Be Willing And You'll Be Ready

Christians are good at potlucks, programs, and group bible studies but evangelism is where we become quiet. According to Church Answers, it takes roughly 85 church members to see one person come to know Jesus. If the Great Commission is for all believers to go and share the Gospel, something does not add up. Numbers like this teach us that roughly the entire church is not sharing the Gospel.

This means our first problem in the church is willingness, not knowledge. If fear or indifference keeps us quiet, no amount of training will make us share the Gospel.

Here are six walls that keep us from being willing, and how the Bible addresses every one of them.

Jesus did everything right and He still got rejected repeatedly. The Rich Young Ruler heard everything Jesus had to say and walked away (Matthew 19:21–22). The people of his own hometown also rejected him (Mark 6:4–6).  

Success in sharing the Gospel is not always measured by the outcome. Its measured in faithfulness because even Jesus got rejected. 

The only way to fail is if you never open your mouth. Measure success by faithfulness, clarity, and love because even Jesus got negative responses

In 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, Paul lays out the Gospel. He is able to share the Gospel because Paul has come to know Christ. If you know enough to be saved, you know enough to share.

JT English is a well-known pastor, author, and church planter. He came to know the Lord at a Burger King in college when a friend sat him down, pulled out a Gospel booklet, and read it in the most monotone voice imaginable. Then looked up and said, “So do you want to get saved?” — and JT English gave his life to God.

If you are saved, you know enough to share.

You don’t and you won’t. Isaiah reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). Paul writes that right now we see only in part (1 Corinthians 13:12). Not knowing everything is not a flaw in the plan. It is part of our daily life.

Your job is not to know everything. Your job is to trust the One who does. Keep learning, keep growing but do not make an idol out of having all the answers.

This one has picked up traction in recent years, so let’s deal with it directly. Evangelism is not listed as a spiritual gift in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12. Ephesians 4:11 mentions evangelists, but that is describing an office, not a gift distributed to some and withheld from others.

Even if it were a gift, we are still commanded to share the Gospel in Matthew 28:18–20.

Treating evangelism as solely a gift is a problematic position because it puts the rest of the Christian life at risk. Romans 12:7 mentions the gift of serving. Does that mean those in the church without the gift of service should never serve? Romans 12:8 mentions the gift of giving. Does that mean you are off the hook when it comes to tithing? This logic builds a very lazy church in a hurry.

Gifting does not excuse you from obedience.  Be willing even if you are not good at it yet.

Proverbs 29:25 says the fear of man is a snare. Acts 5:29 reminds us that we obey God rather than men. In 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Paul makes clear he is speaking to please God, not people. When discomfort keeps us silent about the Gospel, we are revealing something. We either fear man more than God, or we value our comfort more than God.

We push through nervousness for a job interview or have a hard talk with our kids. If we will endure discomfort to live, why draw the line when it comes to living for God?

You don’t have to enjoy talking to strangers. You just have to love God more than you fear them.

After Jesus cast the demons out of the man from the tombs, the man wanted to follow him. Jesus did not say wait to tell others about me until you are better known as a Christian. He said go home and tell them what the Lord has done for you (Mark 5:18–20). We see a similar pattern with the woman at the well. This lady had a complicated past. Jesus knew it, she knew it, and she went and told her whole town anyway (John 4:17–18, 39). Both of them became witnesses not in spite of their stories, but through them.

When my brother Brandon was facing brain cancer, my brother and I sat down with him. We were upfront about the foolish things we had said and done in front of him as kids. We were honest and shared that our past behavior was not right. Then we shared that our past actions should not cloud the reality of Christ. Our actions and reputation matter but they should not keep us from sharing the Gospel.

Do not let the fear of your reputation keep you from the very thing that could change it. Spiritual growth and reputation will come about from sharing the Gospel.

If we want to be faithful, we need to start by being willing.

You are ready to share the Gospel. You just need to start sharing the Gospel in your work, neighborhood, and among new friends.