Our church is talking about evangelism on Sunday evenings this summer, and I thought this might be helpful for others. One of the evangelism tools I learned about in college is the gospel beads bracelet. (I used this once on a mission trip in Austria.) There are five beads that represent the basics of the gospel. You may have also seen the “wordless book” that uses the same colors. I’ve included some of the Scriptures most commonly used.
Black – Sin
Romans 3:23 (ESV) – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Red – Jesus’ Blood
Romans 5:8 – “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
White – Cleansing
Acts 3:19-20a – “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Green – Growth
2 Peter 3:18a – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”
Yellow – Eternal Life
Matthew 3:2 – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
John 14:3 – “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
One change I would consider making is to add a blue bead at the beginning representing Creation and God’s desire to have a relationship with mankind (Genesis 1:27; 2:16-17). Some other variations use blue to represent either baptism or faith, and they put it after the red bead.
© 2019 Dawn Rutan. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
