How to Share the Gospel: A Simple Way to Explain Your Faith to Anyone

I love coffee. There's nothing like sitting down with someone over a cup and really getting to know them. And if you and I could sit down together — just the two of us — here's what I'd want to talk about. I'd want to make sure you know what it means to follow Christ, and then I'd want to talk with you about sharing that with somebody else.

Because here's what I've found: most of us want to share our faith. We just don't know how to start, and we're afraid of getting it wrong. Afraid we'll say it wrong. Afraid they'll ask something we can't answer. Afraid it'll get awkward and cost us a friendship.

So let me take the pressure off you. You don't need a seminary degree. You don't need to win an argument. What you need is a simple way to start and something clear to say when the person is ready. Let me give you exactly what I use.

Start with a question, not a sermon

You don't have to force anything. You just have to open a door. As you're getting to know someone, you can ask, "Hey, do you mind if we talk about spiritual things?" Every now and then somebody pushes back — "That's too personal." But I beg to differ. When you ask, "How are you doing? Are you married? You got family?" — those are personal questions, and we ask them all the time. Most people, when you ask about spiritual things, will say, "Yeah, sure."

Then listen. Earn the right to be heard. A lot of people are fuzzy on the difference between religion and being a Christian, so sometimes I'll say, "Do you mind if I show you how the whole Bible is outlined in just a few statements?" And I'll grab whatever's in front of me — a cocktail napkin, a legal pad, the back of a business card — and I'll start to write.

Explain the gospel in four simple phrases

Here's the whole gospel in four statements. Four phrases, four verses. I've written this on napkins on nearly every continent I've been on, and it works every time because it's simple and it's true.

God's Love From Above. The Bible is a book about love — God's love letters to us. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life" (John 3:16). Who does "whoever" include? Everyone. Jesus is a gift. We don't earn a gift — we just receive it. I'll write that down and talk about how much we matter to God.

My Bad, That's Sad. Then I talk about our sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). All. Does that include you? I've never had someone say, "No, I'm perfect." I've never met that person. God gave us a freedom of choice, and by giving us that freedom, He opened the door for us to turn our backs on Him. I can lean into Him or turn from Him.

God's Solution For My Pollution. Here's the rescue. There are really only two ways to think about getting to heaven — call them Plan A and Plan B. Plan A is the performance plan. So I'll ask, "Are you perfect?" And they'll say no. Well, if you've sinned even once, the performance plan is finished, because God's standard is perfection. One off day, one toxic outburst, one lustful thought, and Plan A is done. But God gave us Plan B — the grace plan. "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Grace means something we don't deserve. I use a simple acrostic for it: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn't live, took our sin on the cross, was buried, and rose again three days later. He threw us a life ring, and His name is Jesus. Right before He died He said, "It is finished." The price was paid.

My Call For God's All. Now it's a decision. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). It's a free gift — all we have to do is receive it. "I'm not ready" is a decision. "I don't want to" is a decision. And "yes" is a decision. I'd encourage anyone to settle it, because you're not ready to live until you're ready to die.

You don't have to have all the answers

Sometimes people throw intellectual arguments at you. The classic one is, "Why would a good God allow bad things to happen to good people?" One response I give is a question back: why did God allow the worst thing to happen to the greatest person who ever lived — the crucifixion of Jesus?

But honestly, the most freeing thing I can tell you is that you're allowed to say three words: "I don't know." I don't have the answer to every question, and neither do you. If someone genuinely has intellectual hangups, there are brilliant Christian thinkers who've done the work — Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ. But understand this: most of the time, the questions are a way to put off the decision. You don't belittle anyone. You just gently bring it back: "What are you going to do with Jesus?"

Don't just circle the airport — land the plane

Here's where a lot of us stop short. It's very easy to circle the airport, but we never land the plane. We have the conversation, we say what we believe, and then we pull back before the most important moment.

Think about it like a real estate agent who flirts with deal after deal but never closes one. They'd live in poverty. And I'm afraid too many believers are living in spiritual poverty, missing out on the most powerful thing we can do — sharing the good news and helping someone actually respond. Something like 96% of Christians have never shared their faith. The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that we'll just live a good life and people will be so attracted to it that they'll come to Christ on their own. Sometimes that happens. But if God has put someone in your life who's far from Him — and He has — He's calling you to lovingly help them cross the line.

So when the moment comes and the person is ready, don't leave it hanging. Invite them to respond, right there. You can lead them in a prayer as simple as this: "God, I admit I'm a sinner. I believe Jesus died for me and rose again. I turn from my sin and I turn to You. Come into my life. Right now I give You everything." There's nothing magic in the exact words. What matters is a heart turning to God.

What comes after "yes"

Leading someone to Christ isn't the finish line. It's the starting line — and the moment right after that decision is one of the most fragile in a person's life. They've just said yes. Then they go home to a Bible they don't know how to read, questions they're embarrassed to ask, and no idea what comes next. Too often we celebrate the decision and leave people standing there alone.

Don't stop walking with them. Help them take their first steps — understanding what just happened, getting baptized, learning to pray and read God's Word, and finding a church home. The strategy for sharing the gospel hasn't changed in over 2,000 years, and it still runs through ordinary people who care enough to open their mouths. Have you been rescued? Then help somebody else find their way to the same rescue.