If you haven't read part 1 of this 2 part series, make sure you go back and get that done. Otherwise this isn't going to make much sense. Also if you haven't read Your Mind And Evangelism you might want to check that out too.

In this #blog we're going to get practical!

Now that you've identified your fear, qualified your #fear, it's time to come up with some practical steps on breaking through it.

Let me remind you as well - that nervous feeling is always going to be around.

The truth of the matter is we will always feel uneasy stepping out of our comfort zones until we become accustomed to stepping out.

Through consistency of our actions we will reach the conquered zone, and through consistency our new Y Mindset and Beliefs will eventually become our new X of the comfort zone.

For a real basic example: the first time on the diving board it was really nerve wracking and you thought you couldn't do it.

Then you jumped and discovered that you could. And each jump after that became easier and easier until you reached a point where you didn't have to think about it.

This is the same process for anything - including evangelism. At first it might be scary to reach out to someone, but the more you do it the easier it gets until it becomes second nature.

Let's Get Practical

5 Second Rule

One practical step that has always worked for me was the 5 Second Rule.

1. When you see your opportunity to move and you feel nervous
2. Count out loud from 5 down to 1
3. At 0, move with action
4. Create along the way (i.e., don't wait until you have a plan...just move in and start and make it up as you go)

Gamify

Set goals/points for yourself. For example:

1. Set the goal of talking with at least 2 people a day (by following the #5secondrule)
2. Give yourself points...for example you get 50 points every time you talk with someone
3. At the end of the week, if you've accumulated 400 points, you get to reward yourself with a treat - favorite snack, a small gift to yourself, a special dinner, etc. Whatever you feel is an exciting little reward

When you turn it into a game you end up having fun with it, finding a bit more motivation, as well as diminishing the fear factor a little bit.

Get creative with the points, rewards, and even challenges you must accomplish. If you keep this organized in a spreadsheet or chart you'll be able to see your progress.

*This is simply to help motivate you to push through your fears. There is nowhere in the Bible that talks about literal points, nor is this to put pressure on yourself like "If I don't do this God's gonna hate me." This is simply a motivation tactic.

Prepare Yourself

Part of the reason you might be nervous is out of the assumption you might not be able to deliver the goods. AKA., you won't know what to say. Here's what you can do:

1. Pray... talking with God on a regular basis is definitely going to keep your heart warm towards others
2. Study... what is the message you're trying to bring to them anyways? Is it really good news or are you just preaching church? Get a hold of Curry Blake or Pete Cabrera Jr. They have good teachings.
3. Prep...if it makes you nervous about how people might respond, get a little bit of apologetics under your belt. It's less intimidating answering questions when you know the topic better than they do.

Join A Team

Instead of going out alone, find a group of people near you that are doing the same and join them.

Accountability packs tremendous strength in getting us out of our comfort zones.

Start a Club

If you have a passion for something, use that as an avenue to start conversations with others. For example:

• Computer club
• Tech club
• Book club
• Fitness related
• Sports
• Cooking
• etc.,

Once people register for that, you can easily create relationships around your common interests and share with them along the way.

*If you're going to do this with youth, make sure you have all the documentation and legal paper work (like insurance or registration or parental consent) before doing this. Also, don't make things uncomfortable. They're coming for the common interest, not necessarily the #Bible portion of it. So don't get pushy or weird. Just use this environment to establish relationships. If you want to emphasize the Bible, make sure people know that beforehand when promoting the group. For example: "computer club followed by Bible study."

Volunteer

You don't always have to go out and create new places to meet people. There are places that already exist. You can volunteer anywhere and create a ministry where you go. Places:

• #Refugee centers
• #Retirement homes
• #Homeless shelters
• #Homework centers (helping kids with homework)
• #Church (lots of non-christians go to church...especially some youth groups)
• #Missions trips (which could involve a combination of everything listed in this blog)
  

Get Some Tools

If you have something you can use to start the conversations with, things become much easier. Here are some icebreakers you can use:

1. Care Packages...bring a backpack full of stuff to hand out
2. Card tricks or balloons...entertainment is always a good reason to start a conversation
3. Small gifts...hand little trinkets out and tell people you're just going around blessing people
4. Throw a party... community events work really well, especially if you put on a meal and invite everyone out for a presentation (works really well in poor areas)

So Where Are You?

What are some of the common thoughts that might have been holding you back from reaching out? Which of the ideas listed resonated with you? Any ideas you have that weren't listed?