Evangelism for Introverts

From Gospel Translations

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Revision as of 14:38, 30 June 2025

Street vendors fascinate me. I’ve refused them time without number — but it hasn’t been personal. Deep down, I admire them. I wish I were more like them.

They seem unafflicted with the fear of man. They step into the middle of the walkway, make eye contact, smile, and then thrust their perfumes or cellphone covers upon you. They know we don’t want to hear, yet they speak anyway. One woman snared me recently with her heavy accent. She lifted her voice, and when she saw me pause, she knew she had me. She smelled fear. Before I knew what had happened, my children held massive balloons in their hands and toys in their arms, and she was asking them which ones they liked best. She was insistent that I hear her message.

Why don’t I share the gospel like that?

How many times do I, to use the illustration, sit off to the side, waiting to be questioned by lost men and women wondering about some man named Jesus? How often do I seize moments, make eye contact, lift my voice, and speak the good news of Jesus Christ to those who do not volunteer to meet me at church?

We have the best news to share, the greatest offer to proclaim — at the best price for our hearers. Will street vendors be bolder? “It’s not in my personality,” you reply. You are shy and introverted. Your parents never had to tell you not to talk to strangers. Your discomforts make the Great Commission feel more like a great burden. How can you overcome your uneasiness to better participate in Christ’s mission?

I want to help smother this fear. We should be telling people about Jesus, not paying the pastors to do that work for us. And I wish to err on the side of practical advice, suggesting two courses of action seldom considered. I will assume your own love for Christ, your constant prayer, your dependence on the Spirit, your knowledge of the gospel, a growing concern for the lost, and a jealousy for God’s name. How can the shy become bolder for the glory of God?

Desensitize Fears

Consider our street vendor. Is he indifferent to rejection? No. But he has been desensitized. The first few days of having his timid offers unheeded may have stung, but a hundred days later, his fear has dulled. “No thanks” does not quake the ground anymore. It’s not personal. As he shows up day after day and talks with people he doesn’t know about products most don’t want, his fear becomes more manageable.

Gradual, repeated exposure to what we fear diminishes it. We know this. When our kids first enter the pool, we start them in the shallow end and bring them deeper over time. We don’t throw them straight into the deep end.

The same with evangelism. We err when we assume our only options are to jump in over our heads or remain poolside. You can wade in strategically. You can grow more comfortable with what is required in evangelism before you evangelize. It’s not all-or-nothing.

Say you set a goal for yourself to walk up to one stranger in your local park and share the gospel with him by the end of the summer. Yet you are uncomfortable speaking to strangers. Terrified even. But a part of you wants to. Needs to. You’re tired of being a slave to fear, and know you should do it, can do it, God helping you.

But what now? One answer: Desensitize. Start by giving a meaningful “hello” to five strangers every day for two weeks. People at the park, walking by your house, at the grocery store. Then, add the next week, “Hello, how are you today?” After a good time of prayerfully facing fears, work up to a, “Hello, this may sound strange, but I am a Christian, and if you don’t mind — is there any way I can pray for you?” And then, “Hello. I am a Christian and have discovered the greatest news in the world and believe everyone should hear it. Do you mind if I share it with you?”

People will look at you strangely. Some will say things you don’t expect (both negatively and positively). God will be honored, and in time (we trust) souls will be saved. Evangelism always requires faith and courage, but taking prayerful steps to desensitize yourself to fear can help. Mountains shrink to hillsides, then to molehills, through repeated attempts.

Or maybe your fear is rejection. Some of us need to hear “no” more — on purpose. How? I’ve had it suggested to me to ask for requests you know will be declined to face your fear. Ask the Chipotle guy if it is possible to buy one burrito and get a second free. Ask the Starbucks lady for a free coffee. As you ask in good humor, something like this can be quite humbling and good for us. Over time, you’ll take yourself less seriously, fear the dreadful “no” less, and offer the gospel more freely — hearing many “noes” along the way. Prayerfully desensitize yourself to this fear by facing it in controlled doses.

Develop Your Voice

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Proverbs 18:21). The tongue has a power to promote life or death, and this is nowhere more evident than in sharing the gospel. Some may alleviate the conscience by saying faith is a private matter between them and God. But we say with David and Paul, “I believed, and so I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13).

But you may not talk much. You get nervous — your palms sweat, shoulders tighten, throat dries. Most shy people are shy, I’m convinced, because they are not confident communicators. At the very least, they are shier than they would be if they spoke more confidently. Their lack of vocal strength, clarity, or musicality sustains the internal lie that others do not wish to hear them. They don’t sound pleasing. So, they grow insecure and thus remain in their shell, attributing the whole to their fixed personality.

I’ve asked fellow introverts, “If your voice sounded more pleasant, were more reliable, had a more resonant, clear sound, would you speak more than you do now?” Their answers are predictable. Of course they would. The fear of not sounding good chokes many attempts. I am convinced that voice-work is sorely neglected in general, but especially for shy sheep in the church. Some of those most worth listening to remain the quietest among us — for humility, yes, but also for want of confidence in playing their instrument.

And this silence builds walls between us. Such is the power and miracle of the voice. Your voice is a channel to soul-expression. The voice can reveal you, unite you to others, share not just your message but your deepest self with hearers. When voice coaches talk about speech, you realize that they are not offering improved presentations in class or at work; they are offering to liberate you. They know the voice is the channel of our thoughts, emotions, convictions, the road our inner man travels to meet with others. Words communicate us. And Christians know that this is deeply theological. Our God is a speaking God who has existed eternally with the Word. We image and self-reveal through words.

So, how tragic it is for this canal to be clogged and damned by years of neglect, insecurity, and bad habits. I know this firsthand. Throughout life, I’ve talked little. I’ve been studying the voice to try to make up for lost time. And I have found that you can learn how to use your voice. You do not have to continue forever cloistered in lackluster, cracking, half-choked speech all your days. You can speak passionately, dynamically, even effortlessly at times, on the other side of much effort. Out of the heart, the mouth can speak competently.

So, better vocal habits can unlock a lifestyle that is more conversant and confident to speak of all things, including the most important thing, Jesus Christ. Just as you have learned bad habits, you can learn good habits. Your instrument is intact — it just needs to be restrung. Read books playfully with your children. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Speak your thoughts and read aloud when possible. Give freedom to facial expression. Drill tongue-twisters. Massage your face. Hum often. Sing in the car, and sing louder at church. Practice sharing the gospel with your spouse. Strengthen your core. You can improve your voice. With instruction — to breathe from the diaphragm, to articulate, to relax, to hold good posture, to project your voice forward — you will have more confidence to evangelize. Christians have cared about literacy because we read the Scriptures, and we ought to care about the voice to speak the gospel.

Fools for Christ

No skills or strategies will compensate for true love for Jesus, true love for souls, and a true desire to have others share in your joy. We need the Spirit of God. We need to know the gospel. We need to be born again. We need to pray. We need to embrace being fools for Christ, made weak for Christ, and rejected for Christ. No personality type, diminished fears, or honed skills can replace these needs.

But shy and quiet believer, we need your voice, your story, your insights into the glory of Christ. You may be more of an Andrew than a Peter, but you must speak. You were saved to speak of Christ and his excellencies. Your little corner of the world needs you to bear your testimony to the gospel of the grace of God. Expose your fears, wade into difficulties, develop confidence in your voice, and be free to speak of Christ to the glory of God. Christ is too good, and eternity too near, to remain silent.