“I just wouldn’t know where to start.” This common refrain keeps many people from engaging many things, including the work of evangelism.
Analysis paralysis, the state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, may also contribute to this attitude.
Yet I have found the process of personal evangelism to be simple, yet challenging. No doubt, it’s the challenging part that often keeps people on the sidelines. But the Lord has called each of us to be His witnesses.
No matter where you are on the personal evangelism continuum, whether very engaged, very disengaged, or somewhere in between, today brings with it the opportunity for new beginnings.
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven; He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11
Where to start or start anew? Since evangelism is first and foremost a heart issue, the ‘want to’ should always precede the ‘how to.’ So start with the heart – “In your heart set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Peter 3:15). As believers there are many areas in our lives, of which our witness is one. A commitment or re-commitment of our witness to the Lord today is a wonderful place to start.
In Isaiah 6:8, the Lord said: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” May our hearts echo that of the prophet Isaiah, who responded, “He I am! Send me.”