“Don’t be scared; be prepared.” We follow this well-known boy scout motto in so many situations because we understand how important it is to prepare before tackling a challenge. Soldiers train before going into battle. Runners exercise hard before a marathon. Prospective employees anticipate answers to possible interview questions. Similarly, Christians must prepare to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. Are you prepared? How can you prepare?
Pray—God knows your weaknesses, and He knows you need His help. Ask Him to work through the talents He has given you. Search your heart, and humbly pray that God would purge you of laziness, apathy, excuses, or anything else that Satan uses to prevent you from obeying Christ (Ps. 139:23-24; Jas. 4:7). Pray for ideas and opportunities. Pray without stopping (I Thess. 5:17). Ask God to help you love people as He loves them (Jn. 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:14-15), seeing them as desperate souls in need of a Savior (Acts 4:12; Rom. 6:16, 23; 2 Thess. 1:8). When your heart is fully surrendered to Christ, you will find that He Himself will prepare you and strengthen you in the task of evangelizing the lost (Phil. 2:13; Jas. 1:5).
Plunge—Immerse yourself in the Word of God (Ps. 119:16, 32, 55, 62, 105, 164). Study passages about the Gospel* and ask God to help you to understand it fully. Memorize—a lot. This will be tough but is necessary. Set aside just a few minutes each day to hide God’s Word in your heart (Ps. 119:11) so that you will be ready to answer people with Scripture (I Pet. 3:15). When your heart and mind are full of the Bible, God’s words will be ready for you to use at any moment to give others the truth. Scripture is powerful and will accomplish exactly what God pleases (Is. 55:10-11).
Practice—Get together some family members or friends and practice articulating your faith. Have other people pretend to be an unbeliever with whom you are having a Gospel conversation. Have them contradict you or ask you challenging questions. Practice using Scripture to convict hearts of sin and to convey the Gospel message. Hone your personal method. Make sure you are prepared to share your own testimony. If you have an awkward personality, practicing these things helps.
Plan—See “Practical Ideas for Sharing the Gospel” for some things you can do to share the Gospel.
Remember that “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (I Cor. 1:27). You may say awkward, foolish things; you are a weak human being. But Christ is your wisdom (see I Cor. 1:27-31). You may not have answer for every intellectual objection to the Gospel, but you have the power of the Word of God and the testimony of His presence in your own experience. Ask God for wisdom, get in His Word, and be submitted and prepared to obey Him by sharing the Gospel.
*Some Gospel passages to study (alone or as a family):
God is holy: I Sam. 2:2; Is. 6:1-7; I Pet. 1:16; I Jn. 1:5
We are sinners: Rom. 3:9-23; I Jn. 1:5-10
Our sin separates us from God: Is. 59:2
We deserve hell: Ezek. 18:10-13, 20; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 21:8
Jesus died: Matt. 27:45-50; Mk. 15:33-39; Lk. 23:44-49; Jn. 19:28-30
Jesus was buried and rose again: Matt. 28:1-10; Mk. 15:42-16:13; Lk. 24:1-49; Jn. 20:1-29; I Cor. 15:3-4
Jesus’ death paid the price for our sin: Is. 53; Rom. 5:6-9, 6:23; II Cor. 5:21
Repent: Matt. 3:2; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 5:32; 13:3; 24:46-47; Acts 2:38; 3:18-19; Rom. 2:1-5; II Cor. 7:9-10; Ps. 51
Believe the Gospel: Mk. 1:15; Jn. 3:16; 11:26; 20:29; Acts 10:43; 16:31; Rom. 1:16; 4:5; 10:9-10; Heb. 2:10-15; 4:3; I Jn. 5:1; Eph. 2:8-9
Receive eternal life: Jn. 14:6; Rom. 6:23; I Jn. 5:13
Lead a transformed life: Jn. 15:1-17; Rom. 12; II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-32; 5:18-21; I Jn. 1:9
Salvation is forever: Jn. 10:27-29; I Thess. 5:23-24; Heb. 7:25
