Do you have any non-Christian friends?
The logic of evangelism is really simple. Christians have the good news, the news about Jesus the King who has died in our place and risen again to pay for our sins. This is the most important news ever. It is news that we are tasked with telling others about. And, for some of these people that hear the good news, they will respond in repentance and faith. They will be converted, be saved, be born again, and enter into eternal life (to use just a few possible descriptions).
Paul explains the logic of this in Romans:
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Rom. 10:13-15 ESV)
So why do we not see many people come to know Jesus in many of our churches? It could be that the Holy Spirit is choosing not to change people’s hearts, sure. But I think often it is that evangelism does not happen as it should for many (most?) Christians. And part of the problem is that many Christians do not have any non-Christian friends. They don’t share the gospel with people because they don’t have many real friendships with people who are not already Christians.
It’s easy to see how this might happen. Once someone becomes a Christian, their life and their values change. They often find that they have less and less in common with their old friends. They enjoy being with other Christians, which is good and right, and they start to spend a lot of their time in church-based activities. Before they know it, they don’t have friendships with non-Christians of any depth at all. Those they do see, like in the workplace, might be friendly, but all of the relational effort is put into Christian friendships.
While this might all be easily understandable, it means that a natural way of spreading the message of hope simply does not happen. We share our lives with our friends, and if we are Christians, that will also include the hope that we have.
If you have realised you don’t have any real non-Christian friends, what might you do about it? Perhaps you have old friends you have not invested in that you could reconnect with. Maybe you could invite a friend from work to spend time with you outside of work. Maybe you could get to know your next-door neighbours.
You could also look for opportunities to connect with others where they gather. I have found joining a group that plays golf regularly has led to many good conversations I would not have otherwise had. You could join a sporting group, a mothers and babies group, or the local community garden. There are many opportunities; we just need to open our eyes and look for them.
We live in a world where most people don’t know Jesus, and many of them don’t know any Christians. Building a friendship with a non-Christian is good for you and important for God’s work in the world.