Evangelism ... the scariest thing in the world
Few things inspire as much fear in the heart of a Christian than evangelism. In his excellent book, When People are Big and God is Small, Ed Welch argues that everyone struggles with the fear of man and that, if you don’t think you do, “consider just one word: evangelism” (p17).
I think Welch is right. As Christians, we are quite happy to serve the Lord and his church in any number of ways, often doing things that are hard work or maybe even boring. But if there is one thing most of us balk at doing, then it’s telling others about the Lord Jesus. This, I am sorry to say, is certainly the case for me. I love to preach God’s word Sunday by Sunday to a congregation of friendly Christians, but I break out in a cold sweat if ever an opportunity to explain the Gospel to an unbeliever arises. I might well be the only Christian who finds evangelism the scariest thing in the world, but I doubt it.
How can we overcome such fear? How do we become the bold and winsome evangelists that we all want to be?
Prayer is obviously the best place to start. Pray that the Lord would give you courage to speak of Christ. Pray that he would fill you with the power and grace of his Spirit. Pray that he would open your mouth and give you utterance. And pray for God to give you opportunities to witness. Perhaps you could pray something like the following: “Lord, please give me just one opportunity to speak about Jesus today and give me the courage to take that opportunity.” Why not pray that prayer each day?
Added to this, remember that you don’t need to say everything all at once and that you don’t need to do all the talking. Usually, less is more, so don’t say too much. Instead, spend more time listening and asking questions. Find out what your friends believe and why. And then, when your conversation is coming to an end, ask them this question: “Would you like to read the Bible with me?” You never know – they might actually say yes! Don’t feel as if you need to answer all of their questions; open up the Bible with them and let God’s word do that.
Many other things can help us overcome our fear of evangelism, but let me mention one final thing which is actually the most important: embed your heart more deeply in the God who has such an evangelistic love for you that he willingly gave his Son to die for you.
In practice, if not in theory, I tend to view evangelism as a ‘work’ I need to do: a burden to bear and a box to tick. In reality, sharing the gospel of grace with others should flow from a heart that simply loves to speak of Christ; it should be a joyful instinct rather than a burdensome duty.
But I will never get to the stage of natural, instinctive, joyful evangelism unless I daily remind myself of the inexhaustibly deep love that Jesus has for me and so drink from the ever-flowing fountain of his grace and compassion. Surely it is first preaching the gospel to yourself that begets preaching it to others.
Do you find evangelism one of the scariest things in the world? Many things can help you overcome your fear. But the most important thing is that you lean on the God who loves to show mercy and whose heart is wide with compassion. Remember that he delights to save and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Sit at the foot of the cross and marvel at the greatness of your Saviour’s love for you and for a lost world. Do this and you will gradually find your fear of evangelism being replaced by an irrepressible longing to tell others about the most loving – and most lovely – person in the world, Jesus Christ.
Doug is the Minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church
