Nurturing Spirituality: Overcoming Barriers to Evangelism

The Barrier Barriers for Believers

· The Barrier of Indifference

· The Barrier of Time

· Barriers to Isolation

· Intellectual Barriers

v Questions for Personal Application

Nurturing Spirituality: Overcoming Barriers to Evangelism

On the door of evangelism, Christians face many barriers, such as fear, inadequacy, limited time, and isolation from unbelievers. Unbelievers face emotional anxiety, volitional fear, and intellectual fear. These, however, can be overcome through meaningful relationships, prayer, and gracious objections. James Stuart, a professor of the New Testament at the University of Edinburg, made a powerful statement about evangelism for Christians" "The threat to Christianity is not atheism, communism, or materialism, but Christians who want to sneak their way into heaven incognito without ever having to share their faith,"[1]

II. Barriers to Believers Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest (Matthew 9:37-38). Many are faced with these barriers, such as the barrier of fear, as they have not quite figured out the approach to evangelism. Bearing in mind that Paul says, "give no offense to the gospel: Jews, Greeks or the church of God; Just as I also pleased all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but for the profit f the many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthian's 10:32-33). III. The Barrier of Fear There are many reasons why believers are afraid to share their faith, even though we are called to be the salt and light of the world. The main reason why believers do not share their faith is fear of failure. There is always a fear of losing a friendship and becoming alienated, labeled, and avoided. Many Christians are afraid of rejection if they are not accepted. One thing to remember is that when people reject the message of salvation, it does not mean they are rejecting you as a person. Many people are confrontational in their evangelistic model. However, if we begin to be more relational to people who can take weeks, months, or years and leave the rest in the hands of God, we can relax in the relationship that we build and leave the rest to God to bring forth conviction.[2] IV. The Barrier of Indifference The survey shows that not many Christians who have been saved for a long time have many unbelieving friends. It is primarily new converts that are trying to share their faith. Unfortunately, mature Christians are not reaching out to the lost as they should. If we look at it this way, the world is going up in flames, and many are putting their trust in their good works, their merits, their possessions, and their power. However, the gospel tells us that God has ordained only Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead. Only Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man, and only Jesus Christ is the world's Savior.

V. The Barrier of Time We would often like to be involved but find ourselves with a lack of time. This is when we need to put things into proper perspective, as our mindset shapes our priorities, and our priorities shape our practice. We must remember the words of Jesus that admonish us to seek the kingdom of righteousness first, and all things will come adding unto his (Matthew 6:33). This is how we will treasure things in heaven. Then ask God to energize our activities. Our time on earth is very brief; therefore, we need to invest in the kingdom's resources in every way. Therefore, we need to walk as wise people and make the most of our time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16; Psalms 90:12; Ecclesiastics 8:5; Colossians 4:5; James 4:14-17). We should examine the way we invest our time, say every fifteen minutes, to see how productive our time is being used so that we can reschedule our time accordingly. We need to cultivate an eternal perspective.[3] VI. Intellectual Barriers It is being said that the examined life is not worth living, according to Socrate; Likewise, the unbelieving faith is not worth believing. To be very effective in evangelism, one needs to be prepared to answer popular questions that we are likely to encounter. If someone asks a question that we have no knowledge of, we should admit it, research it, and present the answer. Believers should learn to defend their faith. Here are popular questions in the world that believers should study and have the answers to: 1. Does God really exist? 2. Why do you believe in a miracle? 3. Christianity is just a crutch, isn't it? 4. Can you trust the Bible? 5. If God is so good, why is there so much evil and suffering? 6. How Can Jesus be the only way to God? 7. Will God judge people who never heard about Jesus? 8. If Christianity is true, why are they so hypocritical? 9. I am a good moral person. Will that help? 10. Isn't believing in Christ too easy? 11. What does believing mean? 12. Can people be sure of their salvation?[4] V. Questions for Personal Application ü Which barrier do you find most debilitating in your life? ü What experiences do you have with evangelism that is relational, confrontational, and problematical? ü How comfortable are you with building relationships with unbelievers? ü Try to rate your ability to answer the various objection. Do you find yourself weak in any of the areas? ü Are you specific and consistent in your intercessory prayers for unbelievers in your sphere of influence?[5] Bibliography Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Revised Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020. [1] Boa, Conformed to his image, 398. [2] Boa, Conformed to his image, 400. [3] Boa, Conformed to his image, 402.. [4] Boa, Conformed to his image, 404. [5] Ibid., 412.