"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

The question sat in my head for three days before I finally asked it.

It was a simple invitation to my colleague Jane to talk some more about some of the spiritual questions she'd been asking.

Nothing dramatic, nothing pushy—just an offer to continue a conversation we'd started during a lunch break. But my brain hovered over the 'speak' button like it was connected to a nuclear launch code.

What if she thinks I'm weird? What if I say something wrong? What if she asks a question I can't answer? What if this ruins our working relationship?

The fear was paralyzing. And if I'm honest, it's the same fear that stops most Christians from ever having meaningful spiritual conversations, let alone making disciples who make disciples.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: we can have a vibrant relationship with Jesus, we can pray faithfully for people of peace, we can know all the right techniques and strategies, but if we can't break through the fear barrier, we'll never become a multiplying disciple.

We'll not follow up when people show signs of curiosity.

We'll refuse to invite someone to open the bible with us.

We won't obey when the Holy Spirit prompts us to follow him on mission.

We'll shrink back from asking that new believer if anyone is helping them with the basics of faith.

Fear is the silent killer of kingdom advancement.

And until we learn to recognize it, confront it, and move through it, we'll remain a spectator in God's mission rather than a participant.

The Anatomy of Fear

Let's start by naming the fears that keep us paralyzed. In my years of coaching Christians toward disciple-making, I've identified the most common ones:

Fear of rejection: "What if they don't want to hear what I have to say? What if they think I'm pushy or judgmental?"

Fear of inadequacy: "What if they ask questions I can't answer? What if I mess up and give them wrong information about God?"

Fear of ruining relationships: "What if bringing up spiritual things makes our friendship awkward? What if they start avoiding me?"

Fear of being seen as weird: "What if they think I'm one of those crazy religious people? What if this affects my reputation?"

Fear of failure: "What if I try to share my faith and nothing happens? What if they're not interested and I feel stupid?"

Do any of these sound familiar? Good.

Even the apostle Paul, who turned the Roman world upside down with the gospel, asked the Ephesians to pray "that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" (Eph 6:19).

If Paul needed prayer for fearless gospel conversations, it's okay that we struggle with fear too.

The Root of the Problem

But here's what I've discovered: most of our fears about sharing faith aren't really about sharing faith at all. They're about deeper issues that go to the core of how we see ourselves, God, and others.

We've made it about us instead of about God. When we focus on our performance, our reputation, or our success rate, we're carrying a burden that was never meant to be ours. The pressure to "get it right" becomes overwhelming because we're trying to be the Holy Spirit in someone else's life.

That's why Jesus said 'do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.' (Luke 12:11)

We've forgotten that God is already at work. We act like we're responsible for creating spiritual interest in people rather than recognizing and joining what God is already doing. This makes every conversation feel like we're starting from scratch instead of stepping into a divine appointment.

That's why Jesus said that the Father 'was the Lord of the Harvest' - not us! (Matt 9:37)

We've bought into the myth of the perfect evangelist. We think we need to be Billy Graham or have a dramatic testimony to be effective. But God often uses ordinary people with ordinary stories to reach other ordinary people.

That's why he used the Samaritan woman to reach her whole community!

Reframing the Fear

Here are the reframes that have helped me and countless others break through the fear barrier:

From "What if I mess up?" to "What if God shows up?" Instead of focusing on all the ways you might fail, focus on all the ways God might work. He's more interested in your availability than your ability.

From "I don't know enough" to "I know enough to share what I've experienced." You don't need a theology degree to tell someone how Jesus has changed your life. Your personal testimony is something no one can argue with or refute.

From "They might reject me" to "They're not rejecting me; they're responding to Jesus." When someone isn't interested in spiritual conversation, it's not a personal attack on you. It might simply mean they're not ready yet, or you're not the person God wants to use in their life.

From "I might ruin our relationship" to "I might be the key to their eternal relationship with God." Yes, there's risk in spiritual conversations. But there's also incredible potential for eternal impact.

The Courage of Imperfection

One of the most liberating discoveries I've made is that God often uses our imperfect attempts more than our polished presentations. Some of my most fruitful disciple-making relationships began with awkward conversations!

Your imperfect obedience is more valuable to God than your perfect silence.

Standing with you

Simon