Hope for timid evangelists

I have a confession: I’m one of the world’s most timid evangelists; it doesn’t come naturally to me (no surprise there). We’ve been working our way through a very practical witnessing workshop to provide a biblical framework for evangelism—one that actually requires you to *gasp* ask questions of non-Christian friends and family!

You wouldn’t think this is a terribly hard thing to do, but it seems to be. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt a sense of hesitation set in before doing something even as simple as sending an email asking a pretty open-ended question. When I see that people are ready and willing to answer these questions (some as pointed as “where do you believe you’ll spend eternity and why?”), I feel a little silly.

But here’s the good news—God’s Word offers much hope for timid evangelists like me, especially in the gospel of Luke. Here are five truths we can embrace:

1. You don’t need to fear man. The worst they can do is kill you. (Luke 12:4-7)

2. You don’t need to be concerned about what to say, especially when facing persecution—the Holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say when you need it. (Luke 12:11)

3. You don’t need to get caught up in results. You are responsible to sow the “seed” of the gospel, not to make it grow. (Luke 8:4-8)

4. You don’t need to be surprised when things get difficult. Jesus has promised these things will come and we will be rewarded as we persevere through trial. (Luke 9:23-27)

5. You don’t need to worry about messing it up—you are the means by which God has sovereignly ordained the nations will be reached. (Luke 24:46-49)

What biblical encouragement would you add to this list?