Is it ever too soon to share the gospel?

When I talk with some other evangelism trainers, we often encounter the question

How soon do we need to share the gospel with some one?

Because we believe in the radical importance of a person’s salvation, we want them to know now.

But we don’t want to be a stubborn jerk or obnoxiously repulsive evangelist.

We want to have some kind of relational equity to freely talk about our faith and their journey.

It’s the tension between

• Patience – time to build relational trust.
• Urgency – what if they died tomorrow?

In this clip, John Piper tackles this question with an “It depends.”

I like the point he gets to:

• Is Jesus precious to you?
• Do you really believe they are separated from Christ with eternal consequences?

Utlitmately, the point to share the gospel depends on the advance working of the Holy Spirit.

• Is the Holy Spirit already at work in drawing the other person to Christ?
• Where is the Holy Spirit’s work creating spiritual thirst?
• How can you help that person make another step towards the water of life?

There is no formula as to when to share.  Your part is detecting how God is working.