Fear seems to be an issue that is very common throughout the whole world. This is not just towards Christians but also non-Christians. However, fear is a tool used by the devil to paralyze the believer from stepping out into their full potential. It is causing the Christians to live a life of compromise and excuses because of this issue of fear. 

When it comes to the fear of sharing the Gospel, there are two types of fears that we see. 

The first type of fear we see is with the early church as well as countries where persecution is very high when sharing the Gospel or preaching about Jesus Christ. This type of fear is a physical fear. It is the fear of being beaten, tortured, or even killed for your faith. Many of the early church believers as well as other countries on the eastern side of the world, deal with this issue of physical fear. It has either caused some to either be beaten to death by men by of their faith or even deny their faith because of it.

What about when it comes to the Western world? When it comes to the Western world, like people in America, it’s not much persecution. Note that street preachers or those who have some sort of street evangelism do go through some sort of persecution, but because it’s America, it’s not to the degree other countries or the early church went through. So what type of persecution is there that takes place in the Western world? It is fear that is psychological. Meaning it’s the type of fear that is not seen physically but fought internally within yourself and the thoughts that may come across your mind if you were trying to share the Gospel. 

Some of these thoughts are, where do I start the conversation; I don’t even know what to say, how are they gonna respond, etc. its not so much about the message of the Gospel a person doubts but rather doubting themself from knowing enough to communicate the Gospel to someone, to spark the conversation to begin with or how to respond to those who oppose the truth when sharing the Gospel. 

While this may be fear, one thing I can say is you can never overcome your fear by running away from it but confronting it. The more you step out in boldness, the more you share your faith, the more you read the Word, study the Word, and pray, the more it will come naturally, and it will be second nature. You may even start to see opportunities come to you to share the Gospel without actually having to look for it as a response to being obedient with the little by either sharing what the Holy Spirit tugged on your heart to share, praying for someone for healing that needed it, or just sharing your faith in general. These encounters with people will build up your faith to continue to do it more, and by doing it more, you will learn how to direct conversations that bring up Jesus within the conversation without having to try and without the fear of feeling like it is such a daunting task to do. You can then start to see yourself move into an area where it is second nature, and the fear psychologically begins to not be as intimidating.