Do you make any of these top 3 mistakes of personal evangelism?
Evangelism is a spiritual work.
When we make it a human work, we
- feel pressure to get a decision.
- feel unprepared to handle every possible objection.
- feel insecure in presenting what we personally know about Jesus.
Rather, evangelism is the work of the Holy Spirit.
But even with that in mind, we are prone to errors.

Evangelism mistake #1: fail to pray
Prayer prepares your heart, and God uses prayer to draw people to Christ. Evangelism is ultimately a spiritual work.
Perhaps you can create a prayer list to help you with that?
Action step: Make a prayer list of friends.
When was the last time you prayed through your list of friends?
See Also:
- Ten Prayer Points For your Friends
- Prayer and Evangelism
- Three Verses on Prayer (in a book review article)
- Take the Risk, Offer to Pray.
- Prayer and Evangelism (Acronym to lead your prayer)
- HEART.
- Evangelism PAINS
- Prayer Strategy for Personal Evangelism (PODCAST)
Evangelism mistake #2: spend zero time with non-Christians
Most effective evangelism happens between friends.
But many of us have been Christians for so long that we have few if any non-Christian Friends.
Thus, one highly effective habit to be intentional in building deep and authentic relationships.
As you look over your list of friends you are praying for, who do you need to “get to know better” or “spend some time with” this coming week?
Related Article: Spheres of Influence
Evangelism mistake #3: control the conversation
This one is huge.
There are evangelistic methods where the evangelist controls the conversation through leading questions.
Others require the evangelist to steer the conversation from the mundane to the spiritual in a few short steps.
I watched one evangelist talk about the credibility of the bible, when it was clear that wasn’t a question in the mind of the listenener.
Instead, listen for spiritual thirst.
Spiritual Thirst opens conversational doors.
Good questions will open the door to great conversation, rather than leading the conversation down a defined path.
Read:
- 5 Great Spiritual Conversation Questions
- 44 Spiritual Conversation Starter Questions
- 20 Evangelism Questions To Start a Conversation
- Evangelistic Conversation Starter Questions
Personal Evangelism Coaching:
If you would like personalized help in personal evangelism over the next 60 days, I provide a telecoaching service of four phone calls over a 60 day period.
Read more about it here: Personal Coaching for Personal Evangelism

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