11 simple ways you can make sharing the gospel a success (with doable examples)
Looking for actual examples of how to make any gospel evangelism encounter a success?
Do you wish you were more successful at sharing the gospel?
If you find it intimidating to share, or you feel like a failure because the person didn’t come to Christ during the encounter, remember that success lies in sharing the gospel in truth and love, not in the apparent outcome.
Here are 11 super simple ways to make sharing the gospel a success!
1. Keep a pleasant tone of voice when sharing the gospel
Did you know that over 90% of communication is nonverbal? This includes our attitude, facial expressions, body language—and yes, our tone of voice.
If we can keep a pleasant and caring tone in our voices, it’s much clearer to the person we’re sharing with that we genuinely care about them and their eternal destination.
It can make the difference between someone really paying attention to what we have to say and them immediately perceiving that we’re not being authentic—no matter how mistaken they might be.
We could inadvertently convey the wrong impression if our voice isn’t softened to their need for the gospel right along with our hearts.
Here’s an example. I used to get pretty annoyed with telemarketers. I’m sure it’s something we’ve all felt.
But once I realized that answering these calls was a way to share the gospel, my mindset changed completely—and so did my voice.
Before, when I was so annoyed, I’d be upset when I discovered the caller was a telemarketer. Now I wasn’t mean or anything, but I certainly wasn’t friendly.
I’d get snippy and terse, just trying to make the call come to an end as soon as possible. I’d get defensive and even go on the offense sometimes, cutting them off before they could make another pitch.
Now when “Telemarketer” flashes across my phone, I’m eager (even if a bit anxious!) to pick up the call.
I respond to their questions in the most helpful way I can—without revealing any private information that could compromise my security or such.
I make sure to have a pleasant tone in my voice and speak to them in a friendly way.
This makes it much easier for them to see my true concern when, after they’ve concluded their business, I turn the conversation toward the gospel.
Simply having a friendly tone to your voice goes a long way to success in witnessing!
2. For success when sharing the gospel, remind your face that you’re saved and smile! 😄
If it’s a face-to-face encounter, remember to smile! After all, what a wonderful and happy opportunity it is to share about our Lord and Savior.
People aren’t good at reading our minds, and if you’re anything like me and tend to get nervous during witnessing encounters 🙋🏻♀️, remind yourself to smile to cue them into your caring intention.
If it’s a conversation over the phone, smile anyway because people can definitely hear it in your voice.
And if it’s over text or other written communication, be sure to include an emoji or some other symbol that conveys that what we’re saying is coming from a genuine heart.
Personally, I like to use a yellow heart, but do what works best for you. 💛
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3. Be kind and genuine for a successful evangelism encounter
I’ve already used the words genuine and caring a time or two, did you notice? That’s because it’s so important for successfully sharing the gospel.
Letting people see your heart and being personable and relatable are essential when broaching the topics of sin, the law, repentance, and Jesus’ saving work on the cross.
It’s an uncomfortable topic for many people to acknowledge, so being kind and genuine is a top priority. We shouldn’t compromise the truth at all, but we should speak it in a loving way.
In fact, God has gone so far as to tell us that if we’re not speaking with love, we’re nothing but a clanging cymbal:
If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1, AMPC
If we’re not speaking with love, then we’re nothing more than an annoying distraction. That’s huge, my friend.
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to be is a distraction from the saving truth of the gospel.
I daresay we can’t be successful in our outreach without kindness and genuineness—or in other words, speaking the truth in love.
4. When sharing the gospel with someone, ask them personal questions about themselves and truly listen to their responses with a caring heart
Sometimes we might set out to reach someone for the Lord with what we’re going to say all planned out and our strategy set in our minds.
But then the conversation might turn another way. It distracts us.
Wait, what?? I didn’t get to drive my point home.
He won’t even let me get a word in edgewise, how can I share the gospel?
She’s not even listening… What’s the use?
Here’s the use, my friend. We’re to be as much like Jesus as possible and adhere to the teaching of the Bible in these situations.
Sometimes—oftentimes—it won’t go as planned.
But as who planned?
We should definitely be prepared, but we need to be flexible and submissive to the Holy Spirit in each encounter, but there’s where true success lies. He might just have a change in plan for us!
Sometimes a person might just need to see that we care about them before they trust enough to listen to what we have to say.
It’s been said that filling an empty belly can go a long way to opening up someone’s heart to the gospel.
After all, how can they listen when we speak of love and don’t recognize their practical need?
People have worries, fears, and concerns that plague them, especially the lost—they don’t have the favored standing that we have as born-again children of God.
Showing interest in people’s lives and needs is something we need to incorporate into our witnessing encounters.
Have a tender heart, a listening ear, and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit in how you should minister to them on a personal, relational, tangible level.
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5. Look for any opportunity to steer the conversation toward the gospel
Oh my goodness, this one gets me excited! We tend to make witnessing complicated and a lot harder than it should be.
If we simply look to Jesus and His example of how to relate to people, we would see that He didn’t operate from a contrived agenda—He simply loved people.
He listened. He helped. He spoke and acted in truth and love.
Even if we’re coming from a place of genuine care, finding a way to speak up with the message of the gospel can come across as judgmental, condemning, and even hateful or self-righteous.
We don’t ever want to compromise the truth but we don’t want to come across as off-putting.
This is why it’s important not to be a Bible-thumper who runs out at people full-speed shouting of hell and damnation.
It’s offensive when there’s no love. We’d do much better to look for openings in the conversation where you can naturally introduce the topic of the gospel.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Wear a shirt or bracelet with an evangelistic message. People might ask you about it, and there you have a very welcome opening.
- One time a nurse was telling me that her cat had gone to kitty heaven. BOOM. Perfect opportunity. I let her finish and when the conversation came to a pause, I brought up her comment and asked if she believed there’s a heaven for people too. Take advantage of a small crack in the door and throw it wide open.
- At a meeting with an attorney, he explained that we might want to make changes in the future. He said there’d be someone else to help us by then, as he’d be in the ground. He finished explaining and I recalled his comment, asking what he thought would happen once he was “in the ground.”
These are just a few quick examples of how to successfully take advantage of opportunities to turn conversations to the gospel.
But what if an opportunity doesn’t present itself?
It might be that you have to create one. If you’re seated next to someone on a plane or in a waiting room or any other place, you can be the one to strike up a conversation.
Ask them about their day, what they do, why they’re there (if appropriate), and chat a bit. Then create your own opening for the gospel in the conversation.
You might say something like, “This might be an odd question, but do you ever think about what happens to us after we die?”
🚪🔑 Door opened.
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6. For a successful evangelism encounter, be helpful where you can
This goes along with listening with a caring heart. Just be helpful. Treat them like you’d want to be treated and show concern for them as a fellow person.
Do they need a meal?
Do they need prayer?
Do they just need someone to listen?
Do they have questions about God?
If you’re afraid you won’t have the answers to their questions, check out this amazing resource from Ray Comfort called Faith Is for Weak People: Responding to the Top 20 Objections to the Gospel (affiliate link), I have it in my own library and it’s super helpful!
Be as helpful as you can, and if there’s something you can’t help with or don’t know the answer to, be honest and admit it.
Believe it or not, you actually build trust with people when you admit to your own shortcomings. Just because you can’t help doesn’t mean they’ll stop listening.
On the contrary, it helps them see that you’re honest and that you believe the gospel to be true, which will cause them to take what you say even more seriously.
If they have a question about God or the Bible that you can’t answer, put them in contact with someone who can. Or ask for their email address or phone number so you can try to find more information for them.
If you ever feel stressed or discouraged regarding evangelism, find more refreshment in this article by Crossway.
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7. When evangelizing, keep the tone of your conversation lighthearted and your attitude loving
We talked about having a pleasant tone of voice, but keeping a pleasant tone to the conversation itself is just as important for making each witnessing encounter a success.
People can spot a fake. So don’t try to be someone you’re not. I’m not a lovey-dovey person. I’m just not. I’m not bubbly and extra friendly. It’s just not me, but that’s okay.
Know that God will use your own style and personality and put you in the paths of people that He wants you to encounter.
But we can do our part to keep things lighthearted. Again, Bible-thumping doesn’t help anything. In fact, it hinders us. So having a condemning attitude is never going to win people to the Lord.
People need the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but it is His job, not ours. We proclaim the reality of sin, hell, and the cross, but the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts.
Keep a compassionate flow to your conversation. Don’t become too serious in your demeanor that you come off as cold, unapproachable, or even condemning.
Treat the person like a friend and speak to them in a relatable way.
You can share about when you realized your sinfulness and your need for the Savior. You can share how God delivered you from something or saw you through a situation.
If they bring up something you’ve struggled with, don’t keep that a secret. Make the saving power of Jesus known to them through that.
Don’t use lots of theological terms with someone who doesn’t know the Lord—be plain in your speech and let the light of the Holy Spirit shine through your words.
Be compassionate and let that show in the way you handle the conversation.
8. Don’t compromise your beliefs when sharing the gospel and don’t force things
Stand strong in the truth of God’s word. Don’t placate someone for the sake of a witnessing opportunity, because when you do that, you’ve already compromised God’s word and been a witness against His truth.
Do as Christ did and speak the truth IN LOVE.
Make it clear that you don’t judge them, but that you care about them and don’t want them to face God’s wrath on Judgment Day.
Relate to them by sharing your sinfulness, how it was that you realized your need for the Savior, and the hope of forgiveness and eternal security that comes from trusting in Him.
Also, keep in mind that sometimes people aren’t ready to accept the gospel. If that’s the case, make sure you thank them for listening to you.
Remember, success in sharing the gospel isn’t in someone’s repentance and acceptance. Success is found in the fact that you shared at all.
God will work through the encounter in ways that you can’t imagine, and often times our job is just to plant the seed.
The reaction that we have to someone’s response to us will speak so loudly, so be sure to react with a loving attitude regardless of their response.
It will be one of the most prominent ways we can impress the love of Christ on them, and they won’t quickly forget our attitude.
Sometimes we might not be able to say much before the person cuts us off, walks off, or lashes out.
This is when we need to remain polite as a representative of Christ to them and allow the Holy Spirit to do His job in God’s timing.
9. Don’t have a preachy attitude—share your personal story along with the gospel
Our testimonies are so valuable! Don’t overlook this wonderful tool you have to relate to others and offer them hope through Christ Jesus.
Look what Revelation 12:11 says about it:
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
Revelation 12:11a
See how powerful our testimonies are?
Yes, we should make the gospel plain to people, but preaching to them about how wicked they are will only scare or anger them.
Point out that we all have sinned and offer them the hope of the gospel as Jesus did.
Share how it is that you came to know Christ.
What has He seen you through?
How has He delivered you?
How has He healed or provided for you?
How has He taken what was meant for evil and worked good out of it?
Share these things with those who need to hear them. People love to be able to feel a connection with someone, so don’t hold back your own testimony for the glory of God.
If you don’t think you have a big testimony, then THAT is your testimony—that God has kept you.
And above all, your emphasis should be on your personal testimony that you repented of your sins and accepted Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for forgiveness.
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10. When sharing the gospel, remember that everyone is going through their own invisible, personal struggles
This is so important to keep in mind. Everyone is dealing with something.
As followers of Christ and His representatives here in this world, we need to be mindful of others, their feelings, and their struggles.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that we compromise our beliefs in any way for the sake of someone’s feelings, but we need to focus on the main issue of appealing to their God-given conscience and speaking the truth in love.
Just caring about them and remembering that they might be having a bad day can help us keep our own emotions in check so we don’t begin to feel insulted or condemned if we’re not greeted with an extra warm welcome.
11. Don’t be offended—if they reject the gospel, it is not you but Jesus that they reject
Always remember that the very fact that you’ve chosen to share the gospel is in itself a success.
And regardless of how the people we’re witnessing to might react, we have to continually remind ourselves that it’s not us they’re reacting to but Christ.
Having this in the back of our minds keeps us from feeling dejected (as well as prideful).
If you’re yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit and speaking the truth—even though in a loving way—the person might not enjoy having their conscience pricked and their sinfulness brought to their attention.
For us, it’s easy to see that the first step toward the loving comfort of the Savior is to admit to our sinfulness, but for a lost person who might have never had such a revelation, it can be tough and uncomfortable.
Keep your eyes on the Lord and choose to remain unoffended.
If the person rejects what you have to say, remember that they’re not rejecting you but the message of truth that you bring.
Final thoughts on examples of how to make sharing the gospel a success
It’s important that we remember that it’s not about us, but about the person of Jesus. Sometimes we plant a seed, sometimes we water, and sometimes we reap.
What matters is this: if we’re presenting the gospel with the right attitude in a loving way, and are surrendering to the Holy Spirit, then we’ve been successful, regardless of the outcome.
Free Prayer Board printable
Are you tired of feeling guilty for breaking your promise to pray for someone? Start keeping your promises today with this free Prayer Board printable—done in 5 minutes!
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- “I’ve repented and trusted Jesus… Now what?” (5 steps to spiritual growth for new believers) 🌱
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- “I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually trusted in Jesus personally…” This is for you. 💛
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