Some Tips on Sharing the Gospel
This article is by Rev. Canon George Sinclair, rector of Messiah Ottawa and principal of Ryle Seminary. It was first published on the Ryle Seminary website.
Dear Friends,
I confess that I am often very timid about sharing the Gospel. Please pray for me! I also try to pray every day that the Lord will grant me at least one opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. Please pray for me that I will recognize the opportunities He sends – and take them. The following are some tips and encouragements.
do not lose heart
First, in 2 Corinthians 4:1, Paul says “… do not lose heart.” He says this in the context of sharing your faith. This is very helpful! The Lord knows that you will “lose heart”, get discouraged, and maybe even despair. Since He already knows this, you can come to Him in prayer and tell Him you are discouraged. You can talk to the Lord about the matter. You should be as honest as you can be. Remember that He knows the true state of your heart better than you do. Ask Him to make the Gospel more and more real to you
Begin with taking the opportunities that come
Second, “evangelism” sounds intimidating. Think instead of bearing witness, or “sharing”. Begin with taking the opportunities that come up to share who you are and what you do. If someone asks you what you did on the weekend, let them know that one of the things you did was go to church. If someone asks what you did the night before, let them know you went to a community group where you talked about the Bible and the Christian faith. If they ask what you are reading, include the Bible in whatever your list of books or blogs is. By the way, I know that this suggestion may cause you some anxiety! In that case, go back to my first point. Come before the Lord and tell Him that you are afraid to do this. Tell Him why. Tell Him what your fears are. Ask for His help. He knows your fears and He wants to help.
pray daily for them
Third, begin with prayer. Choose at least three people that you know who have not come to faith in Jesus. Commit to pray daily for them. Ask the Lord to bring each of them to a saving faith in Jesus.
pray that the Lord will give you an opportunity
Fourth, pray that the Lord will give you an opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. This is an open-ended prayer. Open-ended prayers can be scary, but I encourage you to pray it for yourself and for me. In fact, please pray that the Lord will give you at least one opportunity this week to bear witness to Jesus.
ask for help
Fifth, ask for help in what to say and what to not say. In particular pray for help. As well, if someone raises a question or an objection, and you do not know what to say, say this, “That is a really good point and I confess I do not know what to say. Can I get back to you in a couple of days about it?” Then you can call some people in the church for advice, or give me a call. I love talking about stuff like that! Another option is to say to the person, “Can we get together in a couple of days and talk some more about this with my friend George (or another person). I think we can have a really good conversation about this.” The main point is twofold. First, no one has all the answers, so don’t worry if you don’t. Second, there are no new problems or objections. Some wise Christian has thought and prayed and written about the matter.
Friends, please pray that the Lord will use Messiah in evangelism. Please pray that He will use our people, services, small groups, Sunday school, Youth Group, Church on Wednesday, Men’s and Women’s Ministries – and much more – in telling the Good News
George+
Principal of Ryle Seminary