As a new believer, you feel inadequate to share the Gospel because you are scared of people’s pushback. You are fully aware that there are many things you do not know. Your internal dialogue might sound like: “Who am I to talk about God when I barely understand theology? What if they ask me something I can’t answer? What if I say the wrong thing and turn them away from Christ forever?” So you stay silent, convincing yourself that it is more responsible to wait until you are “ready”.
Welcome to our evangelism series. Here, we will explore how to effectively share the Gospel with unbelievers despite being imperfect messengers. We will look at how to prepare ourselves spiritually and intellectually, how to engage skeptics with both truth and grace, how to persevere when evangelism feels discouraging or fruitless, and how to show grace to ourselves when interactions go poorly.
How to evangelize as a new believer?
Here is the truth: you will never be “ready”. There will always be things you don’t know, new arguments to learn, and theological books to read. In fact, the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know. The goal of “knowing enough” is a moving target that retreats the closer you get to it. And while you wait, opportunities to share Christ with people in your life will pass you by.
In the Bible, the Samaritan woman shared the Good News with her village right after meeting Jesus (John 4:28-30, 39-42).
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John–4:29
The man delivered from two thousand demons was instructed to let people know what God has done for him (Mark 5:18-20).
“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. Mark–5:18-19
Nobody told them to wait to be more mature Christians before sharing the Gospel. Nobody told them that they need to get their life together, understand the Kalam cosmological argument, read the entire Bible, and know Church history before sharing the Gospel.
How then are new believers supposed to share the Gospel? I believe the passage about the Samaritan woman and the man delivered from two thousand demons tells us. They just shared what Jesus has done for them.
If you are a new believer, all you have to do is share your testimony! Share it with whoever is willing to listen. Share it with love and humility. Let people know what the LORD has done for you, how He changed you, who you were before you came to Him, and who you are now.
Maybe you were a delinquent, but now, after someone shared the Gospel with you, you cannot even imagine lying on your tax return. Maybe you were depressed and suicidal, but now Jesus has filled you with joy and purpose. Maybe you were self-centered, but now the love of Christ compels you to serve others generously. As Scripture says,
what we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John–1:3
Do not underestimate the power of your testimony!
Sharing your testimony is strategic for several reasons: it is a personal experience, which is harder to dismiss than abstract arguments. It is also less preachy, which makes skeptics more receptive to what you have to say. On top of that, it fits naturally into friendly conversations like any other anecdote.
Final words
As a new believer, you may not have yet read the entire Bible. You may not know yet how to defend the existence of God. You may not be familiar with Church history yet, but you already have a powerful tool in your arsenal. You have your testimony. You have your testimony. And here’s the beautiful truth: you don’t need to be perfect to share it. The Samaritan woman was still living with someone who was not her husband when she effectively shared her testimony to her village.
So what are you waiting for? Go and let the words of your testimony plant seeds of faith in many hearts.
