Nearly 25 years ago, I submitted the following poem to be published by Teenage Christian. I will first print it exactly as it was submitted and then give the edited version which was actually printed and has appeared in bullitens and on some church websites:

My Witness

"Lead me to some soul today" we sang
And all week long that message rang.

Inside my head and heart, I prayed
"Lord who can I reach for you today?"

Just at that moment my neighbor walked by
And I said to myself, "Okay, I'll try.

But, first I need time to study and rehearse,
To make sure I know book, chapter and verse."

Then armed with my proof texts and Bible outlines,
I approached her to study and she said, "That's fine."

The verses poured out in a steady stream,
'Doctrinal Purity' was my theme.

Besides, many claim to follow Christ
But they do it man's way, thinking that will suffice.

Well, after the session was nearly through,
I said, "Have you questions?" She said, "Just a few.

It's obvious you know your Bible quite well,
You've talked about Heaven and touched on Hell.

You've even shown proofs that the Bible is true,
But you've not yet told me what Christ means to you.

How is your life different? How do you cope?
Is there any real joy or any real hope?"

I stared at my outlines, then put them away.
I gazed at her gently and just shared my faith.

The simple message touched her heart, and the light began to shine through.

And my friend was won to Christ -- not by what I knew, but Who.

By Serena Voss

...and now the edited version:

Sharing Christ

"Lead me to some soul today" we sang
And all week long that message rang.

Inside my head and heart, I prayed
"Lord who can I reach for you today?"

Just at that moment my neighbor walked by
And I said to myself, "Okay, I'll try.

But, first I need time to study and rehearse,
To make sure I know book, chapter and verse."

Then armed with my proof texts and Bible outlines,
I approached her to study and she said, "That's fine."

The verses poured out in a steady stream,
'Doctrinal Purity' was my theme.

Besides, many claim to follow Christ
But they do it man's way, thinking that will suffice.

Well, after the session was nearly through,
I said, "Have you questions?" She said, "Just a few.

It's obvious you know your Bible quite well,
You've talked about Heaven and touched on Hell.

You've even shown proofs that the Bible is true,
But you've not yet told me what Christ means to you.

How is your life different? How do you cope?
Is there any real joy or any real hope?"

I stared at my outlines, then put them away.
And I changed and shared gently the Man called 'The Way.'

As that simple old story began to shine through,
My friend came to Jesus, not the what, but the
Who.

By Serena Voss


I wrote this poem as the result of an actual encounter in high school between a dear friend and myself that resulted in conversion. Until our study, I had never actually thought about the significance of sharing Christ as opposed to focusing mainly on building a case for Restoration principles. Years later, I heard a sermon about how a century or more ago, people knew God and wanted to know how to please him; whereas today, people are not asking, "How do I please God," but rather "Who is God?" When people are hurting, they want to see and hear about the difference God makes in our lives.