Grant is a recent graduate of San Diego State and personal trainer. He takes fitness and faith very seriously. He is getting into some great conversations at work and I asked him to share about some of those. I love Grant because he is so willing to follow Jesus into any situation even if he doesn’t feel totally ready. We can all learn from him. Enjoy!

Before I talk about what God is doing at my work place I think it would be helpful to share a little about my evangelistic background. I am a graduate and former IV leader from San Diego State University and truth be told, I am horrible at evangelism! At least that is how I originally viewed it until Jesus changed my way of thinking.

I used to envision evangelism as converting as many people to the faith as possible. If that were the case, to this day I definitely have not done a good job. But in reality, it is at its core, simply telling people about the Jesus.  The former viewpoint made me into a sales person- trying to hit a quota to be a “Good Christian” but the latter set me free to enjoy sharing my passion!

The Break Room

So enter the break room, a mystical place where evangelism just happens. The break room is where everyone just happens to congregate. Oddly, I spend hours (my job is weird) in the break room and opportunities for evangelism arise. Majority of the time I will read in the break room, primarily reading Christian books, not to make a statement to others, but to simply increase my knowledge of Christ. So naturally people ask questions about what I am reading.

About a month ago I was reading, “The Reason for God” by Timothy Keller and someone asked, “What are you reading?” I nonchalantly replied, “The Reason for God it’s a book about proving God’s existence.” I continued to read as if nothing happened. But you can imagine the eye brows raised by my response.  So they asked, “So what do you think about that?”  I was so engaged with the book I had almost missed the opportunity to talk about Jesus. I shared my thoughts about the book and as the conversation progressed I was able to share small parts of my testimony – I was even able to share about some of the physical healings I had seen God do. Their response as you might imagine, was, “Bull Sh*t!”

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But I had my co-worker hooked! And since then many others have since asked similar questions leading to more conversations. The majority of my co-workers are now curious about this quite Asian kid who loves Jesus and likes to read. I think what gets there attention is that I am an ordinary guy. I am not a pastor, I’m not a theologian, and I don’t have any monumental accomplishment in the Christian faith to make me stand out. I really am just a normal guy who happens to be emphatically in Love with Jesus. But it is in my state of normalcy that evangelism in my life is flourishing leading my co-workers to ask: “So, what do you think about marriage?” “How do you hear God’s voice?”  “Is what I am doing with my life completely in vain?” “Are there more Christians like you?” I listen, they respond, and I continue to listen to them and to what God is saying. Listening, not speaking is in my opinion how evangelism is done best. I do give my thoughts when asked, but I try not to over step my bounds. Majority of people just want to be heard instead of being talked down to.   Even though the conversations with my co-workers have been fairly deep none of them have accepted Jesus, but that hasn’t discouraged me at all!

A Delicious Meal Being Prepared

Why? Because when I think about evangelism, I like to view it as a delicious meal being prepared. Some people are so ready for Jesus they are like popcorn, put it into the microwave for 2 minutes and pop, pop, out comes a new believer! Others need time to marinate, like BBQ chicken- you can’t rush the process because you could ruin it. But Jesus being the amazing chef that He is knows the perfect amount of heat, marinade, and time until the chicken is cooked to perfection. The body of Christ is like the sous chef assisting in the process adding some spices, chopping the veggies, and salivating at the savory dish that is being crafted. And the break room is the perfect slow cooker. I see my co-workers on a regular basis and to be overly forward would be unsettling, ruining the dish. So Jesus and I take things slow, always being readily available to converse with my coworkers if opportunity arises but being patient even if it seems like nothing is happening.

Grant Maeda

So while none of my co-workers have come to faith I know Jesus has impeccable timing and will bring these people into His Kingdom when they are ready.  So when doubts like, “What happens if I mess up?” Rhetorically I think, “Do you really think you are more powerful than the creator of this universe!?” So I don’t worry about accidently adding sugar to what was supposed to be salt – because I know Jesus is God enough to take care of it! I don’t worry if someone does or does not come to faith because that isn’t my job. My job is to pay attention to what Jesus is doing, to follow His lead. Jesus says chop onions, I chop onions. Jesus says speak about me, I speak about Him. And every step of the way I am filled with joy of the Spirit because Iron Chef Jesus is awesome! So while I statistically may not be doing a great job converting my coworkers, it is okay because I know Jesus is at work preparing everyone until they are ready to “serve”.

How does Grant as a “non evangelist” inspire you to share your faith? Please share in the comments below!