Welcome to part one of a series of blog posts designed to help you share your faith and take steps toward making disciples of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life. After reading this post, go ahead and check out “Step 2” here.

Good news is meant to be shared and because of what Jesus has done for us, we have the best news on the planet! There is no greater joy than to be used by God to bring people to a faith in Jesus that changes their destiny for eternity! But when you hear the word “evangelism,” what emotion does it trigger for you? If you’re like most Christians, feelings of fear and inadequacy quickly grip your heart.

So, what would it take to move the needle away from dread and toward excitement when it comes to sharing the gospel? How do we begin to view evangelism as something that we get to do in the everyday stuff of life? How do we start to move down the path of joining Jesus on the great adventure of His redemptive mission right where you are?

In this series of blog posts, I will outline several simple steps that have been extremely helpful in my own journey of overcoming the fear of evangelism. My prayer is that they will also help give you encouragement and confidence to live as an everyday missionary where you live, work and play.

Step 1: Start with Prayer

This may sound cliché but starting with prayer is absolutely essential. Our task as representatives of Jesus on earth is not something that we can do in our own strength. When it comes to sharing our faith, and living “on mission” with the gospel, it is easy to make the mistake of thinking that we need to come up with a master plan. This usually results in a lot of anxiety! We must continually remind ourselves, through the discipline of prayer, that our Master already has THE plan!

We don’t need to create a master plan; our Master already has the plan!

While living on mission takes movement on our part, the journey is not self-guided. Through prayer we learn to trust the Holy Spirit to guide our next steps with the people that God has put in our sphere of influence. Whether we realize it or not, God is already at work in the world around us. Prayer is simply the key to awaken our awareness of what He is already doing, and also the means to align our lives with the great adventure of His grand redemptive mission. The Holy Spirit, who empowered the first disciples to spread the gospel of Jesus throughout the world, is the same Holy Spirit that indwells and empowers us! The question is, “are we listening to Him?“

Ask God, “who have you intentionally and strategically placed in my/our sphere of influence (neighborhood, family, work, social circles, etc.) for the sake of the reaching with the gospel?” Stop and listen. Who does God bring to mind?

Ask God, “what is the first step that I/we need to take with this person (or people)?” What is the Holy Spirit telling you to do?