It really can be frustrating when you are told all the time “share Jesus with others!” and it sounds great on the outside, but inside becomes scary. We get super nervous even thinking about trying to share Jesus with others. For some, the first thought that comes to mind is “what do I even say?” Or “how do I even start that conversation?” Both valid points. While we can address those in a separate article, the dilemma or question I see and hear the most that needs to be addressed, is the claim

“I just don’t know enough.”

And honestly I can’t speak on behalf of you and your faith and how much you really do know about the gospel but there are a couple things that I can say directly towards it.

1. If you’ve been a Christian for more than a day, you know enough. Mind you, the phrase and concept of evangelism is simply sharing Jesus. If we said “disciple” or “teach” that would be a different situation. So let’s not get those confused. Sharing Jesus would be like sharing your fries with your friend. It’s tempting not to, and might be difficult in your head, but really is as simple as reaching out. Just kidding, except you could make that analogy work haha. No the truth is, sharing Jesus really is simple. It’s just talking about him with others. Ask more than tell.

2. If your mindset is more set on the knowledge side and you want to be able to share that extra information with someone, what’s stopping you from doing the research and studying right now? In all honesty it comes from a lack of desire or discipline to do so. OR, you don’t feel like you have the right people or sources to guide you in that. That’s totally okay. That’s a big reason why The Hub exists, is to help guide you in those areas and in thoughts. Outside of us, I will list some other places to learn from down below to help guide you! Don’t always just google things, there are a lot of false doctrines out there and it can be hard to discern (trust me it took a while).

3. With either mindset, the chance of sharing Jesus is merely a matter of our level of fear of the outcome, the passion to share, and the measure of conviction… What if they completely reject you? Argue or change their mindset towards you? Say no? Combat you and you aren’t prepared? There are SOOOO many reasons we could think why not to, but let me ask you this: If we let that mindset and those thoughts carry out our decision to not share, who wins? (hint: the enemy)

Something so profound that we find in the New Testament is people like Paul and Peter literally DOMINATE the game of sharing the Gospel. These foos went as hard as can go. Yet, here’s something interesting said by Paul in his letter to Corinthia:

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul, someone who crushed it with knowledge more than anyone else being a prior Pharisee, but he still said that he didn’t try to persuade people with words and knowledge. Rather he demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit. This is talking about transformation. Paul had a testimony like no other. He went from killing Christians to being a crusader for the initial movement of the Great Commission upon Jesus’ ascension. People very rarely need to actually be convinced in the moment that God exists by answering their river of questions and riddles, but rather, people are simply looking for truth. They might believe they have it, but we all know it is fleeting and meaningless without God. But either way, it’s not a one and done conversation.

What I think is so cool about sharing Jesus at a stage where we either don’t know much or at least think we don’t know much, we still have the opportunity to tag along in the journey of finding those answers alongside them! Someone hits you with a question that you don’t know, be honest! Tell them you don’t know. And then, offer them the opportunity to join you in seeking out those answers.

Above all else, people really want to be heard. We as Christians, when we evangelize, should not listen to respond, but rather listen to understand. Not every person hears and receives Jesus the same way. There are wayyyyy too many variables. What it takes to share Jesus is to simply listen, learn, and then ask. Ask them if they know Jesus, have ever been to church, believes there is a bigger purpose in life. The easiest way I have seen to share Jesus is just invite them to a bible study, church service, or something else with your community of faith! Just see how they respond! If you try to communicate with them in statements claiming truth, they may backfire, defend, question, or even reject it. If you ever get into a situation where they maybe backfire right away, reject you, or try to rail you with stuff, don’t sweat it! Remember we as Christians are not results oriented. If the Spirit leads you to share something or ask someone something, don’t focus on the result, but rather the obedience. God is much more pleased with seeing us trying to be obedient to Him than us not even trying based on fear. Still don’t miss the chance to share Jesus simply because you are afraid of what could happen. You won’t know until you try. Pray the spirit leads you, listen more than you speak. Sharing Jesus isn’t a one and done deal. It’s a journey with them. You don’t have to share Jesus every time you are with them. Do life with them, learn with them, seek to understand, have fellowship, and along the way, ask the spirit for opportunities to share.

Don’t let fear or excuses win. You have Jesus on your side.

Resources for more studying:

Blue Letter Bible - blueletterbible.org (great for in depth study of text)

Ravi Zacharias International Ministry - RZIM.org (great for hard questions)

Gotquestions.org (also an app) (great for ALL questions)

Biblestudytools.com (great start for studying)

Bibleproject.com (super awesome videos)