After I became a Christian at a youth conference a couple of years ago, I had to learn how to make changes and adjust to the Christian life while still being me. I also had to learn how to live my faith and share it with my non-Christian friends in ways that fit my own personality. Here are two ways I've been able to do that:

I share by acting different. I'll admit it. I was worried about how my non-believer friends would react to my new life in Christ. Would they think I'd turned into some kind of a weird religious freak? But when I arrived at school on that Monday after the conference, I was the one really surprised. My actions and attitude toward friends, homework and teachers were more upbeat and positive. No, it wasn't like I was totally unrecognizable. But I was different—in a good way. In a way that felt right and real. I'd always thought that being a Christian meant limited freedom and a lot less fun, but that wasn't true at all. I felt like I was really enjoying life for the very first time in my life. And others could see this change right way. They weren't turned off by the change, either. In fact, many of them seemed drawn to it. They were interested in knowing why I was different—and this created many opportunities to talk about how Christ has changed my life for the better.

I share by being real about my struggles. After becoming a Christian, I was worried that I wouldn't be a good enough Christian and would let God and others down. But as I studied my Bible and talked with other believers, I discovered that Jesus also struggled with temptation. And even though he never sinned, he knows exactly what I am going through when I face temptation. He is also there to help me not give in to temptation. And even though I still make plenty of mistakes, I realize that God always forgives me when I do stuff I shouldn't. Through the help of his Word and my Christian friends, God helps me make better choices.

So how does all this affect the way I witness? Let's say my friends want me to party with them. I find it easy to say no. They know why, too. It was pretty clear that I used to party to escape my personal problems. My struggling friends are kind of amazed that I no longer need to run from my problems by getting drunk. This has given me a lot of opportunities to talk to them about Christ, stressing how Christ, not alcohol, can really help them through their own problems.

Then there are the times they actually see me make mistakes or struggle with some big problem in my life. It's during these times that they get to see that I'm still human and not trying to be a fake Christian. I'm able to use these opportunities to talk about God's concern for me, and his willingness to forgive, and his promise to never stop loving me.

I am glad God is changing my life—and using my new life in Christ to share my faith with others. I'm also thankful that, by his grace, he's even able to use my less-than-perfect actions and attitudes to bring others to him.

Kennen, who will begin his senior year this fall, received evangelism training from Dare 2 Share. Learn more about Dare 2 Share at dare2share.org.

Read more from 'How I Share Christ'

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