A message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron OH, Sunday, July 14, 2024.
For the “Live in Church” audio of this message, click here.
I heard a statistic about a week or so ago that was very surprising. It was about believers in Jesus Christ and how they share the gospel to people who are non-believers.
For the sake of clarity, let’s make sure that we’re all on the same page as to what it is to be a believer in Jesus Christ. I’m going to pull from passages in Romans Chapter 10 where Paul is sharing truths that summarize when a person comes to the realization of the need for salvation in Jesus.
First, let’s set up the key words to be a believer by reading these words from Paul:
Romans 10:9-10, 13 NIV
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Paul makes it crystal clear that the true believer in Jesus makes the declaration that “Jesus is Lord” and that He was resurrected from the dead, and it is not just with words, but it also comes from deep within the heart. It is a declaration of conviction.
So now that we know what it takes for a person to become a believer, let’s go back to the surprising statistic about believers and sharing the gospel of salvation.
Here’s what I heard—in its simplest terms, out of 100 people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, only 5 have shared the gospel. 5 out of 100, or 5 percent of all believers.
It’s rather hard to swallow when hearing something like this. I searched everywhere to try to source this declaration, but I found that it doesn’t help us to address the substance of the statistic. We need to go deeper than just the 5 percent number. We need to look at believers and get deeper into why so few of them are sharing the gospel.
The reason why this is a big deal is that believers in Jesus are to be present and active in ministry. The word ‘ministry’ comes from the Greek word ‘diakonia.’ It is used 32 times in the New Testament and is translated as “ministry,” “service,” “relief,” or “support.”3
All believers are ministers. The ability to share the gospel of Jesus is about being in ministry for Jesus; as a result, being ready and able to speak up and share the gospel is very important. Also, to be clear, we’re not talking about service for the sake of doing something nice or traditional—it is service that prioritizes your sincere, humble faith in Jesus:
Luke 10:38-42 NIV
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Now, I am not going to ask any believers in Jesus in the room to raise hands as to whether or not you have shared the gospel with an unbeliever. I would much rather that you consider the following:
1.) Your answer is not to receive brownie points from me or anyone else, and 2.) Jesus knows if you are telling the truth.
It’s best if every believer listens to what will follow here and have a private discussion with the Lord about how you are sharing the gospel or not sharing the gospel.
Remember what I said earlier about having a heart for Jesus. It’s more than just knowing who Jesus is. Jesus wants you to know more about Him in a heartfelt relationship that will make sharing the gospel a natural thing for you to do. As natural as breathing. Hold your thoughts on this and pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to provide wisdom and clarity in your relationship with Jesus.
I found a substantive survey of believers that actually addresses this issue. The Jesus Film Project published in 2020 the findings of their survey: We Asked 1600+ Christians Why They Don’t Share Their Faith.1 When you look at the data from this survey, you’ll find that 17 percent of respondents expressed that they did share the gospel freely and there was nothing that hindered them from doing so, but it also revealed that a much higher number of the respondents had reasons not to do so. It is also important to show that the subjects in the survey covered all age groups from 18 to over 65 years of age, and the majority of subjects was 32 percent at age 65 and older, and the next highest was 55-64 years of age at 21 percent.2
If you want to know what keeps a believer from sharing, let’s examine some of these answers. Here’s an important question for all of us to consider: What prevents people from sharing their faith? From the survey by the numbers:
- 22% said fear keeps them from sharing
- 17% didn’t have opportunities to share
- 10% didn’t feel equipped to share
- 9% said others weren’t interested
- 8% feared rejection for sharing
- 8% feared hostility for sharing
- 8% were too busy to share
- 4% were too shy to share
- 4% couldn’t find an appropriate time to share
- 4% didn’t find it easy to bring up the subject
- 3% didn’t want to come across as pushy for sharing
- 3% didn’t want to offend others
I’m not passing judgment on any of these reasons. The reason for this is that it would not be productive for me or anyone else to express condemnation for those who could not share. If anything, it raises concern that teachers need to do a better job (including myself) of what it means to be a disciple for Jesus and to be sensitive to the challenges that confront believers in sharing the gospel. Let’s not add to the problem by giving Satan a foothold in this matter. Satan loves when we don’t share our faith. Let’s always remember that Satan is already defeated because there’s nothing that can come between Jesus and His love for us. Our mental approach to this is that we are more than conquerors. We have the victory in Jesus!
Romans 8:37-39 NIV
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus loves you. He knows what you’re going through. He wants you to know Him more and more.
1 John 4:19 ESV
We love because He first loved us.
Romans 5:8 ESV
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Everything about our relationship with Jesus centers on the love He has for us. As we learn more about Him and what He did for us on the cross, my prayer is that it will help believers to grow even more in their relationship with Jesus. It is this growth that will help them to express themselves more in sharing that love for Jesus with others. This is how we take the act of ministry and demystify it. To demystify ministry is to make it less mysterious.4 We tend to make the act of ministry something that can be much bigger than us. My desire here is to show anyone who is interested that sharing the gospel has a lot to do with discovering and purging the things that hinder your testimony as you grow more and more confident in Jesus. The more you see the love of Jesus, the less that you will give attention to those things that keep you from sharing your faith—you’re demystifying ministry!
Let’s look at three of the main reasons for not sharing the gospel and address them head on:
A. Fear
In plain talk, the fastest way to overcome fear is to humble yourself before the Lord. We are not to share the gospel in our own flesh. Believers must draw upon the Holy Spirit to beat back fearfulness.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 118:6 NLT
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
Sometimes our fears are based upon what we think will happen to us when we share the gospel. These reasons may be real or imagined. Some of the survey respondents were afraid of rejection. Some were afraid of hostility. Some were afraid of offending others.
Think about this for a moment. Is it possible that you’re taking too much ownership in this aspect of your ministry? There are so many Bible verses about not allowing fear to overtake you because the struggle with fear is real, but Jesus tells each of us to turn from fearfulness and live in His peace.
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let’s pray even more and focus on Jesus. He is the answer to overcoming fearfulness and anxiety. Here’s an assurance for you: The more that you are in prayer and working with the Holy Spirit in your ministry, God will enable you to be able to share your faith. Our ability to share the gospel is proportional to our sanctification in Christ.
Ask yourself this very important question: Are you growing in Christ?
Believers aren’t sharing the gospel if they’re struggling with their faith.
B. Opportunities to share
God may or may not provide windows of opportunity to share. But we need to see that sharing the gospel is not limited to our perception of opportunity. When the Lord declares that it is His desire to see everyone come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, it is not limited to any time or place constraints that we have a tendency to look for. This is why He simply calls us to pray:
1 Timothy 2:1-4 NLT
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
People getting saved is as unpredictable as understanding the ways and thoughts of God:
Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Rather than looking for the right time or place to share, I’m challenging you to consider that we are to share the gospel and to let God take care of the salvation piece. Just be ready to share, period.
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
C. Unequipped or underequipped to share the gospel.
I’m actually surprised that 10 percent of those surveyed shared they “didn’t feel equipped to share their faith.” Well, let’s discuss this. I’ll ask a hypothetical question here: How can one determine when one is equipped to share?
Well, a review of Scripture does not provide any insight into how much knowledge a person must possess to share the gospel, but we all can agree that it has to start somewhere! Your ability to share is based upon four things that I can see as relevant to the believer:
1.) Your personal experience with Jesus
2.) Your reading and study of the Bible
3.) Your obedience to the Word of God
4.) Your reliance on the power of the Spirit as you share
As you live for Jesus, He wants to see you develop relationships with others that paves the way for sharing the gospel, but it doesn’t require a Herculean effort to do these things. It doesn’t require having a college degree, either, but we do need more believers reading and studying the Word of God. (If you’re not reading God’s Word every day, you’re hindering your own communication with the Holy Spirit.) Jesus wants you to always move in obedience to His Word, read and study His Word, pray continually, and rely upon the Spirit. Don’t look at what others are doing in this endeavor. Jesus wants you to trust Him and continue to grow in your relationship with Him.
Jeremiah, when he was called to share what God wanted Him to say to the Israelites, did not feel qualified to speak. God did not allow him to rest on that statement.
Jeremiah 1:4-8 CSB
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.”
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am only a youth,”
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,
for I will be with you to rescue you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Perhaps you don’t feel equipped to share the gospel because things aren’t really right with God. If that is the case, it’s less about qualifications and more about needing to acknowledge your sin with Jesus and repent. Look at how God dealt with the prophet Isaiah on this matter:
Isaiah 6:1-9a CSB
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies;
his glory fills the whole earth.
4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Armies.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said:
Now that this has touched your lips,
your iniquity is removed
and your sin is atoned for.
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking:
Who will I send? Who will go for us?
I said: Here I am. Send me.
9 And he replied: Go!
As you grow in your relationship with Jesus, He absolutely will reveal to you what you need to do to be able to share the gospel with others. It has everything to do with what I shared earlier—humbling yourself before the Lord. When you do this, you’ll see that sharing will be an afterthought because it will be natural and Spirit-filled.
Philemon 1:6 ESV
And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
Sharing the gospel is what Jesus commanded for all of us to do. The Lord is patient with us, but He wants us just to go in the same manner that He told Isaiah to move.
Just go!
Mark 16:15 ESV
And he (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Go in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Acts 1:8 ESV
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The best way to share the gospel is to do it in your own unique way. Yes—just be yourself! This is how you demystify your ministry. Jesus wants you to speak up and share about Christ as you share about His goodness in your life.
John 20:21 ESV
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Please take the time to reflect on this message, pray to the Lord for wisdom and guidance as you consider how you can demystify your ministry for Jesus.
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Copyright © 2024 Melvin Gaines.
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1 We asked 1,600+ Christians why they don’t share their faith. Jesus Film Project. (2023, November 2). https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog/christian-evangelism-statistics/
2 Jesus film project’s multigenerational survey on evangelism. Jesus Film Project. (2023, November 2). https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog/jfp-multigenerational-survey-evangelism/
3 Houdmann, S. M. (2018, May 2). What is the meaning of diakonia in the Bible?. GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/diakonia-meaning.html
4 Harper Collins Publishers. (n.d.). The American Heritage Dictionary Entry: Demystify. American Heritage Dictionary Entry: demystify. https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=demystify
Melvin Gaines 