Three Ways to Improve Your Gospel Conversations

Christians are often nervous about having gospel conversations with non-Christian acquaintances, friends, coworkers, and family. They might worry about not having the answers to any questions that might come up or not being able to explain things properly. A lack of training and experience in evangelism makes it hard to obey Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples.”

But the gospel is good news—the best news we can share with anyone! And just a few preparatory steps can help you feel more confident to go out and have gospel conversations as God opens those doors.

1. Prayer and Bible Reading

When we share the good news with others, we rely on the Spirit of God to apply that truth to their hearts and convert them. We can’t turn anyone into Christians—we just share the gospel and let God do the rest! That means our evangelistic efforts should have a lot of prayer behind them. If you feel burdened to share the gospel with a friend or coworker, start by praying for them and asking God for the opportunity to have a gospel conversation.

We can’t turn anyone into Christians—we just share the gospel and let God do the rest!

Also, gospel conversations are likely to involve lots of Scripture. If you are well-versed in what the Bible says, you can bring out passages from all over the Bible to support what you are sharing about God and salvation in Christ. If you are relatively new to all of this, don’t let that stop you from sharing the gospel; as you get experience sharing and as you become more familiar with the Bible through repeated readings, your presentations will only improve!

2. Study Other Evangelists’ Techniques

Many well-known evangelists have honed techniques that work for a reason—they combine effective communication skills with key biblical truths that help people see logically how they are sinners and need salvation in Christ. Watching Ray Comfort’s videos, for example, will introduce you to his method of getting people to see how they have broken God’s law and their need for forgiveness. Or you might like the “Romans Road” presentation, as it uses several passages from Romans to explain the core message of the gospel.

One caveat is that no matter how good or effective an evangelist might be, they’re not inspired like the Bible, so you should examine their presentation to ensure it is completely biblical. Also, sticking to one type of presentation might make your conversations seem overly scripted, so having a couple of “templates” with which you are comfortable can help you have the type of conversation most natural to the situation.

A biblical evangelism technique used by Paul is especially relevant in today’s society. Just like our world today, the Greeks in the first century had no biblical context for the gospel. So, when Paul encountered Greeks in Lystra and Athens, he had to start with the context that made the good news necessary before sharing the good news itself. He laid the foundation of God’s creation of the world to explain why the God he was preaching about had anything to do with people who had been worshipping other (false) gods for generations. See “How Can I Use This Information to Witness?”

Many people today have no concept of sin or why they would need to be saved; they believe in a “God of love” who would never judge them. This means that evangelistic conversations need to emphasize our need for forgiveness, which is only possible because Christ died in our place.

If your church has an evangelism ministry, you might be able to take advantage of evangelism training in your church or team up with a more experienced evangelist to learn from them. Having more experienced evangelists give you constructive feedback and advice can greatly increase your confidence!

3. Share the Gospel!

You can prepare and study all you like, but there really is no substitute for actually going out and sharing the gospel. You will gain more insight and practical experience in a conversation than in hours of reading evangelism books and watching videos.

You can prepare and study all you like, but there really is no substitute for actually going out and sharing the gospel.

For people who feel uncomfortable starting these conversations, volunteering in a ministry where these sorts of conversations are expected, like a prison ministry where inmates come to a meeting to hear the gospel, or a soup kitchen where a gospel presentation is given while people eat, may be less intimidating. These are also scenarios where more experienced members will lead the team.

One way to start a conversation in a manner that doesn’t feel overly pushy or scripted might be to start by asking them a question about their beliefs about God or other spiritual things. Listen to what they have to say, and then you can respond with biblical truth.

4. Don’t Be Ashamed!

Sometimes people are nervous about having gospel conversations because they have an “Achilles’ heel” in regards to their own trust in the Bible. Perhaps they think God was overly harsh with the Canaanites, or they don’t know if God really created in six days or if Jonah literally spent three days inside a great fish.

If your own trust in the Bible has holes in it, how can you have a conversation with others encouraging them to believe it? If there is an area of Scripture where you feel uncertain about what is actually being taught, you have the responsibility as a believer to resolve those issues in your own mind so that you can be a more effective and obedient follower of Christ! Your own faith will also flourish, so it is well worth the effort needed to shore up the foundation of your own faith if there is an area where you feel it is vulnerable.

On the Answers in Genesis website, we have a lot of articles that answer some of the most common biblical objections and misconceptions: see our Bible Contradictions. This can be a good resource for finding answers to questions you might have about the Bible.

5. Don’t Make Assumptions About the Person You’re Witnessing to

One of the most humbling evangelism experiences I had in college was when I had the chance to join a group of street preachers on the other side of town. I engaged in a conversation with a woman who was economically and culturally very different from me. From outward appearances, she might not be who I would have picked as a good candidate for a gospel conversation! However, it quickly became apparent that she had been thinking about these things for a long time, and God had been working in her heart long before our conversation! She connected with the church that headed up the evangelism ministry, and I was thoroughly humbled with a lesson about not judging others.

God saves people of every age, from every people group and ethnicity, and from every socio-economic group. Don’t let outward appearances let you reject a chance for a gospel conversation! You may find God using the experience to grow you as much as to save the other person.

Ultimately, we are not commanded to save people—God does that.

Ultimately, we are not commanded to save people—God does that. We are only called to be faithful in sharing the gospel, which is the best news the world has ever received! And when we are obedient, not only do we get the privilege of being used by God to spread the only message that can save anyone, but we are also blessed immeasurably as we witness his faithfulness!