Many Christian have a difficult time sharing the gospel in a comfortable way (for both themselves and their listener) because they hold some false beliefs about what it means to successfully share the gospel. 

Let’s look at this first false belief. 

False Belief: A successful gospel presentation happens in one conversation.

This not always true. Sharing the gospel can take many conversations and they can sometimes last years. Not everyone is open to the Gospel the first time you speak with them.

How To Share The Gospel Personal Experience – Beating Around The Bush 

I once worked with a man named John for more than 2 years. I got to know John as he taught me sales. We had a good relationship and bantered about Christianity every day. We had discussed all of his objections to the faith, but I never pressured him to a point where he felt uncomfortable so he felt comfortable continuing our conversation the next time we worked together. After 2 years John knew everything he needed to know about being a Christian and I knew it. 

On a calm evening at work, we talked about faith and I again asked him why he didn’t believe in Jesus. He gave me one of his normal objection we had already talked about a dozen times before and I felt like I had built up the relational capital to challenge him. I said, “John, you have been giving me the same answers that you don’t even believe for 2 years now. What’s really holding you back? (To Be Continued…)

When you share the Gospel with an unbeliever, it may take many conversations before they come to a place where they are confronted with a clear decision that they must make. 

In the case with John, there was something holding him back from clearly identifying his choice and it took time to build a deep enough relationship to be able to comfortably address it with him.

False Belief: Many Christians believe that a successful gospel presentation is measured by whether or not someone comes to Christ.

This is also false and leads to conversations where your listener feels pressured and controlled to do what you want. 

Your job as the person who shares the Gospel is to “sow the seed.” Whether or not you see growth (salvation) is COMPLETLY between God and the other person. Trying to force or convince someone to do something they are unsure of is toxic and unhealthy. 

In reality, you successfully shared the Gospel when you have clearly articulated a choice that the listener MUST resolve for themselves.

How To Share The Gospel Personal Experience Continued – Beating Around The Bush 

So I said “John, you have been giving me the same answers that you don’t even believe for 2 years now. What’s really holding you back?” John thought for a while as he sat next to me on a couch. He gulped and said, “I was best friends with my brother who died of a debilitating illness. On his deathbed, he accepted a different faith. I know Jesus gives salvation, but I also know that if I accept Christ I will be separated from my brother forever. I think I would rather be in hell with my brother than in heaven with Jesus.” 

Take a moment to breathe, that’s heavy stuff.

To help you learn how to share the gospel with unbelievers, consider two takeaways from the personal experience. 

1. John had clearly identified and voiced a decision that only he could make. That means this was a successful Gospel presentation. The rest is between him and God. 
2. How bad would that conversation have gone if I had expected to get all the way there in one conversation? That was a critical issue for John, and there would be no accepting Jesus without addressing it. What if I had pushed him to share before he felt safe enough to voice it? That information was none of my business and he was under no obligation to share it with me. That is a truly terrible decision to know you have to make. I have no doubt it took a lot for John to voice that out loud and I wouldn’t expect him, or anyone else to share something like that with the one conversation evangelist.