In Western Europe, the refrain is common: mission and evangelism are hard.
It’s an oft-heard lament, one that sparks endless discussion, strategy sessions, and even discouragement among Christians. But what do we really mean when we say it’s “hard”? Beneath the surface, it often seems we’re using “hard” as a catch-all term for something deeper – uncomfortable, difficult, and complicated. These realities, while challenging, are not legitimate reasons to abandon the Great Commission, or to throw in the towel in despair. Instead, they demand that we reframe our approach, recalibrate our expectations, and reaffirm our commitment to the task at hand.
Facing the challenge of ‘uncomfortable’
At its heart, evangelism requires stepping out of our comfort zones. The command of Jesus was that we would go first and foremost, and His words to the apostles in Acts 1:8 sent them towards Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Each sphere was further from the centre, but also differing in terms of knowledge and culture. What they shared would be very much the same, the gospel of the Kingdom, but how they would share it would inevitably be different, as would be the responses of the hearers. In Western Europe, where secularism reigns and religious discourse is often unwelcome, sharing the gospel can feel like swimming against the tide of cultural norms. The fear of rejection, the potential awkwardness of spiritual conversations, and the risk of being misunderstood make the task profoundly uncomfortable. Possibly.
