Evangelism made simple

Recently I stumbled across these statistics from Lifeway. Turns out Christians are sharing their faith less. In 2013, Lifeway Research asked Protestant churchgoers if many people they knew were unaware of their faith. Back then, 14% agreed. By 2025, that number had more than doubled to 30%. And that statistic is radically more bleak when you consider Americans are more open than ever to discussing faith. A 2021 Lifeway Research study found that 66% of Americans were open to discussing Christianity with a friend. That same study also found that 51% were curious about why people are deeply devoted to their faith. So the world has become more curious at the exact time the church has become more and more silent. So today we are going to talk about a few easy ways to discuss the faith with others.

Where our growth has come from

When I survey the members of King’s Fellowship, I see a group of spiritually mature Christians. They know how to read their Bibles and reason with faith. They are confident in being led by the Spirit. And yet virtually all of our growth as a church has come from transfer growth. Transfer growth is when a believer leaves their existing church to join another. Now, I don’t think transfer growth is always bad (you can read about that here). But the mission Jesus has given the church is to seek and save the lost.

Why we don’t share our faith

So today we are going to discuss some practical steps to sharing your faith with others. I believe I am on solid ground when I say this. Believers don’t share their faith because they don’t know how easy it really is. They expect gospel conversations to look like seminary lectures. In their minds, the evangelist gets the unbeliever to question their worldview and then presents airtight proof of the resurrection. That vision of evangelism is exactly what keeps people from sharing their faith. They see evangelists as the Navy SEALs of Christianity. Evangelism becomes a task for the spiritually elite who have the gospel memorized.

But statistically speaking, most people don’t come to faith by listening to an apologist like William Lane Craig. It isn’t a Bible-savvy street preacher cornering them and convincing them they’re sinners in need of a Savior. Statistically speaking, most people come to faith because friends or family members led them there. Relationships go so much further than apologetics ever could. That old adage is true: people want to know how much you care before they care how much you know.

On the other hand, some are afraid of evangelism because they have had bad experiences with evangelists. They think of evangelists as pushy car salesmen with a turn-or-burn message. And people fear coming off as cocky, arrogant, and better than those they are ministering to.

Ask a second question

So let’s make evangelism great again by dropping the high bar a couple of rungs. Let’s keep this simple. I saw a podcast clip from Pastor Josh Howerton this week that I found to be extremely helpful. Josh’s go-to move in evangelism is to start being curious. He bumps into a stranger or a friend and asks, “Hey, friend, how’s your day going?” The usual response is “Good” or “Life is OK.” Most people will just stop there. But Josh cares more about people than about getting another notch in his evangelism belt. And because he cares about people, he is willing to ask more questions. So he follows up: “If you don’t mind me asking, what makes you say life is OK right now? Kinda sounds like you’re going through something heavy.”

Most people, if they see real compassion, will open up and tell you what’s going on in their life. Josh takes this as a moment to celebrate with those who celebrate and mourn with those who mourn. Then he says something like, “Hey, I’m a Christian. Do you mind if I pray for you and what you’re going through right now?”

Pray, then point to Jesus

After praying, he admittedly plagiarizes a tactic from R.T. Kendall. He says, “Man, this might sound weird, but I’ve just noticed that when I pray, God answers my prayers. If this situation really shifts in the next couple of days, I want you to know something. The work you are seeing is the work of Jesus Christ in your life.”

Now, does that sound like Navy SEAL Christianity? Does that sound like a pushy evangelism salesman? NO! That is a story of a compassionate person planting gospel seeds in someone’s life through compassion and care.

The underlying principle: Don’t try to be interesting; be interested. Evangelism isn’t always about bringing someone to conversion in a single conversation (read more on this idea here). Sometimes it’s helping them take one step closer to Christ through compassion, prayer, and a personal encounter with God’s love.

Paul in Athens and Corinth

This one time in Acts, the Apostle Paul activated all of his apologetics skills. He went all out. At Mars Hill he debated the philosophers and brought them the gospel with persuasive words of wisdom. And he got laughed off the stage. Acts records that only a few came to faith. The next location Paul visits is Corinth. In 1 Corinthians, he writes that he did not come to them with persuasive words of wisdom. Instead, he came with a demonstration of God’s power. That way, their faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God.

Where apologetics fits

I think apologetics is good. There are going to be times when a curious person is a strong objector, and these people need apologetics. But 90% of people are just not in that camp. In the rare exchange where you need apologetics, your number one tool is this phrase. “You know, that’s a good question. I know a lot of Christian thinkers have wrestled with that. But I haven’t studied it, or I can’t remember what they said. I’ll jump online, do some reading, and let you know what I find.”

But when I read the Gospels or Acts, most people come to faith through seeing the demonstration of God’s power. What better way is there to evangelize than to care about people and pray for them? Doing that makes room for God to put his power on display.

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