Socially Awkward Evangelism

Move Past Anxiety and Into Confident Witness

Are fear and anxiety holding you back from sharing your faith? Does the thought of evangelism make you uneasy or leave you concerned about making others uncomfortable? The biggest barrier to evangelism, Mark Teasdale argues, is not lack of training or information—it's fear.

To overcome this fear, we must engage not just intellectually and spiritually, but also psychologically. In Socially Awkward Evangelism, Teasdale considers evangelism through the lens of psychology, helping you overcome the roadblocks that often accompany sharing your faith. Teasdale offers resources for dealing with anxiety and shame and helps you communicate in ways that reduce uncertainties in others, utilizing recent developments in understanding mental and emotional health.

Socially Awkward Evangelism:



- addresses the underlying fears and anxieties often tied to evangelism with tools informed by psychology,

- offers practical tools for overcoming fears about evangelism,

- challenges common misperceptions about evangelism, and

- helps you communicate your faith authentically, sensitively, and creatively.

Through practical exercises, theological foundations, and psychological insights, this book will guide you to thoughtfully attend to your inner life, your social context, and the heart of Jesus, helping you move beyond fear to embrace evangelism as the blessing it's meant to be.

Whether you're a church leader or educator training others, a student eager to learn, or someone who struggles with the social anxiety often tied to evangelism, Socially Awkward Evangelism provides the tools to help you step into this sacred task with confidence and purpose.



Mark R. Teasdale (PhD, Southern Methodist University) is E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church; has served as director of the doctor of ministry, master of divinity, and Missional Church Center at Garrett; consults with churches locally, nationally, and internationally; and volunteers on community boards and commissions in his neighborhood. He is the author of Evangelism for Non-Evangelists, Participating in Abundant Life, Go: Becoming a Great Commission Congregation, and Methodist Evangelism, American Salvation.

Introduction: When Jesus Calls Us to Be Socially Awkward
Part 1: Overcoming Our Anxious Thoughts about Evangelism


1. Evangelism, Anxiety, and Stigmatic Shame


2. A Fork in the Road


3. Aware of Ourselves


4. Awareness with Assurance


5. Accuracy and Virtue


6. Imagery Rescripting in Community
Part 2: Overcoming Our Fear of Harming Others


7. Powerful Persuaders


8. Evangelism as Feedback


9. Trauma-Informed Evangelism and Dignity


Conclusion: Socially Acceptable Evangelism


Acknowledgments


List of Online Appendixes


Scripture Index