Effective Ways of Sharing the Gospel
Discover practical ways to share the Gospel effectively in everyday life. Explore the importance of sharing the good news, overcoming fear, building relationships, and preparing to share the Gospel.
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The Great Commission
16 Now, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
If you saw this blog and thought, “I’m not a pastor, so this probably isn’t for me,” you’re the exact person that I hope reads this! Just because you’re not called to vocational ministry doesn’t mean you’re not called to share the Gospel. If we are in Christ, then we are in ministry.
Even though we're not all called to be preachers, all of us are called to be on mission. This doesn’t mean you have to be in a pulpit or screaming from a street corner (actually, please, don’t do that). It can be as simple as doing a podcast, writing a blog post, or sharing a brief conversation over coffee or lunch. All of these things are opportunities to share the Gospel.
So, in this blog, we’ll talk about some practical ways to share the Gospel and equip you to prepare for those conversations.
Why Does Sharing the Gospel Matter
If we believe that the Gospel is the good news that we proclaim, and news is meant to be shared in relationship, then sharing the Gospel is inherit to our Christian DNA. If we believe that, then Christianity isn’t simply history, facts, or odd stories. It’s meant to be lived out on mission.
Jesus left heaven to come into a broken world to redeem it. Jesus Christ was on mission on Earth. He was sent out to proclaim the good news of repentance and belief because the Kingdom is here. So if we are Christians, meaning little Christs, we are to do as Christ did: proclaim the good news of the Kingdom and preach repentance and belief.
Before our Lord ascended into Heaven, He left His disciples with a mission, with an invitation to adventure, known as The Great Commission. In that, He said, “All authority in heaven on Earth has been given to me; therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely, as I'm with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Our task is clear, and our purpose is explained. Now, it’s our duty to share the Good News!
Before You Get Started
1) Addressing Fear
Sharing the Gospel can elicit a lot of emotions—from excitement, joy, and longing to share with others—but it can also produce anxiety and shame. Maybe our hearts whisper, “There are Christians who do this way better than I ever could,” or “I’m not cut out for this.” There can also be fear that you won’t have the right things to say or that you’ll ruin the witness of Christ.
That’s normal.
On the front end, we want to be bold and say you don’t have to know all the answers. It’s unlikely you’re a seasoned theologian, and that’s okay…neither were the disciples! There were uneducated fishermen! But they had the power and presence of God. St. Peter fumbled his way through the Gospels, but after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon him, his words became charged with the grandeur and power of God.
The Lord does not call us to be successful when we step out on mission. He calls us to be faithful. Our lack and weakness are married to Christ’s abundance and power through the bond of faith and trust.
2) Share In Relationship
As our first note, sharing can be anxiety-inducing. But rather than starting by evangelizing strangers at the mall, start with your own context: your friends and family. When you share with those you’re in relationship with, you remove a great degree of the fear of the unknown. If you’re in an authentic relationship with them, the chances they will reject or hate you immensely plummet. Sharing the Gospel in a way that comes from your heart and is spoken in love will carry through that relationship.
As we saw in the Great Commission, Jesus tells us to not only baptize them but teach them, which implies that sharing the Gospel is relational.
Sharing the Gospel begins with a good point of contact and a form of common ground. Begin with shared passions and interests, which are inroads to the heart. Forming a friendship over shared loves is fertile ground for the Gospel. Ask what they like to do. What are their passions in life? What’s something that you can bridge to the Gospel?
Regardless of how well you know them, one point of contact will be brokenness. We all come from a place of brokenness. We all feel it and are trying to escape it in our own ways. Often, Jesus met people in the Gospel at moments of desperation, and He brought His light and love into their darkness. We can do the same.
A good prayer to pray every morning is, “Lord Jesus, I am open to adventure with you today. Show me who I can bring your light and love to.” That’s a dangerous prayer! Jesus will show you and lead you. It might be a tear in a stranger’s eye at the coffee shop or a co-worker who seems down or off. That’s an open door. Simply ask, can I help you? Can I listen?
We all have the memory of Eden in us. Our attempts to escape the brokenness are our longing for God, which becomes the bridge to Christ.
Begin with listening and compassion. People will not hear what you’re saying, especially if you’re poking at an inner part of their person unless they know where you stand with them. If they know that you’re for them and have their best in mind, they will have an easier time hearing what you have to say.
3) Know Your Testimony
Building a relationship with someone may be easy when you have shared commonalities. It’s something you can work to build a relationship over. But another way to connect with someone is by sharing your story. Share the trials and life that you’ve led. What path did God put you on to lead you to your salvation?
Sharing your testimony can be a less intrusive method of connecting with people. The person you’re sharing the Gospel with will have their own struggles. They might even have very deep hurts from their time in the church. Or it could be wounds from outside the church that you’ve also experienced.
Sharing your testimony makes the Gospel incarnational. It takes the story from the pages of Scripture and makes it come alive from the story of your life. Here is why the Gospel, the good news, is good news to me! Here is how Jesus has touched and redeemed my story. For a skeptic, it’s a lot easier to dispute the miracles and encounters with Jesus written down two thousand years ago. It’s a lot harder when you share a miracle or encounter with Christ in your life.
That’s how much of the Gospel spread in the early church. This method also takes the onus off of us to have all the right answers or logical consistencies of an argument.
If you’re unsure of how to share your testimony, we encourage you to learn the Two-Minute Testimony method. It’s a very succinct and direct method of sharing how God has transformed your life.
[READ MORE: The Two-Minute Testimony]
How To Prepare to Share the Gospel
1) The Gospel of Christ
So much of the anxiety that comes with sharing the Gospel comes from a fear that we don’t know enough or that we will fail, but God has given us the Spirit who will give us words and the Scriptures, which are living and active, sharper than a double-aged sword. The Bible can speak for itself.
In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.”
Sharing the Gospel is not a TED Talk, where there is simply an exchange of ideas. Sharing the Gospel is opening up the Word and letting Jesus move. In the Lord’s words coming from the prophet Isaiah, “So My Word which goes from My mouth will not return to Me empty. It will do what I want it to do and will carry out My plan well.”
There is no one like Jesus in any story, history, myth, or piece of literature. When you meet Him as a character in the Gospel story, you get the impression that this swashbuckling, outlaw, poet, miracle-working Messiah is capital R real, present, alive, and on the move. As you share the Gospel, simply invite others to read Scripture with you. The Lion of Judah will do the rest.
2) Teach to the Heart
When you’re reviewing Scripture, look at the context of your listeners. Where are they in life? Where are they physically, emotionally, or mentally? How do I contextualize the Scriptures to those who may hear them? If someone is in a moment of exile, how can you offer the hope of God? If they are in grief, how can you offer God’s peace? If they have been cut low, how can you show them Jesus’ gentle and lowly heart?
3) Offer Restoration
Give people a bigger picture. Yes, Christ died for you individually, and he would have died even if you were the only person in existence. However, the Christian message is not to say this prayer and see you in heaven in 50 years. The Gospel is the good news through Jesus Christ for all of creation. It’s not just about getting to Heaven. It’s about Heaven coming to Earth and allowing God to work through us as broken creatures called to restore and bring light to this Kingdom.
The Gospel is a cosmic restoration focused on bringing justice and healing in our neighborhoods and communities. It’s not just about fixing me and my issues but bringing Heaven to Earth.
Sharing Christ’s love is what happens when the Gospel invades every part of our life. It’s a response to Jesus and the price He paid for us. This is not an opportunity to glorify ourselves but to say Jesus has overhauled my life, and together, we can overhaul the brokenness in our communities. We have the invitation to be characters in God’s cosmic redemption story. What better honor or joy could there be?
Encouragement For Sharing the Gospel for the First Time
1) Desperate Love
Good teaching and ministry come from a person’s desperate love for the Gospel and for the people you’re teaching. The greatest “virtue” of our culture is tolerance, which is really a subtle form of indifference. Often, we as Christians fear sharing the Gospel because it might seem intolerant of other’s beliefs or opinions. But true tolerance doesn’t mean you have to believe or approve of other beliefs. It means you show compassion and respect to someone who holds different beliefs and opinions. Tolerance is not a virtue; love is a virtue.
In his book Forgive, Tim Keller quotes Rebecca Manley Pippert who talks about witnessing two of her best friends making choices that she knows are bad for them, and she is frustrated and angered. She says:
“‘Can’t you see? Don’t you know what you’re doing to yourself? You become less and less yourself every time I see you! Real love…stands against the…lie [and the sin that] destroys.”
Isn’t this the sign of a true friend who loves their friend enough to speak up when something could cause them harm? Wouldn’t you want a friend like that?
Desperate love is willing to speak the truth that gives Life, even in the face of fear.
2) Allow God to Speak
“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.” 1 Peter 4:11a
When we teach, the goal isn't to give our words or a human word. The goal is to speak the very words of God from His Scripture. That takes all the onus off of ourselves and empowers God to speak through you.
“If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 4:11b
3) Depend on the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of God is our great helper. In our weakness, when we don't know what to say or pray, the Spirit intercedes for us “with groanings too deep for words.” So when we feel insufficient and can’t muster the right words to say, pray that the Spirit would fill you and that the right words will pour from your lips.
Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Abiding with Jesus is how the power of God and the Holy Spirit flow through us as conduits and vessels. Our sharing of the Gospel should be an overflow of our abiding presence with Jesus.
4) Joy
Yes, there is a weight to sharing the Gospel. However, as Christians, that responsibility is a joy. Christ has put the encouragement you need in your heart to prepare whatever context of teaching you might be stepping into. You may not have the words, but what you do have is the opportunity to show how God has transformed your life. In doing so, you’re showing people the genuine love of Christ.
What Are Some Resources to Teach or Share?
1) The Bible
This seems like a no-brainer, but it always starts with the Bible. So many resources are available that we can jump into others' words and ideas about the text without reading God’s Word and digesting our observations through prayer and discernment.
Outside or secondary sources are important, but the first step is always Scripture and the transforming power that it can have on our lives.
2) Biblical Resources
Once you’ve studied Scripture, there are good places online to turn to that will help you further digest the Scripture you’re studying.
Dr. David Bauer’s Essential Bible Study Tools is a wonderful book that categorizes the best commentaries for every book in the Bible along with other Biblical topics. Commentaries are great, but not all commentaries are equal. Rather than looking up, “best commentary for Matthew” on Google, turn to a trusted guide like Dr. Bauer who can recommend the next best step in your study of the Scriptures.
3) Be Imitators
Just as Paul tells those after him, “Be imitators of me.” Look to pastors and mentors who love the Lord and teach based on the Bible’s authority, and emulate them. When I’m teaching or sharing, I’ll follow these steps, and then I’ll reference proven faithful followers of Christ, such as Tim Keller, CS Lewis, Dallas Willard, or Maxie Dunnam.
TL;DR
This blog emphasizes that everyone, not just pastors, has a role in sharing the Gospel.
It stresses the importance of building relationships, addressing fears, and sharing personal testimonies.
The key is to be prepared by knowing the Gospel, understanding your audience's needs, and offering hope and restoration.
The blog encourages reliance on the Holy Spirit, desperate love for those you're sharing with, and using the Bible and reliable resources as tools.
Lastly, it suggests emulating faithful Christian leaders as a guide in your Gospel-sharing efforts.
Related Reading
The Two-Minute Testimony by Nathan Cook
How Do I Read the Bible by Grant Caldwell
What is Prayer by William Merriman
