Even though I personally believe that the success of evangelism rests on the shoulders of the Holy Spirit who sends the evangelist out to preach, I also believe that every evangelist must possess the keys to successful evangelism in order to make good their ministry and calling.

In this article, therefore, I am going to show you the 5 keys to successful evangelism hoping you will utilize them and keep on winning souls for Christ Jesus.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

The 5 keys to successful evangelism.

Below are the 5 keys to successful evangelism.

1. Do not force nor commend yourself.
2. Never entertain fear while evangelizing.
3. Preach repentance and the approaching kingdom of God.
4. Be patient with your would-be converts.
5. Always pray before you start to evangelize.

And without much waste of time, let’s get into this sermon right away.

1. Do not force nor commend yourself.

An evangelist must not think that he can go out to preach by his power and might, he must always depend on the divine guidance of Jesus and His Father through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

One of the keys I like to give for successful evangelism is; do not force yourself to go out and preach no matter the weather. Let preaching not be a do-or-die affair, always learn how to know when the Spirit wants you to go out and when not to.

Don’t make it every day and a must to do a thing. Because most of the time, there are obstacles and temptations waiting on the way and God has to prevent you from going out so you won’t get caught by them.

Therefore if you force yourself to move out, you will definitely end up in trouble.

The devil has no power to prevent you from going out to preach, so if you see yourself waking up at the wrong time, know that God did not want you to go out so better stay back and pray to God to let His will be done that day.

An illustration from myself.

For example, there was once I wanted to go for evangelism in the evening, I prepared everything and tried to pray at first but was obstructed, I tried the second and third time and the same thing occurred.

Later a friend called me, and when he came he spent close to three hours preaching to me, even though he wasn’t an evangelist. But I tell you that I saw what I was lacking in my life at that time through his preaching, all because I obeyed the Holy Spirit and stayed back.

So always keep in mind that you are not the one that sends yourself, so you must go only when you are sent.

For “whosoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things! Romans 10:13-15.

Also, you must never give yourself any credit for whatever God uses you to do in His ministry.

Don’t boast or brag about how many people you have been able to convert; as well as years you have been working in God’s vineyard.

Never see yourself as being special from every other people; knowing that it is only the special grace of God that keeps you going in this ministry.

For it is written: For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. 2 Corinthians 10:18

2. Never entertain fear while evangelizing.

You must never be afraid wherever you find yourself standing to minister the word, even in the graveyard, around wizards, occultists, and the like. Pay no mind to whatever evil you encounter while witnessing, knowing that Jesus is always with you as He promised:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Mathew 28:18-20.

Also never hold back any message the Spirit gives you to deliver, even against whoever it is don’t fear them, deliver the message just as you received it, and remember what Jesus said.

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ”and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Mathew 10:27-28.

3. Preach repentance and the approaching kingdom of God.

What every evangelist must preach is repentance i.e. urging people to depart from their sinful ways and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and savior, so they could be able to inherit the kingdom of God.

Then he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

“And you are witnesses of these things.

“Behold I send the Promise of my Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”  Luke 24:46-49

4. Be patient with your would-be converts.

Never be tired of preaching to a particular person who does not want to repent the first time he or she hears the Word, continue to go to them even if they reject you. Never give up on anyone you want to convert; you need a lot of patience to do this work. Follow this advice Paul gave to his godson Timothy:

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

5. Always pray before you start to evangelize.

Do not go out to evangelize unless you pray fervently and below are the prayer points you should never fail to use.

• Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. One of our tips on evangelism is to always pray for the power of the Holy Ghost before you go out, holding Jesus by His Word: But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
• Pray for exploits. Pray for the power to do exploits i.e. perform signs and wonders according to the promise. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. “He that believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up new serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18
• Pray for the Father to convert. We are only given the power to preach and not to convert; so always pray for those who will hear the Word that the Father should draw as many as He chooses to his Son. As it is written. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  John 6:37, 44.