Book Analysis: Share Jesus Without Fear
Monica Aryitey
EVAN 525-Contemprary Evangelism
September 14, 2025
William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd, Share Jesus without Fear (Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999).
Summary
The author’s thesis is that no one who takes the step to evangelize ever fails at it even if
the unbeliever does not end up receiving Christ (2). He explains his stance by pointing out that
the onus to convert an unbeliever is not on the presenter but on God. Since God is the one who
converts, the presenter of the gospel message cannot be deemed to have failed because the
conversation did not result in a conversion. This is a major theme that runs through the book,
and the author says emphatically in the concluding parts of the book that “[y]our responsibility
is not to cause a conversion” (143). Fay then goes on to describe what success in sharing the
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gospel looks like. He says even if the person does not respond the first time one shares his faith,
the latter has not failed because he was obedient to the Great Commission (3).
He encourages believers to boldly share their faith not being overly concerned about the
approach adding that God can use even a bad or imperfect approach to win a soul for Himself
(18). Fay opines that no human being possesses the power to win a soul, further encouraging
people to share their faith eagerly and without reservation. To underscore the importance of
witnessing to others about Christ and the seriousness of refusing to do so, Fay talks very
convincingly about the sin of silence and the dire consequences of believers not sharing their
faith. By being silent about their faith believers essentially condemn unbelievers to hell. After
all, how can they believe, unless they hear. Putting a bumper sticker on a car or holding up
banners inscribed with scripture is not the same as sharing one’s faith since such actions do not
provide “enough information to allow the Holy Spirit to work to effect a heart change in a
person” (8). Similarly, it is not enough to let unbelievers know that God loves them without
presenting them with the opportunity to enter into a relationship with Him.
Fay draws the readers attention to the power of just leading just one person to Christ. He
says that one person’s salvation can trigger a chain reaction to make more disciples. He uses the
example of the Samaritan woman at the well, recounting how her encounter with Jesus led to
her whole town being saved. The Church gets it wrong when it teaches that a new believer is
not qualified to share his faith (10); as this notion flies in the face of scripture and real-life
experiences. He urges believers to overcome their fear, pray for boldness knowing that the
power of the Holy Ghost residing in them will enable them to share their faith. Believers ought
to actively and intentionally pray for unbelievers as well as for opportunities to witness daily.
Prayer softens the ground making it easy to sow seeds of the gospel into unbelievers’ lives.
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Another point of importance Fay stresses throughout the book is that witnessing is not
optional for the believer (16). When a believer shares the gospel, he makes the first move that
allows God to step in and cause a revival. This is akin to a farmer breaking the ground and
sowing seeds; that is the only way he will see a harvest (141). Revival will not come unless
believers break the ground by sowing the seeds of the gospel. Knowing that every believer will
stand before God at judgment and give account of how he regarded the Great Commission,
believers must not delay in sharing their faith.
This book is for every believer. Pastors and ministers will find good material in it to train
their congregation to evangelize fearlessly and the believer whose evangelizing efforts have
stalled or not taken off because or fear will find enough tools to confidently go out and spread
the good news.
Strengths
The book has a strong opening with the words, “You Can’t Fail”1 Admittedly, a lot of
believers balk at the idea of sharing their faith for fear of failing to win the soul or fear of not
being able to answer the unbeliever’s objections. By redefining success in evangelism as sharing
one’s faith rather than closing the deal of bringing the unbeliever to a decision, Fay breaks
through one of the major obstacles to evangelizing.2 At the end of the very first chapter, the
reader’s interest is piqued, and a sense of excitement begins to build in one’s mind.
He states in the early pages of the book that his goal is for the reader joins the group of
people who talk to unbelievers about their faith.3 Fay achieves this goal by masterfully using
1 William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd, Share Jesus without Fear (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1999), 1.
2 Ibid., 3.
3 Ibid., 8.
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stories, anecdotes, scripture and statistics to take the reader on a journey to a specific
unmistaken destination.
Using his own conversion story, and so many other unlikely conversions, he
demonstrates the power of God through His word to change lives. In all these different
scenarios, he is careful to point out the fact that it is God who works through willing believers to
convert people. This relieves the believer of any pressure, knowing that he is just a conduit and
all God needs is his obedience. Almost every key point Fay makes begins with and or ends with a
story of how everyday people share their faith, making his writing style easy to follow and very
relatable. The success stories give credence to the method he’s espousing and leaves the reader
eager to test it out.
Fay provides a comprehensive toolkit for evangelism that arguably dismantles any
objection that a believer is likely to lift against witnessing. He then equips the believer with tools
to do the job. These include the conversation joggers4, the Five Share Jesus Questions5, the
Commitment Questions6. He provides a template for the Sinner’s Prayer and direction on next
steps after the unbeliever accepts Christ.
Being very much in tune with the reasons why most people fail to share their faith, Fay
lists major excuses, such as fear of losing friends and family; fear of being rejected; not knowing
enough; fear of what people would think and gives thorough rebuttals supported with scripture
and real-life stories of how others overcame these fears. He further arms his readers with
detailed answers to popular objections that are raised by unbelievers, again supporting his
answers with scripture and success stories (83). Fay never leaves his reader asking why or how;
4 Fay and Shepherd, Sharing Jesus, 30.
5 Ibid., 39.
6 Ibid., 61.
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he anticipates the questions or perhaps drawing from his own experiences and years in
evangelistic ministry, he is able to close every loophole that may arise in the reader’s mind.
He never let go of his thesis but develops it to the very end assuring in the end as he did
at the beginning that there is no failing in sharing Christ; He leaves the reader ready to share
Christ without fear.
Weaknesses
Fay’s statement about the exact time when an unbeliever becomes saved is a bit
confusing. He says, “[w]hen the answer yes comes from a person’s heart, this is the precise
moment she becomes born again. It’s not when she prays the sinner’s prayer…”.7 Though he still
encourages the believer to lead the convert to say the sinner’s prayer, he seems to make it
optional. It leaves the reader wondering what kind of confession meets the criteria for salvation
in Romans 10:9-10 which is included in Fay’s toolkit.
Following the “Five Share Jesus Questions” and sharing the scriptures will not work in
every situation. It seems more suited for scenarios when the unbeliever has time to sit down,
and in cases where the believer has some sort of relationship with the unbeliever. It may not
work with street evangelism drives or when witnessing to strangers.
Quotations
•“You are not responsible for causing a person’s heart to turn to God” (Chapter 1,
2). This quote is important because it deals with one of the most common
excuses some believers use to avoid evangelizing. When people think it is their
responsibility to convert then the Great Commission becomes weighty and
believers begin to make excuses about not knowing enough, being afraid of
7 Fay and Sheperd, Sharing Jesus, 65.
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rejection and feeling like a failure when they are not able to lead the person to
say yes to Christ.
•“But the problem is, if you aren’t sharing your faith, you are not living a good
Christian life.” (Chapter 2, 10). This is crucial because it reminds the believer that
being a good Christian includes sharing one’s faith. The Great Commission is a
command and disobeying it is a sin. No one is a good Christian who refuses to do
what God has explicitly asked His children to do. For the believer, evangelizing is
not an option.
•“When you are obedient in sharing your faith, you are giving God an opportunity
to work through you, perhaps even despite you.” (Chapter 3, 16). This shows that
God just needs our obedience so He can do the work of conversion. If God is the
one converting, then He can use anybody at all, and believers need not worry
about being inadequate.
•“There is no insignificant Christian, for we all have the power of the Holy Spirit
dwelling within us.” (Chapter 4, 38). Evangelism is not for a special group of
people. Every believer regardless of his talents, personality, temperament or
length of time in the Lord is qualified to be a witness. The only qualifier is the
Holy Spirit who indwells all believers.
•“The second step in sharing Jesus without fear is to allow the Bible to speak.”
(Chapter 5, 44). This is another reminder that believers have all the tools needed
to share their faith. We do not need to come up with what to say, we only need
to find it in the Bible.
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•“Wouldn’t it be awful if you showed someone God’s love but did not give him the
choice to receive it?” (Chapter 6, 60). A reminder to always keep the end goal in
mind as we interact with unbelievers. Witnssing that does not end in giving the
unbeliever the opportunity to come to Christ falls short of the mandate to share
the gospel.
•“To abandon a new believer would be like leaving a baby in a blizzard.” (Chapter
7, 72). It is important to know that the believer’s work is not complete unless he
leads the new believer to take his next steps and sets him on the path of spiritual
growth. The command is to make disciples and that begins after the unbeliever is
saved.
•“The best way to conquer an objection is through a simple three-letter word, the
question “Why?”” (Chapter 8, 81). Asking questions proves to the unbeliever
that you care about his opinions, you are interested in him as a person and not as
a project. In addition, unless you know their why, you cannot help them.
•“People will come to Christ by the power of the gospel and our testimony.”
(Chapter 8, 105). Personal testimonies have a way of getting people to let their
guard down and become less suspicious. When an unbeliever knows that you
were once like him, he will be more open to finding out how God can change his
story too. It makes the believer come across as relatable dismantling any
negative feelings the unbeliever may have about Christianity or Christians.
•“Their loneliness is a Godshaped vacuum that can be filled only with a
relationship with God himself.” (Chapter 9, 114). This reminds me that everyone
needs Jesus. As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, God has set eternity in the human heart.
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There is a void in every man that only God can fill. Even unbelievers have a sense
that there is more but may not know what it is. It behooves us believers to
present to them the only way to fill that void.
•“Evangelism is a sanctification process.” (Chapter 10, 132). Evangelism is not only
a process by which unbelievers are changed. It also changes believers. When we
evangelize, we join Christ in His mission thus becoming more Christlike.
Evangelism draws believers deeper into prayer and the word bringing them to an
even closer relationship with God.
•“When we live our lives with a love-my-neighbor policy, we will take advantage of
the opportunities God puts before us.” (Chapter 11, 140). Acts of love and service
always create opportunities to share one’s faith. When people know you
care about them, they are more than willing to open their hearts to you and to
God. This is another way of encouraging servanthood evangelism.
Lessons
•Evangelism is more than displaying Christian bumper stickers, wearing clothing
with Christian inscriptions or displaying posters. It is also more than using
platitudes like “Jesus loves you” or letting people know you go to church. Though
all these are not bad in themselves, they only tell people who you are, without
sharing your faith and giving them a chance to be saved. This falls short of what
God requires of believers. Personally, I encourage people to make such displays
hoping that these will act as conversation joggers. What I intend to do now is to
teach them to actively seek opportunities to share their faith rather than
passively displaying Christian articles hoping someone will initiate a conversation.
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•Share my faith anywhere and anyhow. Sometimes we all get caught up in political
correctness and miss opportunities God may place in our paths. We can easily
get bogged down with finding the right time, the right place, the right conditions,
thus letting God-engineered chances pass us by. I am going to pray for more
grace not to resist the Holy Spirit’s nudges to share knowing that anytime is the
right time to share with someone.
•To resist the urge to argue with a person I am witnessing to. I remember
attempting to witness to a gentleman who started saying things about God and
creation that were totally false. I started arguing with him then stopped when I
remembered Titus 3:9 about avoiding foolish arguments. Needless to say, I did
not get the chance to share the gospel with him. One lesson I am taking from
here is to always remember the motivation for witnessing is love.
•To consciously pray for unbelievers and for opportunities to witness daily. This is
not something I do daily and so going forward, I am going to make a conscious
effort to pray for unbelievers. Investing prayer in this will also help me become
more sensitive witnessing opportunities.
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References
Fay, William and Linda Evans Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear. Nashville, TN: Broadman &
Holman Publishers. 1999.
