"Just pray this prayer and you will be saved."  Not to say that there is not a need for a person to cry out to God for salvation, but we seem to put so much emphasis on just getting people to "pray a prayer."  Is that all the words of this life? 

"Jesus loves you and wants an eternal relationship with you."  OK.  That is part of it.

"Ask Jesus into your heart and he will give you joy and peace."  Well, let's be careful.  He does give us joy and peace, but it is the joy and peace of His presence as we endure what the Bible promises us - trials, tribulations, and persecution.

"Pray this prayer and you can know for certain that you will have eternal life."  Well, that is a result of conversion, but is it the heart of conversion?

If we are to go and proclaim all the word of this life, what does that mean?  But then again, is it really important that we take care to tell people the whole story?  Well, if a person "comes to Christ", they are responding to what we presented to them.  If we only give them the sugar-coated parts, are we not taking a terrible risk with their souls? 

John 3:16 actually has a nice overview of the whole story...

Even though we have sinned against God, out of His love for us He came into this world to die on the cross and take our punishment upon Himself.  He rose again on the third day, thus conquering death so that we may have everlasting life with Him.  What does it mean to repent?  It means "change the mind."  But specifically, in the context it often appears, deals with changing your mind about your sin - you once loved it, now you abhor it and turn away from it.  In turning away from sin, one believes in (places their trust in) Jesus just as they would place their trust in a parachute to save them from certain death.  What is the certain death for the sinner - eternity in Hell.

What is the whole story of the Gospel?  Each and every person has sinned against a holy God.  We will all stand before God and face judgment.   If we are found in our sins on Judgment Day, we will be sentenced to eternity in hell.  The Gospel ("good news") now makes sense because Jesus came into this world to die upon the cross and take our punishment upon Himself.  He paid our sin debt - justice has been served.  He conquered death on the Third Day that we may live forever with Him.  If we repent of our sins and place our faith/trust in Jesus (surrender ourselves to Him), our sins are forgiven and we pass from death to life and are promised a place a heaven.       

Must we share this whole story?  Well, if you had a terminal illness, would you want your doctor to sugar-coat the situation or speak the truth in love so that you know the reality of what you are facing and what you must do to be treated?  People's souls depend on our telling them the whole amazing story.  Why would we want to leave anything out?  The only reason would be to get easy decisions (which may be proven false) so we can boast in our numbers.  But the whole Gospel is amazing and life changing!  Let us not take the cheap and easy way, for...