AFRAID TO SPEAK: How Christians Share the Gospel and Why Others Don’t

 

Imagine this. 

 

You’re sitting across from someone you love—a parent, a sibling, or a lifelong friend—who doesn’t know Christ. The conversation turns deep, the door swings wide open, and the "perfect" moment to share the Gospel arrives. 

 

In that heartbeat, do you lean in with the message of salvation, or does your throat tighten as you suddenly reach for a change of subject?

 

A Snapchat of Modern Evangelicals

Teleios conducted a survey to gauge how evangelical Christians—specifically adolescents and millennials—are approaching the Great Commission.

·       The Respondents: 239 individuals, primarily from Christian Instagram communities.

·       Demographics: 65% female, 70% under age 35, and 81% identifying as evangelical.

·       The Foundation: 82% of these participants affirmed the inerrancy of the Bible.

The full report can be accessed through the Methods used in sharing the gospel.

 

Survey Highlights

The findings aren’t all "doom and gloom." In fact, there is a significant heartbeat of activity within this demographic:

·       69% report sharing the Gospel verbally at least a few times a year.

·       16% are highly active, sharing the message weekly or even daily.

Despite the high frequency of sharing, 36% of participants admitted to feeling afraid. When we dig into the "why," three main culprits emerge:

1.    The Knowledge Gap (66%): Simply not knowing what to say.

2.    Fear of Offense (36%): The worry that the message will be taken as an insult.

3.    Social Rejection (30%): The fear of being sidelined by peers.

Other than fear, many respondents acknowledged a lack of confidence in their ability to explain the Gospel clearly. Nearly half (46%) said they struggle to face objections, while 38% said they cannot adequately explain the message itself.

 

The survey also revealed a strong sense of conviction among believers. About 76% said they feel guilty for not sharing the Gospel enough, and 93% believe they should do so more often. Notably, 20% admitted they may exaggerate how frequently they share the Gospel with others.

 

The Articulation Gap: Why “Lifestyle” Isn’t Enough

One of the most striking findings is the shift toward "Lifestyle Evangelism." While living like Christ is essential, the survey reveals a growing disconnect between living the truth and speaking it:

• 29% believe a Christian lifestyle is the most effective method (ranked #1).
• Only 10% identified verbal communication as their primary approach (ranked #6).

The Reality Check: While a Christlike life provides the evidence, it cannot replace the explanation. If we don’t use words, our neighbors may see our good works but never know the Savior behind them.

Beyond the Guilt: The Need for Practical Training

The survey highlights a heavy burden on believers: 76% feel guilty for not sharing enough, and 93% believe they should do it more often.

The issue isn't a lack of desire; it's a lack of clarity. My wife and I have noticed this in our own ministry—even dedicated disciples often struggle to provide a coherent explanation of the plan of salvation when put on the spot.

Equipping the Saints: A Path Forward

To turn this guilt into confidence, churches and ministry leaders must move beyond "should" and move toward "how." We must equip believers with:

• A Clear Message: A concise and biblically sound understanding of the Gospel (What is the Gospel?)
• Apologetic Tools: Practical ways to handle objections and hard questions.
• Renewed Vision: The joy and confidence that comes from sharing the most powerful message on earth (Galatians 6:14; Romans 5:11).

When Christians combine a Christlike life with clear gospel communication, they fulfill their calling more effectively and open the door for others to experience salvation.

 

Thanks for joining me for this blog. Visit again soon, as we continue to explore the truth of scripture and its benefit to our lives. 

 

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

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For questions or to view more of our research…

 

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com 

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Disclaimer: This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or a recommendation for any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and its contents are subject to change at any time without notice. I work to keep the blog current and accurate, but it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or its content is current, accurate, complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content, or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

Can you find the gospel online?

 

We often ask students, whom we have the privilege to teach, where to find Bible related information. The automatic answer these days is to use an online search or AI since they are fast and convenient. However, websites are written by different authors, and the person writing may not hold a biblical view of Christianity.

 

Christian related websites are probably safe for material nouns such as person, places or things. For example, the tomb of Jeremiah or the temple in Jerusalem. However, great care is needed when searching theological topics such as salvation by faith and security of salvation. Despite these concerns little hard evidence exists, to our knowledge, if Christian websites provide either accurate or misleading theologically related information. 

 

Teleios recently evaluated the accuracy of websites in presenting biblically related information by searching the term ‘gospel’. We assessed if the plan of salvation, as described in the Bible, was presented accurately and clearly. We included the first 55 websites that appeared in order. To emulate a person searching for the contents of the gospel we limited the time on each linked website to one minute to determine if the gospel message could be clearly found. Read more data from this study at https://teleiosresearch.com/gospel-online/. 

 

The study assessed the presence of the four basic elements of the gospel message from Romans 3:23-26 and Ephesians 2:8-9 on each site provided by the online search:

1. Everyone has sinned.
2. God is just and requires a punishment for sin.
3. Out of love God sent His Son, Jesus Christ who by dying on the cross, provided forgiveness for your sins by taking your punishment for you.
4. Therefore, by faith alone in Christ’s sacrifice for your sins and belief in His resurrection, you can gain eternal life.

 

These four points were found in 22 (40%) sites. Incomplete or no gospel information was found on 27 (49%) sites and doctrinal errors were found on 6 (11%) sites (4 added works to salvation while 2 minimized the importance of the substitutionary death of Christ). Of the 22 (40%) sites that correctly presented the gospel, we judged the 4-step plan to salvation was easily found and understood within one minute on 9 (16%) sites.

 

This study shows for someone who searches for ‘how to become a Christian’ using a popular search engine with the term ‘gospel’, the plan of salvation is easily found and understood within one minute in about one-sixth of sites.

 

Further, in searching online for the gospel:

1.  It may take some persistence and surveying a number of websites before finding the gospel correctly stated.
2. Many sites are verbose, and information is difficult to find.
3. Some sites have doctrinal errors or incomplete information which may be confusing.

Consequently, the seeker might need to confirm the information found online with a knowledgeable Christian friend, pastor or by comparing to other websites. Also, they might compare the website information directly with scripture using a search function as in e-Sword (https://e-sword.net/). 

 

This study was limited to one question, although a very important one. More research is needed to determine more completely the advantages and disadvantages of internet search engine queries for a Christian studying scripture. 

 

Please visit our website, we devoted specifically to the gospel - The Gospel | Teleios (teleiosgospel.com). 

 

William C. Stewart, MD

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teleiosresearch

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

 

Is lordship part of the gospel?

 

We have been discussing why we share the gospel and how to share the gospel. What exactly is the gospel, anyways? 

 

Teleios recently completed a survey about the gospel. We had 539 participants, of whom 64% were <30 years, and 85% evangelicals. In total 92% believed they were saved by grace through faith and 44% thought they could not lose this salvation. Full survey results can be viewed here - Salvation: What do you know about it?.

 

We asked participants, what were the elements of the gospel message they needed to transmit to an unbeliever. We were heartened to see that generally adolescents and young adults, when presented with a written text, agreed with the basic elements of the gospel which included: 

• 92% stated we should tell people that they had sinned 
• 83% agreed that this sin deserved punishment by a just and holy God 
• 92% indicated that God provided his Son, Jesus Christ as a perfect sacrifice for man’s sins that when accepted by faith, is the only provision needed for salvation (Romans 3:23-26, Ephesians 2:8-9). 

However, 75% of participants noted that, although salvation was by grace, a person also needed to make Jesus lord of their life. In contrast, 17% said salvation was by grace alone. 

 

How does one resolve the difference between the two statements that salvation is by grace, but also required making Jesus Lord of your life? This is a critical question. Let us see what scripture says.

• Work/Grace combination - This scenario indicates that although salvation is by grace, we must work to make Christ Lord of our life while receiving more grace, allowing us to better submit to His lordship. This scenario is very close to Catholic dogma which indicates that we receive grace by the sacraments and work towards our salvation, receiving more grace as we do so, hopefully leading to salvation. There's no basis in scripture for this belief.
• Make Jesus Lord - In this scenario, salvation is by grace, but we must make Jesus Lord of our life to maintain or prove salvation. Scripture clearly says that a true believer should show signs that Christ is Lord. This is the primary purpose of 1 John 2:4, giving tests that Christians can use to determine if someone is really a believer. Since we do not have access to the Book of Life up in heaven, while on earth we can be confident of a fellow believer’s salvation only by assessing the quality of their beliefs, obedience and love. Other scriptures also provide tests that we can use to assess others (Galatians 5:22; 1 Timothy 3). However, to say that we believe in salvation by grace, but we must work to make Jesus Lord of our life to prove and/or maintain salvation contradicts the security of our wonderful salvation in scripture on four levels.

• Direct quotes - The Bible indicates we are secure (1 Peter 1:4-5; Romans 8:28-39; John 10:28-30).  Perseverance - God alone causes us to persevere, not us! It is out of our hands (2 Timothy 1:12-14; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
• Positions - We have unchangeable morphological and legal positions in Christ including being: justified, adopted, regenerated and sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:1-14; Romans 3:23-26; Romans 6:2-9). 
• Insult to Christ! - Not to believe in security denigrates Christ’s gracious death for us! Otherwise, His amazing gracious sacrifice was sufficient for all our sins for all time. Therefore, we are to ‘get over’ our past sins and leave behind the things of salvation. If we do not, and keep trying to prove ourselves worthy, we are saying to Christ that His sacrifice was insufficient and to sacrifice Himself again, putting Him to public shame. This is certainly very bad and scripture says as such (Hebrews 6:1-8; Hebrews 10:26-39).

• Lordship comes from regeneration - This is a vital and underappreciated biblical point. When we believe at salvation the Holy Spirit enters us and regenerates us into a new person. The old person is dead and no longer functions to prove or disprove Jesus is Lord (Romans 6:2-9; Ephesians 2:4-7; Colossians 2:11-13). There is a new person created by God who then, and only then, can be obedient and do His works. 

 

Therefore, lordship can only be proven by the old person, being saved by grace and regenerated into a new person, and is only then able to do the works of God by His grace (2 Timothy 2:1). The work of salvation, from His gracious choosing us to taking us home to heaven, is totally a work of God, to His deserved praise and glory, not our own. 

Accordingly, Teleios research has shown that people who believe in salvation by grace and in the security of their salvation report better wellbeing, anchored in the love of God and our eternal home.

 

Thank you for reading my blog today. Join me next week as we continue to evaluate scripture and its influence on our wellbeing.

 

THE GOSPEL - Be sure you are a Christian based on these biblical truths!

1. Man sinned.
2. God is just, requiring a punishment for sin.
3. But out of love God sent His Son, Jesus Christ who by dying on the cross, provided forgiveness of sins in taking man’s deserved punishment.
4. Therefore, by faith alone in Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and belief in His resurrection, man can gain eternal life.

(Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-10, 3:21-26)

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos

X - https://x.com/TeleiosTweets

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@teleiostiktok

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teleiosresearch

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.