Many people run into the obstacle of fear when going soul winning. When they go soul winning they are frightened of witnessing to strangers. When they try to witness to people in their neighborhood they discover that they are frightened to witness to their acquaintances as well. The problem is they are lacking confidence.
Occasionally we may meet a person that we would describe as self confident. However, in truth, there really is no such thing. A self confident person is someone who happens to be confident in certain areas of their life yet are able to cover up for the areas in which they are lacking confidence. Real confidence is simply knowledge. Areas in your life that you know the most about are typically the areas where you have the most confidence. The meekest woman in all the world shows great amounts of confidence in the kitchen, if she is a knowledgeable cook. Thus she has self confidence in the area where she has knowledge. There are men who are quiet and meek in public and yet on the athletic field they become aggressive and courageous. The difference is that they are knowledgeable in that sport so it brings about their confidence.
A good soul winner must overcome their fears and be confident in their witnessing. The best way is to become a knowledgeable soul winner. Here are some ideas of how you can become a confident soul winner and overcome the problem of fear.
1. Be sure you understand clearly the meaning of salvation. What a wonderful thing to be a Christian and yet how sad it is that so many of God’s people are not enjoying it to its fullest. It can be difficult to tell others about the Lord unless you are confident about the content of what you are sharing with them. Many fearful soul winners are nothing more than soul winners who have really never been taught the scriptural truths concerning the fullness of salvation. Don’t misunderstand me, salvation is simple and yet the price of salvation and that which transpires at salvation are complex and manifold. Remember confidence is knowledge, so understanding and knowing what it truly means to be saved can increase one’s confidence.
2. Know your plan. The plan of salvation is a very vital part of soul winning. The person who is going to have confidence in sharing that plan must know it well enough to where they are not afraid to share it with others with whom they come in contact. The more you know something the easier it is to explain it to someone else. The soul winner ought to know the Roman’s Road so well that they never have to think about the basic plan but rather simply can adjust it to the need of the person to whom they are speaking. We ought to be sure we know exactly how to draw a person to trust the Lord and put their faith in Him not to just simply repeat a prayer. Oftentimes we get the person the gospel but we fail to win them to Christ because we lose confidence and the reason that we lose confidence is because we don’t know what to do well enough to do it properly.
3. Know your approach. When witnessing we should know what we are going to do to approach an individual in order to give them the gospel. Be prepared as to how to begin a conversation and practice them over and over again until you know them well enough to gain confidence in using them.
4. Know your prospects. One of the greatest ways to be an effective soul winner is to try to spend time getting to know the convert well. The better you get to know them the easier it will be for you to witness to them. One method to use is to plan your visits in advance. By getting the names and the addresses of people in advance you can begin praying for them and become acquainted with them. You will feel like you already know them when you to visit them. The better you know them the more confident you are going to have when you speak to them.
5. Know yourself. God has given to each of us a unique personality and a unique experiences in life to develop that personality. All of us have unique personalities; some are more aggressive, while others are more quiet. Either of these can be used effectively as we go soul winning. Rather than fearing ourselves we can allow the Lord to use us to lead others to Christ.
6. Know the Lord. Soul winning is simply introducing someone to our Lord and if we know Him well, we will have the confidence in presenting Him to others who do not know Him at all. Make certain that you are walking with God on a daily basis and you will be so much more able to share His Gospel with others.
7. Know your purpose. Perhaps the most important way to be confident is to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish. You are trying to lead a person to believe upon Christ and to put their total faith and trust in Him for eternal life. A person without a clear knowledge of their purpose will be a person who lacks confidence and will be filled with fears.
TIPS FOR BUILDING CONFIDENCE
Here are few other ways to gain the knowledge and the confidence that is necessary to overcome fear in soul winning.
1. Memorize the Romans Road.
2. Pray – Ask God to help you to be confidence you need to be a good soul winner.
3. Trust the Lord. All you can do is your best. The Lord must take it from there and use it to convict the hearts of the lost.
4. Allow the Lord to use your mistakes. As we go soul winning sometimes our inadequacies can be used to God’s glory. If we sometimes slip up and we have done the very best we can, be confident that God can even take a mistake and bring glory to Himself.
5. Be unselfish. The selfish person is the one who is more concerned with Himself than with the need the other has for salvation. Do not worry about what they think of you as much as what they think of your Savior.
6. Be determined. Do not allow anything to stop you from learning all you can in order to become a good soul winner.
7. Don’t be intimidated. Truth is always greater than error.
8. Rely on the Holy Spirit. Remember that your power does not come from yourself but from the Holy Spirit. Put your faith and trust in His ability to work through you not in your ability.
9. Don’t worry about what they think of you. Why should you be more concerned with what they think of you than what is right for them.
10. Be sure your heart is right with the Lord. If you know that things are right with you and the Lord you can have the confidence that God will bless you in your soul winning efforts.
11. Don’t plan on failing. When you are witnessing and a person does not accept the gospel, know you have done your what you are supposed to do. Just because a person does not buy a product doesn’t mean the product is not a good product. The same holds true with soul winning. What we say is truth whether a person accepts it or not.
12. Turn your failures into successes. Sometimes the greatest thing a soul winner can do is plant the seed. If you have given them the gospel, you have planted a very important seed even if they reject it at the moment. Realize that you have accomplished a purpose by simply giving them the gospel.
All of us have fears in soul winning but many times we can overcome those fears by being better prepared. Let us be aware that we are to go whether or not we are afraid, but if you are afraid remember that confidence is knowledge.