Are Americans Open to Talking About Their Faith?

Episode 779

Host Ed Stetzer meets with Executive Director of Lifeway Research Scott McConnell to discuss their recent findings on evangelism and gospel conversations in the United States. Tune in to discover why your expectations of pushback may be holding you back from the worthwhile, hope-filled message that the world is desperate—and curious—to hear.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The significance of evangelism in church planting
• The pros and cons of memorizing your own gospel presentation
• The spectrum of engagement among professing believers in the United States
• Steps you can take to evangelistically mobilize your congregation
• How our personal relationships pave the way for community outreach

Helpful Resources:

• Lifeway Research/Evangelism Explosion Study: Americans’ Openness to Talking about Faith
• Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer.
• Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass?

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Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):

If you’re going to bring up your faith with somebody, there’s a pretty good chance they’re actually going to be curious about it. — Scott McConnell

We should be sharing the benefits of our faith with the world, which we should be singing about on Sunday Mornings and meditating on throughout the week. But too many of us are not used to putting these benefits into words. — Scott McConnell

Though there’s an increasingly negative perception of Christianity, there are those in the world who have a good perception of you as you have built relationships with them as a neighbor. It’s appropriate for you to initiate a faith conversation. — Ed Stetzer

In most areas of discipleship, the longer you’re a Christian, the more like Christ you look. But when it comes to evangelism, that’s not showing to be true. We’re seeing older saints being unwilling to bring up faith in conversations with others. — Scott McConnell

Half of Christians say they’re ready to share the basics of becoming a Christian. But we must be ready for any opportunity to share those basic steps. — Ed Stetzer

We have to remind each other that our message is hope-filled. Too often we get stuck on the fact that we’re coming across as pushy or rude. If we believe we have a message worth hearing, the gospel is that message and it’s our responsibility to share it. — Scott McConnell

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