Please don’t be alarmed by the length of this article! Below we have a table of contents for you to navigate to whatever topic you find interesting.
Good day! In the Winter 2023 term, external ministry ran a series of evangelism workshops intended to help answer some commonly asked questions and to equip those at CCF for evangelism. We thought it would be helpful to summarize our discussions for those who did not attend but still wanted to learn. We ended up with a lot more than a summary — oops!
Nevertheless, we want this resource to be useful to you. We answer a variety of questions relating to evangelism below, but know that this is not an exhaustive discussion on the topic — we could spend an eternity and not exhaust the glories of the gospel! Our hope is that you would understand that evangelism is a calling for you and that it isn’t as difficult as you may think it is. Happy reading!
Table of contents
To navigate to a specific question, click the link below. To return to the table of contents, click the number in that section’s title.
- What is evangelism?
- What are we evangelizing?
- Why should we evangelize?
- Who should be doing evangelism?
- What are the requirements to evangelize?
- How should I evangelize?
- I am very anxious/scared of sharing the gospel, what should I do?
- How much apologetics do I need to know to evangelize?
- What does successful evangelism look like?
- What if I say the wrong things?
- Do I have to go to campus evangelism?
1. What is evangelism?
We get the word evangelism from two Greek words: euangelizo (Mt 11:5; Lk 1:19; etc.), a verb denoting the act of bringing good news or glad tidings and most often translated in the KJV as “preach” and “preach the Gospel”; and euangelion (Mk 1:1,14; etc.), most often translated as “gospel”. As such, evangelism can be simply defined as “the sharing or preaching or proclaiming of the gospel”. Technically, according to this definition, when our pastors preach the gospel to us on Sunday, they are doing evangelism; however, for our purposes, we will focus specifically on the topic of evangelizing to unbelievers.
But now questions arise: “What constitutes evangelism and what does not?”, “How much doctrine do I need to include in my gospel sharing?”, “Does my testimony count as evangelism?”, “Is it enough for me to just ‘live’ the gospel?”, “Who should I be evangelizing to?”
These are all very good questions and can be difficult to answer! In the sections below, we’ll explore more into what the Bible actually says about the gospel and about evangelism to unbelievers and by the end of our discussions, you’ll hopefully have an answer to these questions!
2. What are we evangelizing?
When we define evangelism as “sharing the gospel”, it begs clarification on what exactly the “gospel” is. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16 that he was “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (emphasis added). Here, we can establish a few things about the gospel: it is not something that comes from man or something that comes from us because it is the power of God; it brings salvation; it is for everyone; and it is something that must be believed. But what is this something that is to be believed?
In CCF, we have a gospel sharing every Friday in which a member goes before the fellowship and shares about the gospel and what it means to him/her. Often when the gospel is shared, a set of doctrines are listed out: God as our Creator, the fall of man, the wrath of God, the historical person of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by belief in Jesus and repentance, to name a few. Now all of these are good and true and are useful, but is this what the gospel is — a call to believe in a set of doctrines?
Consider what Marcus J. Borg has to say about what belief means:
But prior to about the year 1600, the verb “believe” had a very different meaning within Christianity as well as in popular usage. It did not mean believing statements to be true; the object of the verb “believe” was always a person, not a statement. This is the difference between believing that and believing in. To believe in a person is quite different from believing that a series of statements about the person are true. In premodern English, believing meant believing in and thus a relationship of trust, loyalty, and love. Most simply, to believe meant to belove.
Thus, until about four centuries ago, believing in God and Jesus did not mean “I believe that the following statements about God and Jesus are true.” Rather, to believe in God and Jesus had two primary meanings. It meant to trust in God and Jesus. Not to trust in statements about God and Jesus (for this would be “believing that”), but to trust in God as known in Jesus. […] Believing that and believing in are very different. The first leads to an emphasis on correct belief, on believing the right things. The second leads to a transformed life. (Borg, Marcus J. “Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary”)
So what exactly is Paul referring to when he says that the gospel is for everyone who believes? What are they supposed to believe in? When we scour the New Testament for every usage of the word “gospel” or the Greek euangelion, we find it used even before the death and resurrection of Jesus. In Mark 1:14–15, we read that “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (emphasis added). How could the people believe in the gospel if Jesus hadn’t died and risen yet?
So this is what I’m trying to get to: the gospel is not a set of doctrines; it is Jesus himself. The call to believe in the gospel is the call to believe in, or trust in, the person of Jesus. It is not a list of correct doctrines — though they are important in knowing who Jesus is — nor is it a story about a person in history, but it is a call to trust in Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6).
What this means is that what saves a person is not sincere prayer, nor their knowledge of their own sin, their knowledge of Christ’s deity, their theology, Christology, apparent repentance, and even sincere assertions of Jesus as their Lord. What saves a person is God’s grace alone through faith (and what a mystery this is!) in the person of Jesus (Eph 2:4–10). Now all these things must flow from a genuine work of the Spirit in the believer, but these things in themselves do not save.
Therefore, what we are evangelizing is Jesus himself. Evangelism happens when we point people to Jesus and call people to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. This isn’t to say that you should not include any theology in your evangelism, after all, a significant part of trusting in something (or someone!) includes having proper knowledge of the object of your trust. Please consider these nuances carefully, because I believe it’s an important clarification to make before we continue with the rest of the questions.
3. Why should we evangelize?
As Christians, we have a very simple reason: we evangelize because we are commanded to. Jesus commanded us to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). If this were the only reason we had to evangelize, if we see Jesus as our Lord, it is a good enough reason.
But it’s not the only reason we have. Our great reason is love. It is an act of love to share the gospel. “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). The gospel has enabled believers to love in the same way that God loved us, “that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rm 5:8), meaning that we have been enabled by the cross to love others while they may use us, be indifferent to us, or even hate us. And if we truly believe that Christ is who he says he is, that he is sufficient and that to have him is better than all riches, that he will be glorified in the Father’s presence (Jn 17:5), and that we are are going to be seated beside Christ in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6) — let these sink in — then how can we not proclaim Jesus? I pray that the Lord would give us grace that we all might see “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:8) and move us to know more of the greatness of Jesus.
Please also know how urgent this call is,
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13–17)
Do you know why James concludes this remark with “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin”? James is appealing to the fact that for us to know we ought to do something but decide not to do it, is for us to assume in our arrogance that God will give us another chance to do it in the future. God have mercy on us! We do not know when the Lord will take us home, nor do we know when he will return, nor do we know when he’ll take away your friend who you’ve been meaning to share the gospel with but just haven’t found the “right opportunity” yet.
Finally, please consider the thoughts of frequently-quoted, famous magician and atheist Penn Jillette from Penn & Teller:
I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward — and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself — how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that (Jillette, Penn, emphasis added).
It is unloving to withhold the gospel from anyone who needs it.
I could go on. But to keep things from going any longer, I’ll summarize with this. Why should we evangelize? Because God was merciful to save us. So let us rejoice in gratitude to him and so be merciful to those around us.
4. Who should be doing evangelism?
Short answer: every born-again Christian.
Better question yet: Who should not be doing evangelism? Jesus said in Luke 6:39, “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” If you are not a believer or are unsure of your faith and of your salvation, you should not be doing evangelism. See it this way:
A father with his sick child is lost in an airport terminal in a foreign country with no English and is urgently trying to find the gate that’ll take him home so he can get proper treatment for his child. He happens to bump into you, the only person who can speak English in the airport, and he asks you to point him to the gate that’ll lead him to his home. You have no idea what gate he should go to. Would you guess and point him to a random gate?
Hopefully you can see that it would be deceptive and dishonest and irresponsible of you to do so. It is loving to point someone to the truth if you see they are wrong. It is unloving to point someone to something you are uncertain of if you think they may or may not be wrong.
5. What are the requirements to evangelize?
Simple answer: The Holy Spirit! If you are a born-again Christian, you have everything you need to evangelize!
We can rephrase this question into: “What kind of knowledge do I need to know to evangelize?”
And here’s the great news for you: that the Lord himself gave you (and me) this instruction, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Mt 10:19). And this is great news for us, that ultimately we aren’t the ones who will be speaking, and that our effectiveness and obedience does not depend on us.
Nevertheless, some of you (if you’re like me) will still have trouble initiating these gospel conversations because you simply don’t know where to start. Our encouragement for this comes from the woman at the well in John 4. After Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, she went to her town and evangelized — she told them, “He told me all that I ever did.” — and as a result, “many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (Jn 4:39). Notice something interesting, the woman did not know any hefty theological terms that we toss around so often today, she simply shared what she knew.
And this is the crux of the issue. Many Christians, in my observation, struggle with evangelism because they have the perception that they need to be experts in the Bible and have formal training and all this and all that. But the Great Commission was given to all believers — laymen and scholars, young and old, men and women. We are called to share simply what we know about Christ. If you have been saved and your life has been changed because of Jesus Christ, your evangelism can be as simple as, “Jesus changed my life and can change yours too.”
6. How should I evangelize?
This is the big question that you probably want answered the most! Now the Bible doesn’t give us any prescription on how exactly to evangelize, but there are many descriptive examples of how Jesus and the apostles have done it. We’re not going to offer you any specific techniques or methods for evangelism — that would make this post way too long and we aren’t experts on this — instead we’re going to share some principles that we see in scripture to help guide how we think about how we should go about doing evangelism.
We’ll start with what we believe scripture points to as one of (if not) the most important things we ought to be doing not only in evangelism, but in all things: prayer. Evangelist Oswald Chambers puts it very clearly, “Prayer is not a preparation for work, it is work.” As our great example, we can look at Jesus. If there existed any human who could do something by his own hands and get away without praying, it would be Jesus, and yet he prayed the most! In fact, “he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Lk 5:16), and when his disciples could not drive out demons, he told them that “this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mk 9:29). So what we see here is that the strongest man who ever lives was also the man who dedicated himself most to prayer, and that prayer was both in solitude and in public as part of his work.
Likewise, in following the example of our Lord, the greatest work we can do in evangelism is to pray fervently when we’re on the field and out of the field. Yet what shall we pray? Here’s your homework: read through Matthew 10 and whenever you come across a verse that makes you think of your own evangelism or a loved one who doesn’t know Christ, pray over the verse.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:37–38).
Okay, but what do we actually say to people to whom we are evangelizing? As discussed in the section above, “What are the requirements to evangelize?”, we ought to stick with what we know the Lord has done. If you know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified, then proclaim that (1 Cor 2:2); if you know the doctrines of salvation and how to exposit scripture faithfully and the Spirit has told you to share it in that moment, then proclaim that. “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Mt 25:29). You are called to be a faithful steward to all that the Lord has given you, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you.
As for determining specifically what to say or what method to use to evangelize, I have no formula to present to you — scripture does not offer that. In fact, it seems that all the examples that we have in the gospels and Acts point to the idea that there is no formula at all! Look at the example of Jesus: to the rich, young ruler, he told him to sell all his possessions (Mk 10:17–27); to Zacchaeus, he told him, “I must stay at your house today” (Lk 19:1–10); to the Pharisees, he rebuked; to others, he healed; to each person Jesus ministered as they needed. And so how did Jesus and the apostles determine how they ought to proclaim the gospel? The simple and sweeping answer is that they listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And likewise that is the example we are called to follow.
Now does this mean that we cannot do research or prepare methods to evangelize? Not at all! All these practical methods are not inherently bad things and often the Spirit can use our efforts to do God’s will. My emphasis on the Spirit here is not a call for you to sit still until you hear a voice, but more so a warning to not rely on human methods as your foundation. Make a plan, make a method, and study great evangelists, but be open to listen to the Spirit when he guides you to speak in a way that departs from your usual script.
When we go out and speak to others about the gospel, there will be times when we don’t know how to answer a question or when we don’t know how to minister to a soul. The best thing we can do in these times is pray and respond humbly with, “I’m not sure, but I’ll look into it and get back to you.” And then you better get back to them with an answer!
And why should you get back to them? Because the heart you have towards the person you’re evangelizing to matters. We must evangelize with love. Having love is more important than being right, or having all the knowledge and right answers for someone (1 Cor 13:2). How this looks practically, again, varies — it’s an attitude more than a practice — but I do think it makes a difference when you go into a conversation with a desire to show love and care to this person compared to otherwise. They can see that, and it’s another part of your witness.
What about our conduct? You may have heard the slogan, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” When I first heard it, it made a lot of sense to me — our conduct should reflect Christ and point to him. And this is something that is indeed important, that our actions should match the words we preach. Indeed, we are called to walk in uprightness (Titus 2:12) and to be blameless (Ps 119:1; Phil 2:14), but is this equivalent to sharing the gospel? Paul argues otherwise in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. The gospel is explicitly a message that is communicated through words — not at all to diminish the importance of our conduct. So a better slogan that we could consider adopting is, “Preach the gospel at all times.”
7. I am very anxious/scared of sharing the gospel, what should I do?
Remember that you are not alone in this. God has called us to do this, and He is with us every step of the way. Even though we may feel unequipped or inadequate, we should know that God is neither. There may be occasions where we don’t know what to say, and that’s scary, but in these moments, we do have help. We have the Holy Spirit with us, and the Spirit will give us the words to say at the time when we need them (Luke 12:11). In the places where we are lacking — in confidence, strength, or knowledge — we can ask God for help, because He is more than enough to make up for our weaknesses. This goes for evangelism just as much as with anything else.
Consider also the many promises that the Lord provides us in his word. “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rm 8:28). Look also to the birds and the lilies and how much the Father cares for them — “Are you not of more value than they?” (Mt 6:26–29). Know also that you must not not be frightened nor be dismayed, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Jos 1:9).
Now consider also the warnings that we are given. Jesus told us not to “fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28); and also said, “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 10:33).
If rejection is on the top of your mind, know that Jesus himself did “not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). Know also that it is no surprise that you will be rejected, Jesus himself told us to expect it (Mt 10:16–25). O but how sweet it is to be rejected! For “blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”; and “blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on [Christ’s] account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:10–12). Are you being faced with opposition when you proclaim the gospel blamelessly? Good! You’re on the right track! (This important nuance should be mentioned: be watchful that your persecution is not due to a carelessness in ignoring God’s command to be gentle and respectful in 1 Peter 3:15).
It’s also worth considering how much the gospel means and how important it is. As mentioned, sharing Christ with someone is such a big way to show love to them. If we have the gospel, if it has changed our lives, if it has given us such hope and joy, then we know how much better people’s lives are with it than without it. We know how broken and in need of God this world is.
Hopefully these encouragements from God’s word strengthen your hands to do good. But even after hearing these words, you find yourself still fearful (as I have been), know that we still have our Sure Hope, Jesus himself, and that he himself will strengthen us if we ask. Let us pray: Lord, by your grace would you transform our hearts that we would no longer fear man but fear you alone. Move our hearts that you would burden us for the lost, those who need Jesus but don’t know him, and that you would free us from our love of comfort.
8. How much apologetics do I need to know to evangelize?
For the purpose of our discussion, we define apologetics as reasoned arguments for the Christian faith.
The short answer is that knowledge of apologetics is not a requirement for evangelism. Even if you don’t know a lot of apologetics, you can still evangelize. It can serve as a helpful tool that we can use in evangelism, and it can come up when people ask questions about Christianity. However, there are many things to consider when we use it.
Consider first the passage that many apologists use as the basis of their study: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Pt 3:15).
Apologetics can be very helpful, but there are common situations where bringing it up is not helpful, and can turn conversations into arguments. Sometimes a person may bring up their view of a particular issue which can be refuted using apologetics, but before you do, think about that person’s position. Is this a head issue, where this person would be open to believing something else if they had more knowledge? Or is it a heart issue, where this person doesn’t want to believe, regardless of what new information they are given?
How then are we supposed to determine when to use apologetics? It’s not easy! Consider Proverbs 20:5, “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.” Asking questions are useful in doing this; for example, I like to ask people, “If you were fully convinced the Bible was true, would you follow it?”, and I find that the answer they provide gives me an idea of where to go in the conversation. Remember that ultimately, like we mentioned above in “How should I evangelize?”, the way we know what we ought to say is by listening to the Holy Spirit.
9. What does successful evangelism look like?
To be quite frank, this is a very fleshly way to look at evangelism because we, as sinful humans, love to see the fruit of our efforts. However, very understandably we want to know whether or not we’re doing evangelism correctly. So the essence of this question is more of a reflective one — how do I know I am correctly obeying God’s call for me to evangelize?
The results of a specific evangelism encounter — whether that person was interested or not, whether they accepted to attend fellowship or church, whether they eventually came to be saved or not — aren’t necessarily what define success.
It is certainly our hope that the people we evangelize to will come to salvation, and when we get to witness that happen, it’s an amazing joy. But on the flip side, we shouldn’t get discouraged if we go for a long time without seeing those kinds of results. Not being able to see these results doesn’t mean your efforts are unsuccessful or pointless. For one thing, we won’t always be able to see the impact of our actions. Someone might not come to faith after a single conversation, but might remember it at a later time when they are more seriously considering it — and we would never know about it.
But even when that doesn’t happen, we should remember our role in regards to evangelism. We are not the ones who save people. God is the one who changes hearts and saves people. It is God’s burden to save, not ours. We don’t have the capability to change someone’s mind and heart. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t perceive that happening, or if it feels like you’re not getting through. That person will or won’t accept Christ according to God’s will and on God’s timing. It’s not dependent on you.
Outcome does not determine obedience. This is successful evangelism: when you obey what God called you to do. If God calls you to approach a stranger to share the gospel, and you do, and when you try to start a conversation he ignores you, you successfully evangelized — you obeyed what God told you to do. On the flip side, if you shared all the doctrines of salvation with your friend and then went about your way, but God was telling you to simply give her a cup of coffee and listen, you may have successfully shared good knowledge (which God can still use), but you did not do what God told you to do.
We are responsible for obeying God, not for the change that occurs as a result. As long as we are doing our part of sharing with the right heart, then we can consider that success.
10. What if I say the wrong things?
Well, you might, but remember, God hits straight with a crooked stick. There are many who say dumb things about Christian faith, but God is the one that speaks to people’s hearts. I’m not giving a pass on heresy here; I’m just saying that we’re not going to get everything right at all times.
Know this beautiful promise: You are not big enough to mess up God’s plans. It’s not simply that God works with us; he works in spite of us. When we say that God can do things with his hands tied behind his back, understand that we are his hands tied behind his back! God is using us to share his message precisely because we are so bad at doing it — that way he gets more glory! Job learned this lesson through much pain, and at the end of it he came to this conclusion: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2).
11. Do I have to go to campus evangelism?
No, campus evangelism is only one format of evangelism. We are all called to evangelism, but we’re not necessarily called to evangelism in the same way. Campus evangelism is one way that we can share the gospel to strangers, but this particular format of having conversations with strangers might not work for everyone. If that’s the case, that doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t still evangelize!
A better question to ask is: Why not go to campus evangelism? Each person ought to act according to God’s calling — have you asked God if he’s calling you to go?
Sharing the gospel with strangers isn’t the only way to evangelize. Often, we have much closer people around us who also don’t know the gospel. Reaching out to these people is also evangelism, and it’s so important. Even if you are also evangelizing to strangers, you should also consider the impact you can have on the people around you.
