How to Get Your Feet Wet in Evangelism

Evangelism can feel like a daunting task, especially if you’re new to sharing your faith or are unsure of where to begin. But getting your feet wet in evangelism doesn’t have to be overwhelming or intimidating. Evangelism is about sharing the truth of the gospel—the good news of Jesus, in ways that are authentic and compassionate. Maybe you wear the jersey, but never gotten off the bench and onto the field. It all seems too confusing and too difficult. But, in order to get on the field you have to take some steps. Regardless of experience, everyone can take these first steps to becoming a soul-winner and take the gospel to their sphere of influence.

Pray

Before you take your first step into sharing your faith with others, you need to take time to pray and get alone with the Creator of the universe. You need the Holy Spirit to “fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6 ESV). God commanded that we go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. But we need His help and guidance to do that.

We must always remember this is a spiritual battle with a real spiritual enemy—Satan. The gospel is hidden to those who are perrishing by the god of this world, Satan, who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). We need to pray that “God will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth, come to their senses, and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:25-26) Helpless to come to Christ by themselves unless they are drawn by God to come (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:12). Through prayer we implore God, the Creator of all to save them.

But, we also pray for ourselves for boldness, courage, and that we would be able to speak as we should. This was the Apostle Paul’s prayer throughout his ministry:

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Ephesians 6:18-20 NASB95

Just like going into battle without armor or a weapon is foolish, the same can be said for those who go into battle with the enemy of our souls without prayer. Pray for boldness, courage, a growing heart of compassion and love for those taken captive by the devil. Pray for those in and out of your sphere of influence. If you struggle in prayer, I suggest getting the Prayer Mate app. It’s a great way to keep all your prayers in one place, create notes, and notifications to be reminded to pray for the lost.

Study God’s Word

From the moment of our conversion, we should be students of the Word of God. It is and should be, the one thing we as Christians should be really focusing on. Pithy quotes and canned speech may have its use, but it is God’s Word that changes the hearts along with the conscience. When the Holy Spirit comes alongside a sinner, He teaches and pricks the conscience using His Word, and not from created beings as ourselves. He gives us the words of life to speak to individuals, not our own. The following scripture talks about the value of studying.

• Proverbs 15:28 NKJV—“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer…”
• Proverbs 19:2 NKJV—“Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge…”
• 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV—“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
• All of Psalm 119—rich with the joys and riches of meditating on God’s Word.

We are first and foremost to study the Bible. It’s best to read through a book and ask the Holy Spirit for knowledge and wisdom as to how to apply the verses you use. Pick topics to find where they are located in Scripture. Topics like the gospel, heaven, hell, Ten Commandments, and the Romans Road are good starts. If memorizing where something is located by verse, practice remembering the book and chapter where it is located and if its in the beginning, middle, or end. Also, when reading through the book of study, ask yourself some questions to answer: what is the theme of the book, what are some keywords that come up frequently, what is the author trying to teach, and what is the purpose of the book? As time goes on, you will find that when someone asks a question about a certain topic, your mind will automatically go to a book that discusses it.

Know Your Own Story

One of the simplest and most powerful ways to begin sharing your faith is to share your testimony and how you came to Christ. People love stories, and the more personal they are, the more moving they can be to someone who may be going through the same thing you did before Jesus saved you.

Take some time to reflect on how you came to know Jesus, how He impacted your life, and the difference He has made from that moment on. Your story may not be as dramatic as someone else’s, but that’s ok. It simply should be a reflection of God’s work in your life describing the fruit of the Holy Spirit living inside of you (Ephesians 1:13).

Know the Gospel

While evangelism doesn’t have to be difficult, it’s important at the very least that we have a basic understanding of the gospel message. Become familiar with the key elements of the Christian faith: what sin is, who God is; the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and why He is the way, the truth, and the life. Even though you don’t have to be an expert, a clear understanding of the message is very important.

The gospel message should incorporate the death, burrial, and resurrection of Jesus which are laid out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

1. Jesus Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.
2. Jesus was burried, and raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
3. He appeared to many including Cephas (Peter), the twelve apostles, James, Paul, and to over 500 brethren at once.

With that in mind, start with a simple approach like “The Romans Road,” which outlines the gospel message in a series of Bible verses.

1. Romans 3:10 — “No one is righteous, no, not one.”
2. Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
3. Romans 5:12 — “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned.”
4. Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
5. Romans 5:8 — “But God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
6. Romans 10:9-10 — “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
7. Romans 10:13 — “For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Don’t worry if you struggle through it. With practice you will begin to articulate it with ease.

Start Small

Maybe you’re not a good public speaker or you get tounge-tied when trying to articulate the gospel and are struggling to articulate it. That’s ok. We all have to start somewhere. For now, start small. If you struggle right now handing out tracts, just place some in high-traffic areas where people will read them like a bench at the mall, table in a waiting room, or leave one with a good tip for a waiter or waitress.

Once you graduate to becoming more talkative, invite friends, family, or collegues to church. Take gospel tracts with you wherever you go. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel and be open when those opportunities are presented by the Lord.

No one said you have to talk to the muscular guy with the face tattoos wearing the ‘I hate everybody’ shirt. It’s better to start with those you feel more comfortable with. And that’s ok. Don’t worry, God will challenge you as you move along in your walk. But until then be obedient to the conversations you can handle, and pray for more boldness for the one’s at this moment you are unable to do. Start small, don’t end small.

Ask Questions of Believers

As we just saw with studying God’s Word and asking questions of the text, we can also ask questions of others to help us on the right track to share the gospel effectively and accurately with others. Get together with people from church to talk about evangelism and how to share Jesus with the lost. Find out who in your congregation is interested in that and press them with questions about how to do certain things. Have them take you out on the streets, at the mall, or the next outdoor festival in your city to share the gospel.

Every week I receieve questions to answer from GotQuestions.org. Most of the ones I get could easily be answered by a mentor or someone discipling them. That’s one of the most significant problems in the church today. It can be argued either way whether it is a lack of mentors or people wanting to be discipled. The truth is…everyone should be discipling someone; everyone should be discipled by someone—including pastors.

Ask Unbelievers Questions

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason told a story of a man who called into his question/answer radio program for advice how to share the gospel to his Buddhist neighbor. Greg responded, “Don’t ask me what Buddhists believe, ask your neighbor what he believes.” He may not be able to articulate it accurately, but at the very least it will start a spiritual dialogue on the differences between his or her beliefs and Christianity.

One of my top 10 rules for evangelism is: never make a statement when a question will do. Questions are valuable when sharing the gospel for a number of reasons:

• Questions are interactive, inviting others to participate.
• Questions make headway without stating your case.
• Using a series of loaded questions, you can shift the burden of proof and put yourself in the driver’s seat.
• Questions are excellent conversation starters.
• Questions are neutral, so there is no preaching.
• Questions can buy you valuable time to get situated in a conversation when you don’t know how to answer.
• Questions help you gain valuable information in a conversation when you don’t have enough to formulate a thought.

When you genuinely ask someone about their religous beliefs with curiosity in love, you not only gain valuable information for yourself, but may even spark them to ask about yours. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be theological in nature. I once asked a Mormon family at Pella Tulip Time, “What is the best thing about being Mormon?” It sparked a half-hour discussion into what we each believe and we left learning more about each other. Though the family did not repent and put their trust and faith in Christ, I left the conversation with more knowledge about Mormonism and ammo for the next conversation I get into.

Get Professional Help

I’ve been told many times in my life to seek professional help in one shape or form. From that standpoint it’s not good because people notice a significant problem that needs to be addressed, and lets face it, answers don’t come from within. Many times we have to seek help from those who have done evangelism before and are experts in the field.

But, we need to remember, the experts at one point were new to sharing the gospel just like you and I. Ray Comfort didn’t start out like Neo, jacked up in the Matrix downloading the entire Bible, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, and every John MacArthur book ever written into his brain. No. He worked at it like the rest of us, and were discipled by those who did it before them. We need to be discipled.

The Start of My Christian Walk

When I started my Christian walk I was hungry for God’s Word. I couldn’t stop reading. At one time I read the entire Bible and over fifty books about Christianity in a year! My Pastor and mentor gave me books to read and I devoured them. I took lots of notes, and even studied diligently to teach a Saturday Men’s Bible Study to the Elders and more experienced in the church. It wasn’t that I was “teaching” them anything new, but them making sure I got everything correct. I listened more than I spoke, and took recomendations and , and took the recommendations and advice of others.

At the time, my job was pretty permissive and I was self-sufficiant not having a boss over my shoulder. While I did preventative maintenance on machines, I would listen to podcasts about evangelism, cults, how to start conversations, and many teachings from Living Waters and other ministries. I absorbed as much as I could get my hands on. When I wasn’t working, I watched videos, and studied how different people shared the gospel, analyzing their every word.

On the weekends, Tony Didlo and I would go out to Court Avenue in Des Moines and share the gospel regularly. The nights were crazy, and people were all in party-mode. At first I watched him share the entire gospel, then after a while I helped him. Then after a while I would start the conversations and he would finish them. Before long I was having full gospel-centered conversations by myself with Tony listening and adding to the talk when needed. The one-on-one discipleship I received from him was invaluable to my walk with Christ. Click on this link to learn more how to do that.

We didn’t start knowing everything we know. We had to learn it all. If you can learn a career, how to be a good mom, how to build a house or fix a car, you can learn how to share the lost with those around you. In fact, with the Holy Spirit, and being discipled, it is not as difficult as you may think.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” We should be ready to give that hope that resides in us to everyone we meet at all times.

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