LIFE MAP: a simple way to share the gospel
and how to live a simply beautiful life.
This can equip followers of Jesus to share the good news easily in conversations.
Pray in your heart for those you meet. Be motivated by Jesus’ compassion and sensitive to the cues of the Holy Spirit and the other person- so you initiate and respond lovingly, respectfully and flexibly. You might speak the simplest version only and expand it as you retell it on later occasions. See highlighted questions (based on Biblical texts). You can apply the Life Map to conversations about their family, community or our planet.
Draw the Life Map on paper or on their arm with a permanent marker so they can take it away and remember it! Release God’s blessing to them so the Holy Spirit can convict them that God is real, loving and available to them.
Draw the Life Map
This a map to a simply beautiful version of your life. I will draw it on your arm so you can take it home and never forget it.
Draw a circle.
This is the good life, the simply beautiful life you were born to live.
God loves you and wants you to know your identity and life purpose and live fully free. God offers you a whole life, nothing missing, nothing broken and full of his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and strength of spirit. (Gal 5:22-23, Genesis 2:7, John 8:12, Luke 12:16-34, John 6:35)
Step 2: Life slips away from us
Tough, even traumatic stuff happens to us and we all make mistakes that move us further and further away from living a simply beautiful good life.
Draw minus symbols.
Life hurts us and we mess up. Things happen that crush our hope of a good life and our belief in God and destroy our identity and potential. Evil thoughts, words and actions (sin) leave us confused, guilty, shamed, anxious, traumatised, rejected, unloved, angry, hopeless, depressed and in despair. (Romans 3:23) Life can seem meaningless and death can seem inevitable – and even a solution. (Romans 6:23)
Step 3: We can’t fix it
Often the stuff we do to find meaning, popularity or comfort, make life worse, holding us captive and draining our life and relationships with people and God.
Add more minus symbols.
By ourselves, none of us can get back to God or the full life we hoped for. Even doing good things doesn’t wipe out what we’ve done or the death sentence we face. We need someone to save us.
Step 4: The good news
God loves you. God wants to be in a close relationship with you, so he reached out to turn your negatives positive. God offers you a new life as a gift!
Draw a solid line from the circle. Turn the last minus symbol into a plus – a cross.
God loved the world (that’s you) so much — he gave his one and only Son, Jesus so everyone who believes in him will not die but will have everlasting life. (John 3:16, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9)
2020 years ago, Jesus was born as a human. The year Jesus was born on earth was so important, we date history by it! When Jesus was 33, leaders who feared his power crucified Jesus on a cross. (Romans 5:8, Luke 19:10) Because Jesus hadn’t sinned and didn’t deserve death, God raised him from the dead. (Acts 2:32, Romans 4:24-25) God accepts that Jesus carried our sins in His own body when He died and took our death sentence, so we can live. (1 Peter 2:24)
If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9, John 11:25)
Step 5: The Way
Jesus made the way for you to know God as your Father and yourself as His beloved child and to live forgiven, healed, in peace and rest, fulfilling your life purpose. (John 10:10, John 14:6)
Draw along the solid line from the cross to the circle. Add an arrow inside the circle.
Remember this Life Map. It’s your way to abundant and eternal life.
God can turn your loss and subtraction into addition and multiplication! Jesus left us his Holy Spirit to empower us to overflow with love, joy, forgiveness and be embraced in the rich eternal inheritance of the generations of God’s family on earth and in heaven.
Step 6: 3 Questions
1.Where are you right now on this Life Map? 2. Where would you like to be?
Point to the life map and pause to let them consider each question and respond.
3.Will you give Jesus your broken life & ask him to forgive you and give you a new life?
If they say “yes”, help them pray- asking for Jesus to come into their life to remove their sins and release His life to them. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to fill them. Get contact details to arrange discipling.
If they say they don’t believe, say “I bless you to encounter Jesus and find your way home to your life.”
If they say “no” or “not now” or want to leave at any earlier point in this conversation, give them the finished Life Map, offer to keep in touch and say, “I bless you to encounter Jesus personally.”
Step 7: Blessing
I bless you to be filled with God’s love and Spirit power – so you can live the whole & eternal life He has planned for you!
Jesus said, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love.” John 15:9 TLB
Jesus said, “Loving me empowers you to obey my commands. The Holy Spirit will be a friend to you, just like me—and he will never leave you… You will know him intimately, because he will make his home in you and will live inside you. I promise I will never leave you helpless or abandon you as orphans…” John 14:15-18 TPT
“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. The Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children. If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for his people. He will give us all that he has given Christ.” Romans 8:14-17
The 3 Minute LIFE MAP
A quick & simple way to share the gospel:
Step 1: Your life matters. God loves you and wants you to know your identity and life purpose and live fully free. Can I draw you a map of your way to the fullest possible version of your life?
Draw a circle.
This is the simply beautiful life you were born to live. God offers you a whole life, nothing missing, nothing broken and full of his love, joy, peace, patience…
Step 2: Tough stuff happens to us and we all make mistakes that move us away from living our simply beautiful life – away from life and a personal relationship with towards death – away from knowing God towards being alone.
Life hurts us and we mess up. Things happen that crush our hope of a good life and our belief in God and destroy our identity and potential. Life can seem meaningless and death can seem like a solution.
Draw minus symbols.
Step 3: Often the stuff we do to find meaning, popularity or comfort, make life worse, holding us captive and draining our life and relationships with people and God.
Add more minus symbols.
By ourselves, none of us can get back to God or the full life we hoped for. Even doing good things doesn’t wipe out what we’ve done or the death sentence we face. We need someone to save us.
Step 4: The good news is: God loves you. God wants to be in a close relationship with you, so he reached out to offer you a new life as a gift!
Draw a solid line from the circle and turn the last minus symbol into a plus sign – a cross.
God loved the world (that’s you) so much — he gave his one and only Son, Jesus, so everyone who believes in him will not die but will have everlasting life.
2020 years ago, Jesus was born as a human. When Jesus was 33, leaders who feared his power crucified him on a cross. Because Jesus hadn’t sinned and didn’t deserve death God raised him from the dead. God accepts that Jesus carried our sins in His own body when He died and took our death sentence, so we can live.
If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.
Step 5: Jesus made the way for you to know God as your Father and yourself as His beloved child and to live a simply beautiful life – forgiven, healed, in peace and rest, fulfilling your life purpose.
Draw along the solid line from the cross to the circle. Add an arrow inside the circle.
Remember this Life Map. It’s your way to abundant and eternal life. God can turn your loss and subtraction into addition and multiplication! Jesus left us his Holy Spirit to empower us to overflow with love, joy, forgiveness and the rich eternal inheritance of the generations of God’s family on earth and in heaven.
Step 6: 3 Questions to ask them:
- Where are you right now on this Life Map?
- Where would you like to be?
Point to the life map and pause to let them consider each question and respond.
- Will you give Jesus your broken life & ask him to forgive you and give you a new life?
Step 7: Finally Bless them: Look them in the eyes and let the Holy Spirit flow through you to them. Speak simply as the Lord leads you.
“I bless you to know Jesus -God’s Son who can release God’s forgiveness to you and reconnect you with God as your Father in heaven so you can be filled with all the love God has for you and His Holy Spirit – who will guide you and give you His power to live the whole life He has planned for you!”
Jesus said, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love.” John 15:9 TLB
Jesus said, “Loving me empowers you to obey my commands. The Holy Spirit will be a friend to you, just like me—and he will never leave you… You will know him intimately, because he will make his home in you and will live inside you. I promise I will never leave you helpless or abandon you as orphans…” John 14:15-18 TPT
“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. The Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children. If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for his people. He will give us all that he has given Jesus.” Romans 8:14-17
