Evangelism

On Tuesday nights in June, we have sought to equip church members to do evangelism here at Creekside. When I say evangelism, I mean intentionally telling people about the work of Jesus Christ in hopes that they will become a Christian.

Every Christian I know wants to be a better evangelist. All Christians are called to share the gospel, but if we are honest we don’t evangelize as we should.

In preparation for the class, I came across some old notes I had compiled. In those notes are 5 barriers to sharing the gospel. I wanted to share them here so that you might find a way to overcome these barriers and share the gospel faithfully as well.

5 Barriers we need to Break (Borrowed from Timothy Beougher, “Overcoming walls to Witnessing”)

1) Fear (I’m afraid of their response)

One of the reasons we don’t share the gospel more regularly is that we are afraid of what people will think of us. As Christians, we simply have to get over this. We should care about what people think as regards acts of disobedience. Meaning, we should not desire to be known primarily as sinners or scoundrels. However, we cannot be afraid of looking like a fool to others in order to obey God. In fact, Scripture commands it.

Ed Welch has said it well in his book, When People are Big and God is Small. We should care more about obeying God than being appealing to man.

2) Ignorance (I don’t know how)

This is probably the easiest barrier to overcome. There are so many resources to equip you on how to share the gospel. There are a variety of methods and ways to be equipped in this way. It simply takes a little dedicated time and effort.

One of my favorite equipping tools is this little video by Jimmy Scroggins. It is a short 5 minute video that will be a great benefit to you if you’ll take the time to watch it.

3) Apathy (I don’t have a desire to witness)

If you do not care about others’ eternal destiny, what does that say about your Christianity?

We must care that others don’t yet know Jesus. One of the best remedies for this problem is to get to know Jesus yourself. Pray, read your Bible, and regularly attend church. Cultivate a love for the lost by cultivating a love for the gospel.

4) Introspection (I need to get my own life in order)

This is the lie that says, “I am such a sinner, there is no way I could tell anyone about Jesus.”

We must remind ourselves that when we are sharing the gospel, we are not attempting to convince others of how good we have become. We are trying to share with others what wondrous things Jesus has done. The difference is huge.

It’s true, if you’re in the habit of sinning, you won’t really want to share the gospel. However, just because you are a sinner does not mean you cannot be an evangelist. Everyone who has ever shared the gospel besides the Lord Jesus was a sinner. God can certainly use you as well.

5) Busyness (I can’t find time to witness)

Do you have any time set aside to share the gospel? Is there any margin in your week?

For many of us, I fear that the problem is not that we don’t care about others. The problem is that we don’t make time for others. Each of us only have 24 hours every day. Between sleeping, working, family affairs, and other commitments, there often remains precious little time for spiritual things.

Let me encourage you to be prayerful about evangelism. Pray that the Lord would bring people into your sphere of influence with whom you can share the gospel. Let us pray to our God that he will give us boldness to declare Christ without fear. And let us pray to the Lord of the harvest that the gospel seed we sow will bear much fruit in His time.