May 29, 2020
By Rev. Chris Galarneau
What is one of the words most dreaded by people in the Church today? If you said, “Evangelism,” I agree with you! As someone who is seriously introverted (and shy to boot), it is something that I have always struggled with, especially in the models I had been taught since becoming a Christian back in high school. I know I’m not alone—I have found that many shy believers struggle with knowing how to share our faith.
There may even be some who think evangelism isn’t an important part of our life as a Christian! If you are someone who isn’t convinced that evangelism needs to be a part of your life with Jesus, keep reading and see if you end up agreeing with me that it most definitely is something that should be a normal part of your walk. If you, like me, have struggled to find a way that works for you to share your faith, let me tell you about what I’ve learned— maybe it will help you.
Scripture is pretty clear that we are called to share the Gospel. Most people would start with the Great Commission found in Matthew when talking about our mandate, and it is the first place we probably think of. But I like starting at Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (ESV).
Here we have Jesus speaking to His followers, right before He ascends, and they ask Him about when the end will come. His response to them is that it isn’t for them to know the time. He goes on to tell them that they will be empowered with the Holy Spirit and then they will be witnesses. This mandate that He gives to them is the same for us—we are to be His witnesses as we go in the world; that His kingdom and the Good News will be made known to the ends of the earth. A witness testifies to what they have seen and heard. They tell their story and affirm it as true.
We turn now to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (ESV). Here we have Jesus telling His followers explicitly to go and make disciples of all nations. Disciple is one of those words that isn’t a normative word in our vernacular today. A disciple was someone who was a student, but they also were followers of a teacher. They spent their time and devoted their lives to learning from that teacher. If we are called to make disciples, it would stand to reason that we are to introduce people to the teacher, to our master, to Jesus, and invite them to join us as fellow students. The way we invite people into journeying with us is by sharing our story and giving a reason for why we believe what we believe.
If you are someone who has been reluctant to jump into sharing your faith with both feet, I’m willing to bet there are reasons for that. Whether it is fear of being judged, not having all the answers, not wanting to face rejection, or whatever else, there is a reason. I’ve found for myself a lot of that fear and hesitation stem from evangelism models that seem catered to extroverted, outgoing people, who love to drive conversations. For an introvert like me, that is like asking a fish to fly. Whether you are an outgoing person or a shy reserved person, the command and expectation remains for all of us. I don’t think that it is supposed to be a hard thing to do. It will require us to step outside of our comfort zones, but it doesn’t have to demand we rewrite our personality.
Evangelism, first and foremost, has to stem out of a real concern and care for other people. It cannot be driven by mandate, obligation, and duty. We must learn to have a real love for other people and that comes from seeing them the way that God sees them. This is also how God chose to reach you with the Gospel, because someone cared for you and shared the Good News with you!
It also should be said that the Holy Spirit is crucial to this work. There is a reason why Jesus told the disciples to wait until they were filled with the Spirit. The Spirit prompts us and guides us in this process, if we listen. I was challenged in a class that I took to shift my prayers for my lost friends. I often prayed that God would draw them near and open their hearts to the Gospel—but I was challenged to add asking God to reveal to me where He was already at work in their lives and give me an opportunity to share. That simple shift brought many new opportunities for me to have faith conversations with my unbelieving friends and also my friends who had wandered from the Lord.
God has placed you in a time and a place for a purpose. You are surrounded by a circle of people with whom only you have unique connections. If we were to approach sharing our faith with our family, friends, and acquaintances, as inviting them on a journey with us rather than a sales pitch to give, we may have less anxiety about it and see more success from it.
What I have found in my 24 years as a follower of Christ is that when I have had the best opportunities to share my faith, it has been simply sharing my story of what God has done in my life. Sharing your story is one of the easiest ways to share your faith. Your stories and your experiences are unique to you and people are looking for an experience of their own. Read John 9 and focus on verse 25. We do not have to have all the answers! We are told to be witnesses—to simply share our stories and invite people to start their own stories with God.
I have also learned that asking good questions, along with prayer, can create opportunity. People have questions. They are looking to fill the hole in their hearts, but they often don’t know how to talk about it, nor do they realize how the pain in their lives ties to that God-shaped hole in their hearts. This can sound a little bit like I’m advocating turning your friends’ pain points into opportunities to pummel them with a salvation formula. Rather, what if we were to be seeing and knowing our friends so well that we know their hurts and can walk with them in those hurts and share our stories of how God has been there in our pain and hurts?
We can and should share our faith, but we should do so in genuine ways. Some of you are fantastic at this and it comes naturally. But for many, there is a lot of anxiety around it. If we are going to be people who are seeking to partner with God and actively advance His kingdom, then we need to be willing to step out in faith and try some new things. Healthy churches start with healthy disciples who make disciples. Even though sharing our faith can seem intimidating, it is a vital part of being a fully formed disciple of Jesus and this is how the Church grows and spreads. Are you all in for Jesus?
