In today’s church, when people hear the word evangelism, they tend to squirm.
Thoughts of standing on the street with signs saying “free prayer” or uncomfortably approaching people in the grocery store start rushing through our mind.
Why is this instantly the picture of evangelism that the modern church has?
In my opinion, evangelism simply means sharing your Jesus story with anyone at any moment.
Now, can that include walking up to a random person at the grocery store or standing on the street offering a prayer?
Of course!
And there are times where Jesus will ask us to share something with someone and it may make us feel uncomfortable.
Here are 3 things to help you get over feeling uncomfortable when evangelizing.
Pray in the Spirit
Matthew 10:19 says “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.”
Whenever I feel the prompting to approach someone, I immediately begin to pray in the Spirit.
It’s not because I feel like I won’t get the guidance Matthew 10 discusses. I do so because it calms my Spirit and helps me feel God’s purpose for that conversation.
So pray out what you feel the Spirit is prompting you.
Be attentive and lift up His urgings.
If nothing comes to you, rely on the Holy Spirit will guide your utterance and seek tongues.
Believe for the best in that prompting
What do I mean by that? Well, believing that by your courage in stepping out, God will drastically transform that person’s life.
Remind yourself what is at stake when you feel prompted to reach out.
What’s at stake? God radically transforming the hearts and minds of the people you talk to.
We often forget where we came from before God saved us, so remind yourself what’s the purpose of telling that person they are loved by Christ Jesus.
Don’t worry about them telling you “no” either.
If we live our lives concerned with the possibility that someone we tell about Jesus is going to say “no” to us, then we will never give them the opportunity to say “Yes”!
Focus on your Jesus story
If you approach people and start talking about God, they are naturally going to have questions, and those questions may not always be easy to answer.
There will be times where you feel like you don’t have a solid answer to someone’s question, and that is okay.
Which is why sharing your Jesus story is a great place to start.
Often times people have wanted to argue with me about God’s existence, God’s goodness, and certain parts of the Bible, and sometimes, I did not feel like I had a great answer or rebuttal to their points.
But, I have to remind myself, I am no there to argue or debate with them.
I am here to tell them that God loves them and that His love can change their life, just as it did mine.
That’s why it’s great to lead into the discussion by asking them about theirs and sharing yours.
If they start to ask hard questions of you the answer “I don’t know what to tell you” is perfectly fine because you can tell them exactly how you came to love God through all of the unbelief that you’ve had. People cannot argue with your testimony and your own experiences.
If you start talking to someone about Jesus and the Bible, incorporate your testimony.
You will find that more people will connect and relate to hearing your journey with God and becoming a Christian than they would if you flat out asked them “Do you know where you are spending eternity?”
Conclusion
Evangelism doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.
It’s like ripping off a band-aid. You may have to psych yourself up to do it, but once you actually do it you don’t know what you were freaking out about in the first place.
If you need help to get over the uncomfortable feeling, start by praying.
Let the Spirit guide you to show you what to say and what to focus on.
Ask the Lord what He is saying or what He wants you to say.
Next, remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing.
The Lord loves that person you are going to talk to and wants to see them in His flock.
Step out in faith and believe for the best to happen.
Lastly, focus on your story and testimony.
Showing people how God radically saved you is a great way to help them realize the salvation that awaits them.
