You may wonder how to evangelize in a way that is natural, winsome, and effective. We have found some helpful passages in the Bible that we believe will instruct you how to do so.

How to Evangelize Naturally

Let’s start with how to evangelize naturally.

No one enjoys awkwardness. No one wants to lack social grace. The God of the Bible tells us our second priority to loving him is loving others (Matthew 22:38-40). He does not want us to be abrasive, obnoxious, rude, or insensitive any more than we do. So, he helps us. He leads us (2 Corinthians 2:14).

For Christ to lead us, we must be ready to follow. Prayer is the way we get ready to follow Christ’s lead. In the book of Colossians, we learn how to follow Christ into evangelism opportunities:

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:2-4 ESV)

To evangelize naturally, we must wait patiently and ask Christ to lead us through the open doors of conversation into the work of sharing his Word with others (Ephesians 2:10).

People will experience Christ firsthand as they interact with us when we follow Christ’s lead (2 Corinthians 2:15). Christ’s leadership doesn’t guarantee a positive outcome in every social interaction—but that’s okay. Poor reception does not indicate that you evangelized unfaithfully. God simply calls us to share—He takes care of the rest.

To evangelize naturally, we have to wait for and follow Christ’s lead in our lives by praying for and about our evangelistic opportunities.

How to Evangelize Winsomely

Let’s think about Jesus’ ministry to understand what we mean by winsome.

Winsome can’t mean loved by all, because after all, people wanted Jesus dead (Matthew 26:3-4). Winsome can’t mean charismatic, because we know sometimes Jesus escaped the crowds and shirked attention (John 6:15).

But winsome can mean blameless. For no one could find reason to condemn Jesus, even when those who hated him brought him to trial (Luke 23:4; Mark 14:56). Jesus instructs us to bear witness to him with the same kind of blamelessness:

“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Peter 3:15-16 ESV)

Many people try to evangelize winsomely by doing what Paul says not to do in 2 Corinthians 2:17—”peddling the word,” as he calls it. They employ good marketing, trendy communication, professional strategies, and eloquent speech to—well, to what? Win others to repent, submit to, and love Christ for all he has done for them?

No. The word peddle indicates you’re insincere. You don’t peddle something because you understand its value and want to share it; you buy something only to turn around and sell it to make a profit. All these worldly persuasions seem insincere—they may win favor for Christians, but that’s not and should not be our goal. Our goal is to offer people the precious person of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3 instructs us to evangelize winsomely by honoring Christ as holy. This means that we must see Jesus as the awesome pure totally unique wonderful person that he is. He is our hope. And hoping in him purifies us in a way that makes our lives spotless to a watching world (1 John 3:3). To evangelize winsomely, you must aim to see Christ such that it transforms your own character and leads you to treasure him more.

How to Evangelize Effectively

Finally, we have to consider what it means to evangelize effectively.

We often gauge our effectiveness by our results. God gauges our evangelism differently—by our hearts. Our results are up to him (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Effective evangelism must be faithful evangelism. It must include sharing the good news about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) for the forgiveness of our sins, salvation from God’s wrath, and restoration of our relationship with God.

If we want to evangelize effectively, we must proclaim the gospel message accurately, not partially or palatably. This requires boldness just as much as it requires us to know the good news about Jesus (Ephesians 6:19-20).

Effective evangelism will most naturally flow from a heart of worship. Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, hallowed be your name” (Luke 11:2 ESV). If our hearts are in awe of God’s kindness to us in Christ, we will want his name to be honored in the hearts of others and will speak of his wonderful salvation.

How to evangelize naturally, winsomely, and effectively, according to the Bible?

Look at Jesus and let him fill your heart with love. Live to honor him moment by moment before a watching world and ask for the Holy Spirit to lead your heart to worship the Father, so that you will desire to lead others to know him too. Then, ask for the Lord Jesus to lead you into opportunities to share his name, and for the boldness to walk through open doors and speak of him faithfully.