Evangelizing

Start with what happened to you.

You also don’t have to force every conversation to the same destination. Often the thing keeping someone from faith isn’t the whole of Christianity — it’s one specific question or objection sitting in the way. If you listen first, ask what they really mean, and help them with the real thing that’s troubling them, you’ve done something that matters, even if you never get to the parts you thought you were “supposed” to reach. People who find an honest answer to their own question tend to keep exploring on their own from there.

Only speak what you are certain of from Scripture.

Your story is hard to argue with

You don’t need to be an expert to tell someone about Jesus. You need to be a witness. The most credible thing you will ever have is not an argument — it’s what actually happened to you. Someone can argue about a doctrine all day; it’s much harder to argue with what you saw, what you were, and what you’ve become. That is why Scripture says believers overcame “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Your testimony is not the warm-up act before the real evidence. It is evidence in its own right.

So before you worry about having the right answers, get clear on your own story: who you were, how He met you, and who you are now. You can tell that to anyone, anywhere, with no preparation — because you were there.

Take the pressure off

It helps to take the pressure off. You do not have to turn every conversation into a sermon, and you do not have to be a certain kind of person to do this. Extrovert or introvert, bold or quiet — you only need to be someone who has met Jesus. And if someone doesn’t accept what you share, they haven’t rejected you. You’ve offered a gift; what they do with it is between them and God. Some of the most important conversations happen in the ordinary moments you didn’t plan: a queue, a bus, a kitchen, a friend who asks why you seem different.

Read the moment, too. There’s a right time and a wrong time, a right place and a wrong place. The same true words, offered when someone is raw or cornered or not ready, can land as an attack rather than a gift. Paying attention to when and how is not timidity — it’s love. Love notices the person in front of it.

You don’t have to have all the answers

One fear stops a lot of people before they start: what if they ask something I can’t answer? Here is the freedom in that — you are not required to win. You are not the one who saves anybody; that was never your job. Changing a heart is the Holy Spirit’s work. If someone asks you something you don’t know, the best and most disarming thing you can say is simply, “I don’t know — but I’ll find out.” Honesty is more persuasive than a polished answer, and admitting a limit costs you nothing. There are people who have given their lives to the harder questions, and part of loving someone well is knowing when to walk with them toward those people rather than bluffing. When you’re ready to go further yourself, Apologetics & Polemics is a good next step.

Recommended

Recommended channels, ministries and resources for evangelizing will appear here as we find them.

We’re always looking for more ways to help people share their story well. If you know a ministry doing good work in this space, let us know.