Many books on personal evangelism tell stories of personal fear. Evangelism is scary for many, for a variety of reasons? Why does one have to be brave?
Here is a list that I have compiled over the years of teaching workshops and seminars and the most common responses that I get to the question “Why are you afraid of evangelism?”
Bad experiences
- Door to Door
- Drive-by Evangelists
- Pushy televangelists
- “My friend was obnoxious with me.”
- Clumsy Apologetics (being caught without answers)
Emotions
- Fear of Rejection
- Losing a friendship
- Fear of offending
- Feeling inadequate
- Embarrassment over unanswerable questions
Perceptions
- Fear of what others will think about you.
- Rudely Interrupting somebody’s life
- Being seen as arrogant
- Your own weakness, hypocrisies, and inadequacies
- Personal Doubt
Guilt
- Pastor says so.
- Jesus says so.
- To mess up somebody’s eternity destiny is your fault
Let me ask you this?
What would you add to this list? Feel free to add to this list in the comments below.
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About EvangelismCoach
I talk slow. I had a brain tumor. I am of average intelligence; I graduated college, but still people hear me talk and assume I am mentally retarded or something. I do have mental problems and I do have problems socializing. Despite these things I try to serve the Lord Jesus and fail every day. Because of my fears I avoid people I fear confronting and pick people I feel are safe to talk to. I am getting nowhere with this. I am a coward and probably lazy also. In addition to all of this I feel like I have no idea how to approach people. The minute they hear me speak they are turned off. I tried giving out keychains to break the ice but that don’t work well either. I am my own stumbling block.
@woodrow,
I can’t imagine what difficulties this presents, and even can’t imagine how a text comment on a website can address this in a way that a face to face conversation would entail. I’d be happy to have an email conversation with you to encourage you.
Chris.