Keeping in step with the competitive nature of my family, as kids my brother Samuel and I tried to outdo each other passing out gospel tracts. Mission teams visited my family overseas, and we’d prayer walk through neighborhoods, invite people to VBS, and pass out gospel tracts. Samuel usually came out ahead of me and was nicknamed, “The Tract Master 2000.”
Growing up, evangelizing was just the normal and right thing to do. I vaguely remember in kindergarten trying to highly persuade my classmate to say the sinner’s prayer during nap time. To not evangelize was disobedience, and disobedience terrified me as a kid.
But as an adult, sharing the gospel has morphed into something more beautiful than competing against my brother, or a fear of disobedience. Evangelism has slowly and gradually become a delight to me. I love proclaiming His Word, talking about Him, and seeing how the Holy Spirit begins a conversation. I love God, and I love people. And as my love for God and people grow, evangelism follows.
Do I still get nervous, fear man, and decide not to open my mouth boldly? Yes. Am I often lazy, unmotivated, and complacent? Yes. Do I always love sharing and want to do it? No. Do I even have the right motivations in proclaiming the gospel? I couldn’t tell you.
In other words, I’m human. But, here are a few things that have helped me in evangelism.
Don’t Force it — Rely on God Through Prayer
Often, my attempts at evangelism have come from an anxiety-ridden, scrupulous, guilty conscience. I’ve battled obsessive, intrusive thoughts since I was young, and evangelism became a target.
I had thoughts like, “If you don’t share the gospel with that person, then your heart will be hard forever.” “If you don’t share the gospel with that person, then this airplane will crash.” “If you don’t share the gospel with that person, then you’ll quench the Holy Spirit and lose conviction of sin forever.”
Mixed in was guilt over the possibility of someone going to hell if I didn’t share. What do you do with thoughts like that? There’s some partial truth; it’s biblical to proclaim Christ. But those thoughts don’t sound like the Holy Spirit’s conviction.
But due to my fear of dying, being forever lost, and anxiety rising in my stomach, I’d force myself to share about Jesus. If I said something about Him (or at least tried to), it would “count,” and my fears would subside. Whoof, I’d let out an exhale because I wasn’t “disobedient,” and I regained hope that God wouldn’t kill me. I’m not joking.
That isn’t the best way to share the gospel. It’s a legalistic, Galatian-type approach to evangelism. My gospel proclamation became a way to rid myself of guilt and anxiety that came from a tender conscience and weak mind.
Not everyone has experienced spiritual OCD like mine, but certainly we’ve all tried to either force a conversation or totally avoid one. Neither are good options.
What’s the answer to all these fears and emotions surrounding evangelism?
Dependence on God. My approach to evangelism has changed by God’s grace. I’ve shifted to relying on the Holy Spirit, instead of carrying a heavy burden and relying on myself. The result has been evangelism becoming delightful.
What does that practically look like?
It looks like prayer. For example, when I know I’m going to travel, I pray ahead of time for gospel opportunities. I pray for whoever I’m going to sit next to on the airplane. And when I get on the plane, I pray silently for the person next to me, asking the Lord to lead me into a gospel conversation. And then I open my mouth and start talking to them.
If they don’t want to talk, I don’t force it. But I also don’t passively wait for them to talk to me. I take the initiative and try to strike up a conversation with them. And if there’s a route to the cross, then I take them there, all while praying silently in my head — for obedience, for wisdom, and for the Holy Spirit to work. That’s what dependence looks like. Not a step of the journey was me working alone.
Each conversation is different, and sometimes I just boldly ask them if they know Jesus or have ever read the Bible. But regardless, the goal is dependence on the Holy Spirit, not on your performance.
There’s a reason that Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem until God sent them the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:46–49, Acts 1:4–5). And there’s a reason that at the end of the Great Commission, Christ said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). We can’t do evangelism without Him!
Prayer is the antidote to forcing a gospel conversation. Prayer is the antidote of self-reliance. Grace sets us free from legalistic, forced, guilt-ridden approaches to evangelism. And grace covers us from condemnation when we fail.
Be Prepared
It’s not unspiritual to prepare; it’s wise. Here are two ways we can prepare for evangelism:
1. Practice spiritual disciplines regularly.
This includes daily time in the Word, prayer, and being an active member of your church. The purpose of these disciplines isn’t evangelism; it’s knowing and loving God more (Mark 12:30–31). And then we love others by inviting them to know Him too. Simply put, evangelism is inviting others into a right relationship with God.
Being in God’s Word and around God’s people is crucial for your spiritual growth. Feed yourself! Become confident and familiar with the Scriptures. Study them. Ask hard questions. Wrestle with your faith. Seek mentorship. These things will directly impact the way you evangelize. How can you share God’s truth with others if you’ve scarcely read it or wrestled with it yourself?
2. Dig deeper into the gospel and the overarching storyline of Scripture.
Are you passionate about the gospel, or is it just head knowledge and facts? The gospel is bigger than John 3:16 and “going to heaven” to be with Jesus when you die. The gospel is the fulfillment of dozens of Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah (John 1:45, Luke 24:27). The gospel means freedom from indwelling sin (Rom. 6). The gospel includes heartfelt joy in the Lord and hope for the return of Christ, and our future resurrection when all will be made new (1 Pet. 1:3–13, Phil. 4:4, Eph. 1:18–19). Yes, the gospel is simple enough for a child, and we must humble ourselves and enter the kingdom of heaven like a child (Matt. 18:1–4). But the goal isn’t to stay a baby (Heb. 5:12–14). Dig deeper and let your eyes light up with joy when you see how incredible the storyline of Scripture is.
The gospel is good news because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, a fulfillment of the sacrificial laws of Leviticus. The gospel is good news because Jesus is the answer to that sin that you keep falling into. The gospel is good news when the storms of doubt toss you hard and you discover that Jesus is a solid rock to stand on.
I love the gospel because I’ve plunged into the depths of it. I’ve rested on gospel promises during seasons of despair and rejoiced in the gospel during spiritual victory. Has the gospel sunk deep into the crevices of your heart? Has the gospel permeated your mind? Study God’s Word to enrich yourself with the gospel and apply it to your life. Let the gospel continually transform your heart and then testify of the grace of God with joy!
3. Practice.
The more you do something, the better at it you become. Practicing doesn’t make it less miraculous or spiritual. In fact, we even need to practice depending on the Holy Spirit. Think about it: Those who suffer from chronic illness have had a lot of practice depending on the Lord, and that’s why their faith is often strong. Trusting in the Lord takes practice. Therefore, evangelism involves practice.
There have been times in my life when I have shared the gospel weekly, and during those seasons, evangelism flows out like a gentle stream. But I get rusty anytime I’ve gone a month or more without sharing. I become afraid again. I lose my passion for gospel proclamation.
Share the gospel often. The more you practice, the more natural, and even fun, it becomes. And every conversation provides you with better insight. I also encourage you to share the gospel alongside other believers, which fuels confidence. Watch others share and ask them to come alongside and support you. Even Paul had companions. Even Moses was so afraid of speaking that God used Aaron to be his mouthpiece.
In addition, don’t be afraid to use methods such as the “3 Circles” (NAMB), the Roman’s Road, or the Gospel Bracelet. Think of evangelism methods like training wheels that help you start riding the bike. The point isn’t to focus on the training wheels (methods), but to ride the bike (share the gospel). Methods help build confidence while you practice. They help ingrain the gospel in you. There aren’t any fancy tricks to evangelism. It’s the wonderful guidance of the Holy Spirit working in us as we proclaim Christ’s Word, the Scriptures. Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. Methods just give us a basic outline of where to begin in telling the story, and how to tell it.
Not Us, But Christ in Us
Finally, we must remember that evangelism is a complete work of God; we cannot save anyone. Any evangelistic effort without the Holy Spirit is lifeless, fruitless, and pointless. And any fruit from gospel proclamation is to the praise of God, not us. But God chose to use humans as vessels to share the gospel. How will they hear if they don’t have a preacher (Rom. 10:14–15)?
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).