The Reluctant Evangelist - What Stops Us?

Evangelism. Sharing our faith. Testifying. It has so many different “churchy” names, but for many of us, it fills us with angst and stress. We know we should… We know we should want to… And we sincerely want others to come to know Christ, and yet we fear.

We’re reluctant.

We look for ways out, ways around it. Someone else will tell them. I don’t know what to say. I can’t answer all their questions. They’ll just think I’m weird. I don’t have the gift of evangelism.

Sound familiar? I’ve certainly made all those excuses and more. Maybe in spite of all those objections, you’re still feeling a nudge to tell others about how to have a personal relationship with God. If so, I hope to help you overcome those excuses and show you a way forward.

Personally, I feel like I should have this figured out. I became a Christian in middle school at a slumber party, but really didn’t grow much in my faith until I went to college and got involved with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ back then). It’s an interdenominational missions organization that (among other things) reaches out to college students. I went to their weekly meetings and Bible studies and learned what it means to grown in my faith as a Christian.

I also learned how to share my faith with my fellow college students. We used surveys, booklets, information tables, and creative outreaches to get the word out that God loved them and had a wonderful plan for their lives.

I went on summer mission trips to San Francisco and the Middle East. After college, I went back to the Middle East for a year to share my faith with Muslim college students. Upon returning home, I joined staff full time with Cru, went to their new staff training for 6 weeks and worked on raising financial support to be a full time missionary with them. In the process, I met my now husband, left full time staff and started volunteering with Cru in the Milwaukee area. I’ve led Bible studies and outreaches at local campuses, mentored women, etc.

My roles have shifted as I’ve had kids, but I’ve been involved with Cru in one way or another for almost 30 years. Thirty years working with a missionary organization! You would think I’d be an expert at sharing my faith and have no problem with it…

Yeah, no.

I get nervous, feel awkward, wonder how to bring it up…Part of the problem is that talking about Jesus to college students is a bit different than talking to your neighbors. College students are exploring all the options in life and are figuring out what they believe apart from their parents. It’s more “normal” at that age to bring up spiritual things. I’ve found that I need to approach my neighbors and acquaintances quite differently. It’s a different process and there seem to be different unspoken rules.

The “Reluctant Evangelist” is me.

I haven’t led hundreds of people to Christ or shared my faith recently (or ever) in the middle of the grocery store check out line. I’m a fellow traveler who has learned a bunch of things that I don’t do a very good job of applying on a daily basis.

I do know that Jesus had made all the difference in my life. He has forgiven me, given me hope and a future and is transforming me into the person He originally designed me to be. I see people around me who are lost, hopeless, living far from the God who loves them passionately and wants them to know Him. I see God trying to get the world’s attention through viruses, civil unrest, quarantines and economic hardship. He’s shaking things up and it’s our job as believers to be His boots on the ground and tell others about Him.

What are some of the reasons we’re reluctant?

It’s taboo subject…

My friend and I walked into the smoky college cafeteria and looked for a young woman or two sitting alone. Scanning the crowd and trying not to breathe in too much second hand smoke, we noticed a young woman sitting with a friend at the back of the room. We walked over to them and smiled as they looked up.

“Hi! Do you speak English?” we asked.

“Yes! Come, sit!” the one girl said, motioning to the seats next to them.

We made small talk for a few minutes and explained that we were visiting their country and enjoyed meeting college students. We asked what they were studying and shared our own academic pursuits.

“So, are you Muslims?” we asked maybe five minutes into the conversation.

“Yes, of course,” they answered.

“Do you pray five times a day and go to the mosque and read the Koran?”

Our curious questions didn’t seem to bother them at all and they gladly explained their degree of faith and then asked us equally curious questions about our own beliefs.

Obviously, this event did not take place in our country! If I had asked an American about their religion within a few minutes of meeting them, they likely would have been offended and irritated that I had asked something so personal. In the Middle East, it’s very culturally acceptable to ask someone about their religion and how they practice it. Not so in the US!

This is one reason why sharing our faith in this culture we live in can be so difficult. We have to earn the right to have those conversations through developing relationships. Even then, it can be tricky.

Religion and politics - those are traditionally the two topics Americans are supposed to avoid (except on Facebook, apparently!). Do you ever find, though, that what is culturally acceptable to throw out there on Facebook is definitely not cool to just say to your neighbor in person? Think about the last political or religious post or otherwise controversial thing you saw someone put on Facebook. What would happen if that friend told someone that to their face in person? Depending on the individuals involved, it could end up in fist fight! Alas, true life is not lived out on Facebook (thankfully!).

We are called to actual, in person relationships with each other. And in person, bringing up religion or politics out of the blue is not culturally OK. We tend to hold those beliefs to be very personal and private. Criticizing someone’s religious beliefs (or political views) is like questioning their parenting choices. If you don’t have a really close, trusting relationship with the person, you just don’t go there. It all comes down to your relationship with the person.

People will think I’m weird…

Because religion and faith are such culturally taboo subjects, we tend to feel awkward and self-conscious about bringing it up. We worry that others will think us weird if we talk about our faith. We are going against the grain, after all.

I think this is partly fueled by preconceived ideas we have about what evangelism looks like. We might picture the Jehovah’s Witnesses coming knocking on our door or the man on a wooden crate shouting on the corner that we’re all going to hell if we don’t accept Jesus. We don’t want to be like that, so we don’t do it at all.

The truth is, it doesn’t have to be like that. It can be very natural and comfortable in the context of a relationship when God opens the doors. Also, keep in mind that Satan does not want you sharing your faith and will do his best to dissuade you by bringing up past ideas of evangelism or negative preconceived ideas about it.

What if they have questions I can’t answer?

Another reason that sharing our faith can be so difficult is that we worry that the other person will have questions that we won’t know the answers to. We don’t want to look foolish ourselves and we don’t want faith in Christ to look foolish, so we don’t bring any of it up.

We don’t realize that we don’t have to have all the answers. It’s OK to say that you don’t know, but that you’ll look into it and get back to them. Many times, questions are more of a smoke screen than a legitimate question. Even if it’s a true question, it’s OK if you don’t have the answer off the top of your head.

Next week we’ll talk in depth about answering questions about our faith.

Are you a reluctant evangelist? Why?