----This article has been edited---
I've gained a little more wisdom to help people out with conquering their fears. Note the article below is not nessesarily an absolute solution to conquering fear. I've tried to keep it biblically solid but i'm bound to make mistakes. USE YOUR WISDOM, if i post anything contradictory to the bible don't be stupid and believe it! PM me and i'll check it up and make the changes where appropriate.
----This article has been edited---
These are just my personal tips for those who fear people when witnessing. I found it helps ALOT when getting out there and laboring for lost souls. Again i emphasis that i'm no teacher, no preacher, no deacon, no *insert big church name thingy here* just a normal guy, kinda good looking
, partly intelligent (bad thing?) and onward trying to complete my degree.
Before i do write this in case people get paranoid thinking i'm a hypocrite, i've examined myself deeply before writing this. I witness to at least 1 person a day mostly 1 on 1 (my personal commitment to God), i don't expect people to do the same, this is just my personal commitment.
I have been doing this for nearly 6 months and i've learnt alot. God has graciously granted me wisdom and guidance over the past 6 months and i'm overly thankful for His patience with me and my mistakes and failures.
So!
We first divide the 3 most common fears for a christian when witnessing and how to deal with them.
Ready? - Too late, we're starting!
FEAR 1
Religion is a sensitive issue.
This is mostly common with people with low self esteem *puts hand up*. They will go red when trying to talk about God and religion to people who are unbelievers or just close friends or relatives. They can't even mention the name of Jesus without getting uncomfortable. Most of the time, they will feel very nervous with christians who try to ask them where they're at in their spiritual walk with God.
Common fear or not, i suffered it and it really sucks. Truely, it's the most
annoying fear you'll get.
However this is actually on a scale of 1 to 10 of the "I'm too scared" level would be close to about 4.
Most people think it's 10 in fact, almost everyone thinks it's 10 but it's a totally totally overrated fear. Totally, from my experience, i kicked myself for being so scared about it.... ouch.
FEAR 2
Persecution, tribulation, people hating you, people thinking you're a dork, people intimidating you.
This fear on the scale of 1 to 10 is 10. The most toughest fear to tackle and certainly the most challenging.
When you witness, you hate it when people scoff off at you or call you a moron or insult you, reject you, hate you, tease you etc. I mean, comon, who doesn't? The last thing you want is to feel rejected. Why? Because we're humans, we love to be accepted. We love to be loved. Simple.
However you're out there on a battlezone, you're not going to get sunshine and lollypops. You're going to get slander, hateful words, insults, and persecution. In the extreme cases, you'll probably meet up with physical beatings, something you want to avoid hehe. I haven't been beaten up yet but i have been insulted before, many times.
Hardest fear to deal with, something i'll cover afterwards.
FEAR 3
Not knowing what to do.
7 on the scale. This fear varys from christian to christian. Some christians know what to do exactly but others got no clue whatsoever.
So, personally, i don't believe there's like 1 single way to witness to people AS LONG as it is not leaning to the prosperity gospel (Jesus will give you Joy peace and happiness, He's got a wonderful plan for your life, Jesus will fill that God shaped hole in your heart)
This is another annoying fear that i think it's overrated. Like always, peopel will find it different but it comes down to you. For me, this was 10 on my scale, i had no idea what to do.
------------------------------------------
So these 3 fears are probably the main fears. I'm sure there's others but i'm only going to cover what i've experienced and the ways around it.
TIPS and how to combat these fears!
FEAR 1
Religion is a sensitive issue.
This fear is easily overcomed. How? Well, start fellowshipping with christians. Get to church and talk around and start talking about God, what God has done for you on the cross. This fear like i said is overrated, it's easy to overcome this fear.
People who are uncomfortable with this probably have never gotten into a church or are just not getting into God's word. So start getting into God's word and start fellowshiping with christians. The best way to sharpen a sword is to use a surface harder than the sword itself.
Ching! easy.
FEAR 2 (Edited)
Persecution, tribulation, people hating you, people thinking you're a dork, people intimidating you.
This is the toughest fear you'll face. I don't think i've met any christian who has not faced this fear. I'm sure there are some but i haven't met them yet.
One thing all of us hate was being bullied at school. this is a form of persecution.
Same when witnessing to people, you don't want them to lash out at you or hate you or get offended (btw some people WILL get offended regardless how gentle you are) so what can you do? You don't know who will get offended will you?
In the US the marines endure weeks of physical toture but also verbal torture. The trainers will insult, revile and curse their soldiers in training to 'harden' them up and build up morale so that they will not be shaken in combat.
With witnessing, you gotta find some way to harden yourself up. How? Well, instead of getting someone to curse and insult you, just get out there and learn to take insults in a Christ like fashion from those who get offended. Jesus was insulted but he did not insult those back. Do the same, if people insult you, don't offer any insults back. Just take it in, and shake it off.
Unfortunately there's no guaranteed safe way to conquer this fear. The only way i've been able to conquer this fear is to force myself to witness and take insults patiently. Eventually you will easily shake off insults or slander, there's no big deal. This is more to do with experience than to personal fear. I've witnessed nearly everyday for nearly a year now and i'm not as afraid of being rejected anymore.
Remember there are multitudes of christians who were martyred for their faith and they go through insults and all kinds of persecution way worse than your average bully in school.
And important note to keep in mind. Remember you are to witness out of love. it's a common mistake for enthusiastic christians to go out and witness and purposefully start trouble to get persecuted for their faith. One particularly damaging thing about this is that you will appear as an extremist, which to the world out there has about a ton and a half of negative conotations.
They are motivated because Jesus said 'if you're persecuted because of your faith you'll have great reward in heaven'. Folks, also remember are you doing it just for the reward or are you doing it for the salvation of the lost? Persecution WILL come, guaranteed, if you go out and find it, you risk getting more than you bargain for. Instead, ask God to protect you and that if persecution comes, that you will have the strength to take it patiently.
I have made this mistake and fortunately i got out of it quickly with nothing but a spiritual scratch.
FEAR 3
Not knowing what to do.
The articles below talk about an important method of witnessing.
Always convince them of sin first. Use the Law to do that. NEVER give the gospel immediately unless they are broken or humble. Because what you do is you gospel harden them. You give arrogant, proud and self righteous people the gospel that was never intended for them. You must plow up the stoney ground hearer by getting them to be concerned for their salvation and about hell too. THEN you give them the gospel because they know what they're being saved from. It sounds like hellfire preaching but it isn't as the articles below explain.
http://www.ttwministries.com/witness/articles.htm
I encourage you to read the articles. These are awesome methods of witnessing to people and knowing all that you need to know.
It's very easy to understand and you don't have to be a bible theorist to witness to people. In those articles contain some very cool information about how to witness to people like Jesus did, talk about hell judgement day, God's wrath and repentance in an orderly way. No strings attached it even has some written conversations that you can follow.
Also www.wayofthemaster.com
Handy place to learn how to witness. Watch some of the episodes!
---------
Well those are just some tips to breaking through some fears that christians have. Remember, that there are countless lost souls out there that we need to lead to Christ, let's get out there and do something. I am and i'll continue to make sure i am. How about you?
I've gained a little more wisdom to help people out with conquering their fears. Note the article below is not nessesarily an absolute solution to conquering fear. I've tried to keep it biblically solid but i'm bound to make mistakes. USE YOUR WISDOM, if i post anything contradictory to the bible don't be stupid and believe it! PM me and i'll check it up and make the changes where appropriate.
----This article has been edited---
These are just my personal tips for those who fear people when witnessing. I found it helps ALOT when getting out there and laboring for lost souls. Again i emphasis that i'm no teacher, no preacher, no deacon, no *insert big church name thingy here* just a normal guy, kinda good looking
, partly intelligent (bad thing?) and onward trying to complete my degree.Before i do write this in case people get paranoid thinking i'm a hypocrite, i've examined myself deeply before writing this. I witness to at least 1 person a day mostly 1 on 1 (my personal commitment to God), i don't expect people to do the same, this is just my personal commitment.
I have been doing this for nearly 6 months and i've learnt alot. God has graciously granted me wisdom and guidance over the past 6 months and i'm overly thankful for His patience with me and my mistakes and failures.
So!
We first divide the 3 most common fears for a christian when witnessing and how to deal with them.
Ready? - Too late, we're starting!
FEAR 1
Religion is a sensitive issue.
This is mostly common with people with low self esteem *puts hand up*. They will go red when trying to talk about God and religion to people who are unbelievers or just close friends or relatives. They can't even mention the name of Jesus without getting uncomfortable. Most of the time, they will feel very nervous with christians who try to ask them where they're at in their spiritual walk with God.
Common fear or not, i suffered it and it really sucks. Truely, it's the most
annoying fear you'll get.
However this is actually on a scale of 1 to 10 of the "I'm too scared" level would be close to about 4.
Most people think it's 10 in fact, almost everyone thinks it's 10 but it's a totally totally overrated fear. Totally, from my experience, i kicked myself for being so scared about it.... ouch.
FEAR 2
Persecution, tribulation, people hating you, people thinking you're a dork, people intimidating you.
This fear on the scale of 1 to 10 is 10. The most toughest fear to tackle and certainly the most challenging.
When you witness, you hate it when people scoff off at you or call you a moron or insult you, reject you, hate you, tease you etc. I mean, comon, who doesn't? The last thing you want is to feel rejected. Why? Because we're humans, we love to be accepted. We love to be loved. Simple.
However you're out there on a battlezone, you're not going to get sunshine and lollypops. You're going to get slander, hateful words, insults, and persecution. In the extreme cases, you'll probably meet up with physical beatings, something you want to avoid hehe. I haven't been beaten up yet but i have been insulted before, many times.
Hardest fear to deal with, something i'll cover afterwards.
FEAR 3
Not knowing what to do.
7 on the scale. This fear varys from christian to christian. Some christians know what to do exactly but others got no clue whatsoever.
So, personally, i don't believe there's like 1 single way to witness to people AS LONG as it is not leaning to the prosperity gospel (Jesus will give you Joy peace and happiness, He's got a wonderful plan for your life, Jesus will fill that God shaped hole in your heart)
This is another annoying fear that i think it's overrated. Like always, peopel will find it different but it comes down to you. For me, this was 10 on my scale, i had no idea what to do.
------------------------------------------
So these 3 fears are probably the main fears. I'm sure there's others but i'm only going to cover what i've experienced and the ways around it.
TIPS and how to combat these fears!
FEAR 1
Religion is a sensitive issue.
This fear is easily overcomed. How? Well, start fellowshipping with christians. Get to church and talk around and start talking about God, what God has done for you on the cross. This fear like i said is overrated, it's easy to overcome this fear.
People who are uncomfortable with this probably have never gotten into a church or are just not getting into God's word. So start getting into God's word and start fellowshiping with christians. The best way to sharpen a sword is to use a surface harder than the sword itself.
Ching! easy.
FEAR 2 (Edited)
Persecution, tribulation, people hating you, people thinking you're a dork, people intimidating you.
This is the toughest fear you'll face. I don't think i've met any christian who has not faced this fear. I'm sure there are some but i haven't met them yet.
One thing all of us hate was being bullied at school. this is a form of persecution.
Same when witnessing to people, you don't want them to lash out at you or hate you or get offended (btw some people WILL get offended regardless how gentle you are) so what can you do? You don't know who will get offended will you?
In the US the marines endure weeks of physical toture but also verbal torture. The trainers will insult, revile and curse their soldiers in training to 'harden' them up and build up morale so that they will not be shaken in combat.
With witnessing, you gotta find some way to harden yourself up. How? Well, instead of getting someone to curse and insult you, just get out there and learn to take insults in a Christ like fashion from those who get offended. Jesus was insulted but he did not insult those back. Do the same, if people insult you, don't offer any insults back. Just take it in, and shake it off.
Unfortunately there's no guaranteed safe way to conquer this fear. The only way i've been able to conquer this fear is to force myself to witness and take insults patiently. Eventually you will easily shake off insults or slander, there's no big deal. This is more to do with experience than to personal fear. I've witnessed nearly everyday for nearly a year now and i'm not as afraid of being rejected anymore.
Remember there are multitudes of christians who were martyred for their faith and they go through insults and all kinds of persecution way worse than your average bully in school.
And important note to keep in mind. Remember you are to witness out of love. it's a common mistake for enthusiastic christians to go out and witness and purposefully start trouble to get persecuted for their faith. One particularly damaging thing about this is that you will appear as an extremist, which to the world out there has about a ton and a half of negative conotations.
They are motivated because Jesus said 'if you're persecuted because of your faith you'll have great reward in heaven'. Folks, also remember are you doing it just for the reward or are you doing it for the salvation of the lost? Persecution WILL come, guaranteed, if you go out and find it, you risk getting more than you bargain for. Instead, ask God to protect you and that if persecution comes, that you will have the strength to take it patiently.
I have made this mistake and fortunately i got out of it quickly with nothing but a spiritual scratch.
FEAR 3
Not knowing what to do.
The articles below talk about an important method of witnessing.
Always convince them of sin first. Use the Law to do that. NEVER give the gospel immediately unless they are broken or humble. Because what you do is you gospel harden them. You give arrogant, proud and self righteous people the gospel that was never intended for them. You must plow up the stoney ground hearer by getting them to be concerned for their salvation and about hell too. THEN you give them the gospel because they know what they're being saved from. It sounds like hellfire preaching but it isn't as the articles below explain.
http://www.ttwministries.com/witness/articles.htm
I encourage you to read the articles. These are awesome methods of witnessing to people and knowing all that you need to know.
It's very easy to understand and you don't have to be a bible theorist to witness to people. In those articles contain some very cool information about how to witness to people like Jesus did, talk about hell judgement day, God's wrath and repentance in an orderly way. No strings attached it even has some written conversations that you can follow.
Also www.wayofthemaster.com
Handy place to learn how to witness. Watch some of the episodes!
---------
Well those are just some tips to breaking through some fears that christians have. Remember, that there are countless lost souls out there that we need to lead to Christ, let's get out there and do something. I am and i'll continue to make sure i am. How about you?
. I remember my first time witnessing was in the fourth grade. It was to some of the teacher's aides that watched us the playground lol. I was sooooo nervous but, I just prayed (for a few minutes), took my fliers over to them and, told them about my church and all the good things that were going on. We were having a Christian movie night and, they ALL showed up
! I was so proud of myself and God. He really showed me how powerful He can be through little young me. Now, that I'm alot older, I've learned to ask God for an opening to witness, encourage, and advise people according to His desires of us as Christians.....He has never failed me. I always ask that He gives them an open heart to recieve what I have to say and guide me every step of the way. I feel so grateful and honored when He chooses to use me to help someone else
