“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)
Question: What’s your gut reaction when you think about evangelism?
My gut reaction is usually somewhere between “scared out of my fanny pack” and “still pretty scared”. I don’t want to offend or irritate people. I don’t want to be one of those mall kiosk salespersons who asks to “show me something very quickly”.
I want the perfect evangelism moment, like when they come to me weeping and trembling, at the end of their rope, strung out on dope, asking, “What must I do to be saved?” Or something like that.
To put it bluntly, I’m afraid of what they’re going to think of me and afraid of how they’ll react. I’m more concerned with my reputation than their eternal salvation. I have in my possession the words of eternal life, and I’m nervous. I don’t want to be this way.
But how do I grow in boldness? I can’t just excuse myself, slip into a telephone booth, and then come out a changed man. I need a heart change, and that heart change comes from the Holy Spirit.
As I read through the book of Acts, I keep seeing the connection between being filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaiming the gospel. Those who are filled with the Spirit are the ones who are loudly telling the world that Jesus is King.
If I want to be bold, I need to be filled with the Spirit. I need to ask God to give me a holy boldness, born of the Holy Spirit. I need to pray for boldness and then open my mouth.
Two questions for you to think about and comment on:
- Are you bold in sharing the gospel with others?
- How can you grow in being more bold in sharing the gospel with others?
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I am not so bold, but I am learning to pray much so that the Word of my Mouth will be guided to save the seeking soul.
This I am learning in the School of Evangelism I am doing from Ray Comfort and Kirk cameron.
this is what I long for :Boldness=Lot of Time in prayer +been filled with the Holy Spirit
Answering your two questions:
1. Not naturally, but God makes me bold at times. Lots of Bible reading and prayer helps a lot. I've increased my Bible intake lately, and the higher calorie diet has yielded in more prayer which has fired my zeal for evangelism.
2. Planning to read my Bible more, reading my Bible more, planning to pray, praying, planning to evangelize, evangelizing.
I am definitely not naturally bold, but it helps alot to purposely go out with a group and evangelize…. been doing it for years and it has also helped my personal witness.
Yep I'm definitely not bold either, especially when it comes to sharing Christ with my coworkers. Over the past year or so I've been doing more praying about this and spending more time in Scripture. Something else that a dear brother also pointed me towards was to just start sharing with my coworkers too, instead of always waiting to feel like I am ready to kill a lion with my bare hands, or something like that. As I pray and study I often don't immediately feel bold and encouraged to share, but that where I can trust God because I know who He is and share boldly anyway even when lacking the feeling of being bold.
I like your emphasis on "planning to evangelize". What does it look like to plan for evangelism?
When you guys go out as a group, what do you do? Do you go to a public area and just try to talk to people, or how does it work?
I would recommend his course I am doing , It cost not so much but to graduate you must speak :go on the street distribute tracts,speak to one member of you unsaved family. and so one.
out of the comfort zone from ray comfort.
The Way of the master from Ray comfort.
sorry I will add if you permit, my best book on prayer from E M Bounds on prayer
I am not sure somebody can read it without been challenge to go and pray.
be bless
Bold, not so much. I'm not an evangelist, but when I tell people to get a life, it does have a different meaning somehow.
Those are great thoughts. It seems like praying and being filled with the Holy Spirit go hand in hand. Can you recommend any resources from Ray Comfort?
That's great that you've been seeking to share with your coworkers. Have you seen increased opportunities at work?
Well the cool thing is yep I've had some cool conversations. However nothing like sobbing people repenting and turning to Jesus. But it has been pretty awesome seeing that while I'm scared stiff God can open some pretty deep conversations from the mundane day to day.
It's always encouraging to see God open doors for sharing the gospel. As someone who works for a church, I wish I had even more opportunities to be w/ unbelievers.
Being with more unbelievers (I'm a scientist and am the only Christian in my research group) definitely has some awesome opportunities. However, frankly it can be just downright discouraging some days, which is when I need to turn to the cross. But an added benefit of that too is that it also sweetens my fellowship with other believers and reminds me of just how amazing Jesus is when I'm inviting a coworker to come check something out (be it Scripture of church) with me.
How do you tell people to get a life without sounding rude?
Much the same way that you tell them that they are spiritually dead without being rude. I think that getting to know them and gaining their trust is an important first step.
I also need to grow in the area of evangelism, and share your thoughts and fears. One thing I have been trying to remember is TAG : Talk About God. In everyday conversations, I am trying to mention God's name in a way that is brief and winsome. Example: when someone asks how our Christmas was, instead of just saying, "Really good," I try to remember to say, "Well, God was very kind; we got to have our kids at home and we really had a wonderful Christmas." It doesn't demand a response, but it's a great opportunity to let a person know that I'm someone who believes in and thinks about God. Kind of like wearing a t-shirt with a Christian message. It does not replace preaching the actual gospel, but it shows people where you're coming from, and that's a start. Thanks again for the post!
… and by the way, Stephen, my husband and I are new at SGCI and haven't had the chance to meet you in person yet, but we're looking forward to it! And our feelings regarding witnessing are so similar, I really could have written this post. With the exception that I don't wear a fanny pack. Okay, I do, but only at garage sales. And I'm a girl, so that makes it okay. No matter what my kids say.
Thanks for your honesty and humility.
Thanks Lisa. Everyone should wear a fanny pack!
I've been particularly thinking of some of these things over the past week or so. On Tuesday, I did a guest post about the place of friendship in evangelism. With that of course comes the question, how to you find the courage to share with close friends?
To answer your two questions, 1) no, I'm absolutely not bold. I still struggle just to say I'm a Christian. I do it, but it's still a struggle. 2) For me, it's about doing it over and over and over again. That builds my courage. Each time God stretches and pushes me a more and more… like working out (for those of you crazies who actually do that kind of stuff).
Preparing for evangelism… good question also. I like Acts 2:42's answer (that's a stock response for any kind of preparation though… because it actually works).
-Marshall Jones Jr.
Okay, I gotcha.
Two verses that are helpful for me to pray through to increase faith to share the Gospel are:
Phil 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (First asking God to change my "will", or motivation, so I desire to share the Gospel, and then "working" in me for his good pleasure.)
Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (This verse gives me faith that he wants to give me more of the Holy Spirit for power to do what I can't).
Also, I have been asking Him to help me love others enough to have a sense of urgency.
Great post Stephen!
Thanks for sharing that Bob. I love how your approach to evangelism is fueled by God's word, and your prayers are fueled by His word. That's how I want my prayers to be.
Well i am not always bold when I have to share the gospel.. and its the same struggle-self. What helps me to be bold and share the truth wid my unbelieving friends, is to see it in an eternal perspective. If i really love that person I will share Christ, coz I don't want that person to go to hell. I know what i have been saved from, so how can i not share the same treasure that i have discovered???
Wow, it must be really challenging to be a Christian among scientists.
Stephen-
Speaking of boldness, Brit Hume from FOX NEWS is receiving some serious heat for his statement that "Tiger Woods needs to turn to Christianity."
It wasnt the clearest presentation of the gospel, but still exemplifies boldness for Christ.
just FYI
Yeah you're right, having an eternal perspective changes everything. I want to remember that life and death, heaven and hell are at stake. Great point.