When it comes to sharing their faith, a lot of Christians struggle. They genuinely want to tell others about Jesus, and they feel a sense of responsibility to speak up, but they’re also afraid. What if they mess it up? What if they don’t remember what to say? What if someone asks them a question they can’t answer.
You don’t have to commit to being a full-time evangelist to get comfortable sharing your faith. We’ve put together some tips to give you some confidence in telling others about Jesus.
1. Focus on your passion for Jesus
The key to being zealous about sharing your faith isn’t to try and work up a passion for evangelism. It’s about stimulating our affection for the Lord. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we want to tell others about His goodness and love.
2. Reaffirm people’s need for Jesus
Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6b). And while we might know that intellectually, it’s easy to slide into a “to each his own” mindset. But the more that we maintain a point of view that people need Jesus to be reconciled to God, the more likely we are to recognize the critical role we play in telling others about Him.
3. Give yourself permission to share your faith poorly
Too many people wait until they feel confident to share the gospel-and so they never really do. Telling others about our faith is something you learn by doing. This means that you’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to stumble over your words. You’re going to feel awkward. You might even feel silly. The only way you will get past those feelings is to allow yourself to stumble through them. The more you do it, the better you get at it-which means to be comfortable, you need to push through uncomfortable experiences.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit is at work, too. And God can use our most embarrassing attempts to communicate His love.
4. Become a good listener
Sometimes we can get too focused on preparing for specific arguments or questions. But those discussions don’t always occur naturally, so we end up steering conversations in the direction we’d feel most comfortable and prepared. That can make people feel like we’re trying to sell them something.
Ideally, we become good listeners and learn to recognize people’s needs and how Jesus can meet them. When people feel heard and addressed where they are, they’re a lot more open to spiritual discussion.
5. Recognize that God is always at work
You haven’t met a person that God isn’t trying to reach. When you share your testimony and talk about your faith, you’re joining work that’s already in process. It’s helpful to remember that because it takes the pressure off of you. It’s not your job to convince them or save them. Even if your conversation doesn’t produce immediate fruit, it doesn’t mean it was fruitless. No matter how the conversation goes in the moment, the Holy Spirit will still use it to court them.
Taking the pressure off
Learning to enjoy sharing your faith is about releasing yourself from the expectation to be good at it. The more you love Jesus, the more you want to talk about Him. The better you are at listening, the easier it is to speak in a way that connects. But in the end, appreciating the fact that God’s the one doing the work takes the pressure off.
Once we see it that way, it rescues us from the performance-anxiety aspects of evangelism. We can share God’s love without fretting over how it’s received. We can simply enjoy telling others about what gives our life meaning.
Don’t forget, the Jesus Film Project® app (available for Apple or Android) is a helpful tool for sharing the life and ministry of Jesus. If you’re interested in learning more about how it can help, these videos can show you how to get the most out of it.
