Have you noticed people love to persuade others who are in their circle to follow their interest? What I mean is if I loved a particular movie or a documentary, I would keep talking about it and persuade others to watch the same. Likewise, if I loved a particular book, I would want to strongly recommend in my circle of influence to know about it and ensure they read it. Most likely I would follow up to ensure they have checked on it. We end up being a brand ambassador for free.
Similarly, when people are strongly influenced by something, they often feel a genuine excitement and desire to share that positive experience with others, hoping they might benefit in a similar way. This behavior stems from several psychological factors:
Sharing Joy: When we enjoy something, sharing that enjoyment with others magnifies our own pleasure and strengthens social bonds
Emotional Connection: A strong influence often creates a positive emotional connection and sharing it can be a way of reinforcing that feeling and connecting with others at a deeper level.
Validation: Recommending something and seeing others enjoy it provides validation for one's own positive judgment and enthusiasm.
Altruism: People naturally want their friends and family to experience things that are enjoyable or beneficial, acting out of a desire for others' well-being.
Shared Experience: Recommending something and having others try it creates a shared experience, which can strengthen social bonds and provide common ground for conversation.
Ultimately, these recommendations are often acts of passion and a way for people to connect over shared interests and emotional experiences. But when it comes to the faith it usually does not happen for a believer to share the excitement of the gospel the same way he/she does in other cases. I usually wonder why someone who claims to be a Christian is not excited the same way as the person recommends other things of life. Sometimes I even question if they are genuinely saved. I assume most of the people in Church are just absorbed as a Christian and a member of the Church.
When you are part of a Christian family or born and brought up in a Christian context you end up being a nominal Christian, just fulfilling the spiritual obligations and rituals. Usually, the devotion of attending Church weekly, paying the offerings and involved in Church programs doesn’t make a person to be a witness and share Jesus with others. Churches and ministries substitute with prayers for the unreached without accompanying it with actual sharing. Witnessing and sharing the faith has lost priority and momentum.
Specific statistics on the exact percentage of time within a typical sermon dedicated to equipping believers for evangelism are not available in public research. However, studies indicate that this emphasis is generally low, and formal training is often lacking.
Key findings include:
Low Emphasis on Evangelism in General: A 2020 survey found that 75% of churches said they rarely emphasized "talking about one's faith with those who aren't part of your church".
Infrequent Formal Training: A 2019 survey revealed that less than half (47%) of churches offered any disciple-making or evangelism training programs. In a more recent survey, 16% of pastors stated their church does not offer any formal training on how to share faith.
Preaching as the Primary, but Insufficient, Method: Pastors largely view their sermons as the main form of training for faith-sharing (74%). However, individuals often do not perceive these sermons as sufficient for equipping them; only 13% of individuals in one survey said their church regularly helped with evangelism, compared to 87% of leaders who believed they were doing so.
Lack of Action: Despite 69% of Christians agreeing it is their responsibility to share the gospel, and 68% believing it's the minister's role to equip them, most (over 70%) have not shared how to become a Christian with a stranger in the past six months.
Overall, the data suggests that while the topic may be mentioned in sermons, dedicated time and formal programs specifically designed to equip members with practical skills for evangelism are not a primary focus in churches.
We learn from the gospel writers and from the books of Acts the disciples and all who truly encountered Christ were all unstoppable. For example, the Samaritan lady used her story of shame to persuade people to meet Jesus. Notice Peter and John’s statement which shows if one truly encounters Christ, the person cannot stop talking about it at all. 'for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20. Even though the disciples were strictly warned yet they kept speaking about Christ. Check Acts 5:28 “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching…” And by this principle every Christian today should be unstoppable too but it is not the case.
What has gone wrong? Sometimes it makes me to think Christians love their Churches more than Christ. If you’re going to Church is not having an impact to be a witness and carrier of the gospel then something is amiss. Why has the conviction got lost? If Jesus came to see and save the lost it is therefore your responsibility to continue with Christ’s mission and demonstrate your obedience to the Great Commission. If you are called as a Christian and not excited or constrained to talk about Christ then probably you need to commit yourself afresh and renew your understanding of the true salvation. According to Barna research study, ‘While pastors love to be in the pulpit (it’s their favorite part of the job, in fact), they aren’t always covering what their congregants or visitors hope to hear about. Spiritually open non-Christians—many of whom have some personal history with Christianity—are often skeptical of Church teachings and say they don’t or simply cannot answer their questions.’ Church it is high time to equip the believers, hold them accountable and release them to share the good news. Pastors, model the Great Commission to your Church.
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