10 Simple Steps toward Doing Evangelism

As we continue our article series on evangelism, I’m reminded that most Christians struggle

with telling the gospel to anyone. In fact, many believers will never evangelize another person. If you’re a church leader, I especially want to challenge you today to take the lead in modeling for your congregation a heart for non-believers—though I’m writing to all Christ-followers. If you struggle with this task of evangelism, here are some simple starting points:  

1. Ask God to restore your wonder and passion for Him. When we’re most amazed by Jesus, we’re much more likely to talk about Him. Take a look at Mark 1:21-28, for example, and watch what the people did: when they were amazed at Jesus’ teachings and miracles, they spread the news about him throughout the region! That’s the primary reason I wrote my little book, Nobodies for Jesus – to help us be fascinated again. 

2. Start wondering about the spiritual condition of everyone you see. Make yourself do it—ask in your mind, “I wonder if that bank teller knows Jesus.” Or the convenience store clerk. Or your neighbor. Or your co-worker. Or your barber or hair stylist. Or that driver who cut you off in traffic. Or even a family member whose spiritual condition you don’t know. Learn to see people as Jesus did, as sheep without a shepherd. 

3. Enlist another believer to pray what Paul asked for in Ephesians 6:18-20 (for boldness in speaking the gospel) and Colossians 4:2-4 (for clarity and opportunity when evangelizing). To put it simply, if Paul needed that kind of support, you and I do, too. Find somebody today to intercede for you. That person might be even an evangelistic accountability partner who asks you to pray for him, too. Prayerfully push each other to tell others about Jesus.  

4. Focus on five non-believers you know, and pray every day for them. Ask God to open their blinded minds to hear the gospel (2 Cor 4:3-4). My list includes more than five people, but I do have five who are my primary prospects. I desperately want God to save them, and I almost can’t help but pray for them each day. Your daily praying – even if it’s brief – will deepen your burden for people to know Jesus. 

5. Every day, tell somebody you know something good about God. All of us can speak about the way God cares for us. Even if all you say is, “God has been really good to me today,” that’s a start. It doesn’t matter if the folks you talk to are believers or non-believers; I simply want you talking about God each day. If you speak about God at least once each day, you’ll learn to speak more often about Him—and you’ll do it with more ease.  

6. Connect with a church leader or layperson who seems to be doing evangelism. Frankly, it might be hard in some congregations to find this person (and maybe you should become this person in your church), but prayerfully ask God to help you find someone. Learn what steps that believer is taking to do evangelism. See what struggles he faces, and hear how he pushes past them. Ask if you can accompany him when he evangelizes. Watching somebody else do it might give you the courage to do it. 

7. Participate in your church’s evangelism training. If your church isn’t providing any, ask your pastors for guidance. A church that isn’t training people to evangelize isn’t fulfilling its responsibility. You might even look to see if another church in the area is doing this kind of training. One simple tool I recommend to turn a church outward is "The Hope Initiative" from Thom Rainer’s Church Answers group. It’s a great resource for moving a church toward evangelism through a simple daily process.  

8. Prayerfully and carefully develop a genuine friendship with a non-believer. I say “prayerfully and carefully” because I want you to make sure you influence the non-believer for good—and not the other way around. As you deeply walk with the Lord, ask Him to connect you with a lost person you genuinely learn to love. You can hang out with others without losing your witness, and you can show them both the joy and the fun of being a Christian. Even if you are at times uncomfortable with folks who think and act differently than you do, we won’t reach non-believers if we don’t have relationships with them in the first place.  

9. Be upfront and honest with a non-believer about the gospel. I realize this approach isn’t always possible, but I’m increasingly doing evangelism this way: “You know, I’m a follower of Jesus, and one of our responsibilities is to tell others what He’s done for us. May I take a few minutes to tell you how He’s changed my life?” It’s honest, it’s to the point, and . . . I’ve found some folks willing to listen. In fact, most folks have given me a few minutes to talk.  

10. Keep praying. The process of evangelizing non-believers is not always easy. And, it doesn’t take much to turn our attention from this task even when we’ve made a commitment to strengthen our evangelism. Discouragement can set in when others don’t listen. Our own sin can cause us to stop evangelizing. Sometimes we turn our attention to equipping other believers and convince ourselves that only those with the “gift of evangelism” should do the harder work of gospel-telling. Whatever excuse you might come up with to not make the commitment this article is calling for, ask God to help you lay it down. Telling others about Jesus is too important to listen to our disobedient voices—so keep praying, and start somewhere in your evangelism!