How to overcome the fear of evangelism
by Toyosi Adegunle and Bibi Babatunde Ikotun
Growing up, I always low key commended people that evangelize and preach the gospel on streets, in public, I always almost say I’ll never be found doing that. I didn’t have anything against the gospel and I absolutely loved the Lord as a child. When they share tracts, I mostly trashed them because I couldn’t relate to most of the things they wrote about.
One of the things I’m grateful for as an undergraduate is my campus fellowship’s culture of going out in groups to preach the gospel basically shares the word of God with someone. This helped me to break the barrier of “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to tell anyone about Jesus’”.
Truth be told, I was afraid and felt unworthy to share the word with someone, thankfully, that was broken.
The world is changing, several schools of thought are evolving and now more than ever is the time to proclaim the word of God through every possible means you have access to.
This is one of the most popular verses about the gospel:
Romans 1:16 KJV “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
As a believer, the destiny of unbelievers rests on your shoulders to a very large extent. In most cases, you’d have to sow a seed by preaching the gospel to someone and the Holy Spirit waters the words, in very minimal cases like Saul (Paul), God comes directly in contact with the person and they receive salvation.
If you think we serve the same God with other religions and we just use different paths, that is a different conversation entirely. Yahweh is not the same as Allah or Buddha. This video below can feed you some truths at this juncture. We can have an in-depth discussion on this topic at another time.
● Love: The love of God enables you to have compassion on unbelievers enough to pray and work towards introducing them to the love of the father. The spiritual status of any believer who hates unbelievers and doesn’t let the love of God lead and guide them should be checked, because that is not the will of God for you and unbelievers. He equally loves everyone and wants nothing but the best (himself) for them. God has given you love, his love so you can love people (while you hate the things they do that are not of God), and share his love as well. Leverage on the love of God inside you, don’t fight it, don’t feel pressured to hate anyone, love wins always.
● Power: The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. God has given you the power to speak and share the gospel. The gospel itself is enough to power, just give in to the will to share it. The disciples are very good examples to follow, they were filled with so much power and it took over them so much that they just couldn’t stop. Even death couldn’t scare or stop them. Be like the disciples and be more.
● Sound Mind: Knowing what to say to an unbeliever at the right time is one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit helps us with. The Holy Spirit is your friend, teacher, and comforter, let him help you say the right words to people. This is very important because the gospel is the same, but people are different and their experiences and situations differ a lot, so it’s important to give in to the Holy Spirit’s guide and help.
Don’t be afraid to share the gospel with anyone anywhere. Use your voice and platforms to propagate the gospel in love and power. You don’t have to go to the streets (although it’s very necessary too) if you can’t yet due to anything, but if you’re social media savvy, share it online with your audience and your close friends that don’t seem to get it yet.
The love of God is sweet and it’s not something to keep to yourself alone. Share it!
Steps on sharing the gospel
The first step is to pray for lost souls: You must understand that someone getting saved is a miracle because we battle not against flesh and blood. So you may know all the right arguments, the best grammar and have an amazing charisma but it may not result to much. Pray that the heart of the lost souls is fertile and receptive to the gospel. That every veil the prince of this earth has put over their face will be removed. Remember, it's not about who can argue or who can speak eloquently, it is about hearts. Only prayers can prepare hearts for the seed of the gospel
The second step is to know the gospel: The gospel can be found in the book of 1 Corinthians 15:3-5. That Jesus died, was buried and resurrected on the third day for the sins of the whole. That whoever believes in Him shall never go to hell but have eternal life. That in Christ, God is not counting our sins against us and we've become new creations. Our past is forgotten and we walk in newness.
If you don't know the gospel, you may end up preaching condemnation to souls rather that solution. You must have heard preachers shouting that all the people that smoke, drink, masturbate, fornicate will go to hell. All the women that wear makeup, touser and jewelry will go to hell. Messages like this leave people hopeless and stranded, but the gospel is a message of hope. So each time you evangelize, it should tell of the hope and the surety of salvation from hell we have in Christ.
The third step is patience: Listen, you must be patient with the souls you're harvesting for Jesus. They may not believe in Christ and confess Him as Lord but as long as they continue to give you listening ears as you persuade them, be patient. In fact, they may never give their lives to Jesus with you but remember that Paul planted and Apollos watered. Plant that seed in their heart, when the harvest is ripe the soul will be harvested for Christ. Don't get angry or frustrated with the process, we're dealing with souls. You don't want someone to lie to you that they believe whereas they don't because they felt cornered.
The fourth step is harvest: After you have prayed for, preached to and been patient in the process, you have to ask them if they want to accept Jesus into their lives as their Lord and saviour. If they say yes, you lead them through the sinners prayer and congratulate them on joining the fold of God. Here is a sample of a prayer you can use, you can also be led by the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing that I can do to save myself. I confess my complete helplessness to forgive my own sin or to work my way to heaven. At this moment I trust Christ alone as the One who bore my sin when He died on the cross. I believe that He did all that will ever be necessary for me to stand in your holy presence. I thank you that Christ was raised from the dead as a guarantee of my own resurrection. As best as I can, I now transfer my trust to Him. I am grateful that He has promised to receive me despite my many sins and failures. Father, I take you at your word. I thank you that I can face death now that you are my Savior. Thank you for the assurance that you will walk with me through the deep valley. Thank you for hearing this prayer. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
What to do after you have won a soul for Christ
Establish them in a bible believing church: Many times people evangelize and win sons but tell the souls to find a bible believing church to start attending. That is like giving birth to a baby and telling the baby to take care of itself. It is your responsibility as a believer to connect the person to a bible believing church you trust. It can be your church or a church close to where they live. Let them become planted, get them into bible foundational classes, but them their first bible. It is your responsibility to nurture a child unto maturity.
Disciple them and follow up: It is your responsibility to disciple them. Be available to answer their questions about salvation and their new life in Christ. Baptize them in the Holy Ghost, (you can learn how to do that here), follow up with them, help them lead the rest of their family to Christ. This is a soul you've won for Jesus, you must help them grow in Christ. Send them sermons, teach them how to pray. You may not know it all and that's fine, escalate to other people that are more mature in the faith when that time comes.
I really hope this post has taught you practical steps to evangelize and win souls for the kingdom of God. I pray that the boldness of the Holy Spirit rests upon you to speak the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that saved you from hell.
How to stop masturbating/watching porn as a Christian (Youtube Video)
So my latest video on YouTube was on masturbation and how to quit watching porn. It has blessed so many people immensely and I trust it will bless you too. You're not a slave to masturbation! You're not a slave to clitoral stimulation! You're not a slave to watching porn, you're freed indeed! Watch it, comment and please subscribe.
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