Generally speaking, most followers of Jesus understand their responsibility to help fulfill the Great Commission. We recognize the call to share Jesus with the world around us but sometimes struggle to make it happen. Why? Because having the best intentions doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it will happen.
We need a goal, a strategy, and intermediate tools and tactics to enable us to engage others confidently.
In our blog post “Developing Your Personal Evangelism Strategy,” we talk about the difference between a tactic and a strategy. A strategy is a plan for achieving a long-term goal, and it might look something like this: “This year, I want to share the gospel with someone at least once every week. To accomplish that, I will need to make these strategic changes.”
Once the goal and strategy are laid out, you can think through the tactics and tools to help you flesh out what it might look like day-to-day. This includes answering questions like:
- How should I pray for the people around me?
- How can I start conversations about Jesus?
- What resources can I point people to if they want to learn more?
- How will I respond to objections?
- How can I share my faith and protect key relationships?
Answering questions like this can equip you to meet your long-term goal by identifying the short-term challenges you may face. Having a plan for approaching others and sharing your faith is critical. It helps remove the apprehension that keeps us from sharing the gospel.
Here are some tips and suggestions to help make sharing your faith a reality.
1. Pray generally and specifically
If we’re serious about the Great Commission, we will be people of prayer. We want to pray generally for people who need to hear about Jesus. This means praying for their hearts to be opened and receptive, and it means praying that others will dare to share. We also want to pray that we’ll be aware of and receptive to opportunities to share ourselves.
These are more general prayers for people you may not know or opportunities that haven’t come to pass. You also want to pray for specific people and situations too. This means praying for the people in your life who don’t know Jesus, and praying for the opportunity and courage to be the person who gets to share.
This not only brings them before God but also ensures that we continue to feel a sense of urgency and responsibility about sharing.
2. Practice your testimony
The apostle Peter tells us, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to answer everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). What Peter is asking us to do is highly individual. He is asking each one of us to be able to communicate why we have put our hope in Jesus.
When it comes to testimonies, we can place a lot of emphasis on having a dramatic conversion story. While it makes sense that a pronounced lifestyle change or exciting personal transformation can have an impact, not everyone has a testimony like that. Your testimony isn’t less important because it lacks fascinating elements.
Maybe you grew up in a Christian household and don’t remember having a significant conversion experience. That’s OK. Think about how when your faith became your own, and put more emphasis on the why of your beliefs. Why have you put your hope in Jesus? Being able to explain the reason for your hope is crucial. No one can argue or contradict your reasons for believing, and you don’t have to worry about whether you got all the facts right or are providing a compelling apologetic argument. You’re simply sharing your reasons for placing your hope in Jesus.
The important thing here is to spend some time crafting an answer that’s clear, compelling, and brief. You might think, “I know my story; I can wing it.” But the truth is that when we ad-lib our testimony, we’ll often miss important details or overshare, adding details that aren’t helpful or pertinent. Thinking it out and actually writing down the details is useful, but it can be even more beneficial to practice it with a friend.
You don’t want it to appear like an impersonal, rehearsed story but you do want it to be engaging and thoughtful.
3. Feel the uncomfortableness and move forward
One of the things that stops people from sharing their faith is the fear that it will be awkward or lead to an argument. These aren’t entirely unfounded concerns. One (or both) of these things occasionally occur, but not as often as one might assume.
When you learn to feel that nervousness and move forward anyway, you quickly develop confidence. You’ll realize that these conversations can be meaningful and beneficial to both parties. You’ll learn to recognize potential problems before they start and steer the conversation clear of them. But these are things you can only learn by pushing through the initial awkwardness and having the conversations.
Remember, if you’re waiting for someone to come and beg you to tell them about Jesus, you’re waiting for an ideal opportunity that might never come. But when you learn to start the conversations despite your anxieties, you learn how to have better conversations.
4. Plan to start conversations about Jesus
Starting a conversation or transitioning into a discussion about Jesus can feel overwhelming. How do you start? Do you just walk up to someone and ask them if they want to hear about Jesus? Simply getting through that initial barrier can feel impossible.
One of the best ways to start a conversation is by asking thoughtful questions. If you want to learn more about asking good questions, check out our blog post “5 Questions for Starting Conversations about Jesus.” It will give you some suggestions and help you think about how to turn questions into deeper discussions.
It’s not just that starting conversations about Jesus can feel awkward; many people tend to shy away from conversations about important topics. Even among those closest to us, we tend to talk about things we need to do or things we’ve recently done. We don’t spend much time thinking about topics like death or morality, so when they come up, it can feel uncomfortable.
In “5 Ways to Start a Conversation about the Gospel,” we examine some of the conceptual topics that easily lend themselves to discussions about Jesus. It’s helpful to understand not only how topics like these and your faith go hand in hand, but to think about these topics yourself so you can easily communicate how they intersect with your beliefs should the topics arise.
5. Remember the impact of your example
When people questioned Jesus’ authority or identity, He often responded the same way he did to John’s servants: “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Luke 7:22). He wanted these signs to help affirm the truth of His identity.
This idea has implications for us as well. While we might not be healing lepers or restoring sight to the blind, what we do and how we carry ourselves has a significant impact on how people receive discussions about Jesus. Does our behavior and speech reflect Jesus’ character?
People who know us as argumentative, difficult, or lacking integrity will be less receptive when we tell them about the Prince of Peace. The challenge is that they may never tell us why they’re skeptical. It might be uncomfortable for them to confide in us that our behavior makes them question the validity of our words about Jesus.
That doesn’t mean no one will listen to us unless we’re perfect. It’s simply about recognizing that living in a way that demonstrates the truth of Jesus greatly impacts how favorably others view our words about Jesus. When we mess up (and we will), we need to be open and responsive to our mistakes, apologize when necessary, and make adjustments. This, too, will significantly impact people’s openness to our faith.
6. Make sure you can communicate the gospel
We should probably start by remembering that we don’t draw people to Jesus; the Holy Spirit does. This is important because God can do incredible things with our attempts to share our faith. We should never worry that we’re not intelligent or informed enough to tell someone else about Jesus.
That said, we want to understand the gospel well enough to explain it to others in a language they can understand. If you’re curious about where to start, you can take a look at “What Is the Gospel, and How Do I Share It?” It’s a helpful primer for understanding what the gospel is and how you can communicate those ideas to others.
7. Have some tools and resources handy for various situations
One thing that scares people about sharing the gospel is the idea they might get asked questions they don’t know the answers to. And that’s almost guaranteed to happen, but it’s not something you need to be afraid of. You’re not expected to have all the answers. But it’s still beneficial to have resources at your fingertips you can offer them.
As you read Christian literature or watch sermons and movies, keep track of ones you think might be useful. You might even track them in a notes app on your phone. Hear a sermon that answers a frequently asked question. Throw the link in your app so you can access it later. Know of a book that addresses an important topic for new believers? Catalog that as well. The better prepared you are, the more confident you`ll be.
You don’t have to know how to answer every question, but if you can keep track of a handful of helpful resources, you can ensure you have something to send someone who wants more information.
Take advantage of Jesus Film Project® resources
If you’re unsure where to start looking for helpful resources, Jesus Film Project has some free tools to add to your toolbox. Becoming Like Jesus While Being Yourself is a guide that will help you understand how your personality influences the way you (and others) approach faith. This resource will help you get to know yourself better and improve your ability to communicate with different kinds of people.
You might also want to share some of Jesus Film Project’s films. On our YouTube channel or our “Watch” page, you’ll find feature-length movies, short films, and inspiring series—many in multiple languages (the JESUS film itself is available in more than 2,000 languages). These are easy to share and free to stream or download. Share a video and ask one of the included discussion questions from our website to start spiritual conversations today.
Plus, the free Jesus Film Project App makes it easy for anyone to access and share these films. Download our free app on the App Store or Google Play, and you’ll have a library of movies in the palm of your hand. Share our app with others who might find this resource useful, too! Together, we can help people everywhere experience the story of Jesus in their heart language.
