What are the Three Circles?
The Three Circles presentation uses three linked circles, usually drawn on paper, to help someone tell the story of the gospel. The first circle represents God’s good design for the world and for human life. The second shows brokenness, the damage caused by sin and our attempts to live apart from God. The third points to the gospel, where Jesus brings forgiveness, restoration, and a new direction.
Many versions then add a simple response: turn from sin, trust Jesus, and begin following him. They also encourage a person who has trusted Christ to grow as his disciple and to share the good news with others. It is a teaching tool, not a Bible passage or a formula that saves anyone.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God’s good design and our brokenness
The first two circles reflect the Bible’s opening storyline. Genesis presents God’s creation as good, while human rebellion soon fractures our relationship with God, with one another, and with creation itself (Genesis 3:6-7). Paul later says that every person has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Brokenness is not only found in obvious wrongdoing. It reaches into the desires, choices, pain, and death that mark a world alienated from its Creator.
A careful presentation should not imply that every hardship comes from one person’s particular sin. Jesus rejected that kind of quick judgement when people asked about a man born blind (John 9:1-3). Still, Scripture is clear that sin is real and serious, and that it leads away from the life God gives (Romans 6:23).
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The gospel is more than self-improvement
The third circle is biblical only if Jesus remains at its centre. The answer to brokenness is not trying harder, becoming more religious, or fixing ourselves before coming to God. The heart of the gospel is what Christ has done: he died for sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Through him, God makes reconciliation possible (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
That is why the Bible calls for both repentance and faith. Repentance means turning, a change of mind and direction toward God. Faith means relying on Jesus rather than on your own goodness. When Jesus began preaching in Galilee, he called people to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Those who belong to Christ are not merely patched up, they are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Is it a good way to share faith?
Yes, it can be. A drawing can make a big story easier to remember, especially in an ordinary conversation. But no diagram can carry the whole weight of Scripture. Use it as an invitation to open the Bible together, ask honest questions, and explain who Jesus is and what he has done.
It also helps to avoid rushing someone into repeating words they do not understand. Following Jesus involves a real response of trust and an ongoing life of discipleship, not simply completing a presentation. Jesus sent his followers to make disciples, baptise them, and teach them to obey his commands (Matthew 28:19-20). The Three Circles can serve that work well when it points beyond the circles to Christ himself.