There are many different personal evangelism methods being taught these days in the body of Christ.
In part, these different evangelism methods are an outgrowth of different strengths, personalities, personal preferences and diversity in the body of Christ.
Evangelism trainers like myself have found these different ways to help nervous people grow more comfortable in sharing their faith with others. [Read more…] about What is relational evangelism?
Many of us know people who seem to have a simple time sharing their faith.
When we think of the successful evangelists we know, many seem like
No fear in them at all.
However, many of us can be paralyzed by our Evangelism Fears.
There are different Fears of Evangelism
But what about those who are more introverted? How do we share our faith?
This is the question that Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style, Mike Bechtle, seeks to address.
“God designed us with a specific purpose in mind.
The reason?
So we could do what He wants us to do, in the unique way that nobody else could do it.
Why should we try to do it differently? … When introverts spend time trying to function like extroverts, they’re doing more than just wasting time.
They’re actually robbing themselves of the very tools God gave them to do his work.”
However, most programs designed to teach evangelism assume that a person is outgoing and confident in situations like talking to complete strangers in a public setting.
“I’ve found that when I try to share my faith in unnatural ways, my fear gets larger and tends to stop me from sharing. That kind of fear almost always signals that I’m sharing out of guilt instead of compassion.
But when I share in ways that fit with God’s design for me, a creative tension compels me to look for new ways to move forward.
Compassion drives me to look for unique, appropriate ways to make a spiritual connection.”
Bechtle really seeks to develop a way that those of us are a little more on the introverted side can still feel pretty natural in sharing our faith.
The book doesn’t really go into the mechanics of sharing your faith (your Personal Testimony, God’s story, any gospel scripts illustrations).
Rather, he seeks to show introverts conversational settings where they can feel comfortable in talking about their faith.
He does seek to show biblical methods of evangelism, and conversational skills that are matched to your personality.
Over all a good read and one that is worthy of your dime.
Order your copy of Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style, Mike Bechtle from Amazon, and I’ll get a little tip from them.
Recently, a question has been spinning in my mind:
“How do I share my faith without being obnoxious?”
Maybe that is your question too.
I think many have had experiences of being embarrassed by evangelists who misrepresent Jesus, like the campus preacher who called women whores at USF last month. (Photo from TampaBays10.com News)
Or maybe they have have had personal experience in being the obnoxious evangelist.
In the book, Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels and Mark Mittleberg point out that there are a variety of different evangelism styles.
To this list, I would add “Chance Conversations,” based on Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
Some folks are gifted in hearing the prompting of the Holy Spirit and engaging people in conversation.
What style do you think your personality fits?
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