a lack of faith that prevents our following of His command. We are on the side of infinite power. Why do we back down so soon?

Tell What You Know

One chapter analyzes several excuses that stop people from witnessing. The author covers a variety of issues here, but one truth jumped out at me.

I often excuse a lack of witnessing by thinking, “I don’t want to say the wrong thing and alienate someone from the Gospel,” or, “I need to study the Bible more deeply so I can answer questions that come up.” And while we should strive to say the right thing and have a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible, there is no prerequisite for knowledge or courage before witnessing can begin.

Take, for example, the blind man that Jesus healed:

He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

John 9:23

This man had no concerns about his lack of knowledge. He only spoke of what he had seen and heard. Apologetics, logic, and knowledge are undoubtedly helpful, but sheer awe at how Christ has changed our own lives is more than enough to complete our directive. As the illustration goes, Christian are mere beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.

Starting the Conversation

Often, the hardest part of witnessing is starting. But no longer—in one of the closing chapters, Mally lists seventeen ways to start conversations about the Gospel.

The list is incredibly beneficial, and I’ll be using the strategies discussed. However, I also realized that we don’t really need clever tricks to share the Good News. Many groups who are built around lies have no qualms about standing out, being weird, or having awkward conversations. Why should we let a fear of awkwardness prevent someone from receiving eternal life?

So while segues are helpful, we should never be afraid to simply ask someone, “Have you ever heard the Gospel?” Let it be awkward. Let them think you’re weird. The stakes are far too high. Just get out there.

Overall

It’s impossible to read this book without getting excited. Mally shares story upon story of her and her friends’ witnessing encounters, and I couldn’t help but smile while reading them. There is no famine of God’s power, nor people who will hear. Only the workers are lacking.

Will Our Generation Speak? revolutionized my perspective on witnessing and gave me the tools to begin. This is a must-read for every Christian.

Thanks for reading!