Difficulties according to the harvest of souls
by Silas Martin Bollweg on Tue Sep 22 2026
Based on my many years of observation and experience, fear of people is the biggest obstacle preventing many people from engaging in missionary work! I can speak so authoritatively on this because I personally struggled with a severe form of fear of people when I was younger.
Did you know that there are “Christian secret agents”? These are people who are unable to publicly profess their faith in Jesus, but instead quietly and secretly distribute tracts. They place CDs and DVDs in many locations and leave them there without making a sound. May I tell you a secret? I, too, started out that way! That’s what my first missionary work looked like—and why not?
When we take a step forward in our faith in Jesus, He will bless us and empower us to accomplish greater things. God allows us to grow into His freedom; the only problem would be if someone were to remain stuck in a state of fear of people forever!
Why don’t we dare, when in doubt, to make fools of ourselves for Jesus’ sake or let people laugh at us? Jesus gave everything for us—so surely we can endure a rejection or two when it comes to mission work, can’t we?
Unfortunately, when you start talking about Jesus, it can quickly ruin your reputation, and you’re quickly labeled a “crazy person”—that’s just the way it is. You just have to develop a thick skin—there’s no other way. It’s just not normal for anyone to bring up Jesus in conversation; it takes a lot of courage. But you can train yourself to do it, and after a while, those inhibitions will fade.
My problem was exactly this: “What will others think of me if I bring up the topic of Jesus now?” This thought paralyzed me for a long time and prevented me from sharing the Gospel with people. But that’s exactly the thought Satan uses to keep us from doing missionary work! That was all he needed to block me internally.
The following sentence then brought me freedom: “What Jesus thinks of me is more important than what people think of me!”
Ever since I realized this, I’ve had no problem telling others about Jesus or sharing Christian magazines, CDs, and other gospel materials. We Christians are not slaves to what other people or society in general thinks of us. Our worth is measured by the fact that the eternal King of the universe loves us so much that He came into this filthy world for us to give His life for us! We shouldn’t let people who have one foot in hell tell us what to do and what not to do!
To enter into the freedom and richness of such a life, Jesus must be our absolute number one priority and be more important to us than anything else; otherwise, we need to rethink our priorities and realign ourselves. This raises the crucial question: What matters more to me—Jesus Christ or my reputation in the world?
Solomon says in Proverbs 29:25: “Fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
And Proverbs 25:26 says: “Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous person who wavers before a wicked person.”
Perhaps now would be a good time to make a specific decision in prayer to serve in God’s kingdom.
Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” This makes it clear that, as followers of Jesus, our interests should not be too focused on earthly life, and that we should—at least to a large extent—work toward our future and eternal home, which goes hand in hand with carrying out missionary work.
Another thought that can deter us from mission work is this: “They don’t want it anyway…” Of course they don’t! Just as you (probably) didn’t want Jesus some time ago—that’s normal. Jesus says that the god of this world (Satan) has blinded people’s eyes, and that is indeed the case. People today no longer know what is good and what is evil, and this debate doesn’t begin with gender mainstreaming. How is today’s generation supposed to know that they need Jesus Christ, the Savior from guilt and sin, if no one tells them?
Crosses have been taken down in schools, and the media does not communicate the Gospel—it merely distorts it. To make matters worse, churches that are spiritually dead contribute their share to this dilemma. How can people today know about the need for salvation if they cannot even recognize the profound nature of the Fall?
But in all this darkness, you are here now to shine like a bright star in the night!
Philippians 2:15–16 says: “So that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of Life.”
When do we shine as light in the world? When we offer the Word of Life!
Here I must dispel a widespread argument that many Christians often use as an excuse to avoid directly confronting people with Jesus, namely this: “I live a life full of love before others to show them Jesus.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t work! First of all, no one is so good that their sinful nature (the old Adam), with all its flaws, stands out so positively from other, unbelieving people; and even if it does happen, people will say nothing more than, “That’s a nice person.” Nothing more!
The great prophet Isaiah rightly recognized the following: “We have all become like the unclean, and all our righteousness is like a soiled garment. We have all withered like leaves, and our sins have swept us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:5)
Note that Isaiah isn’t speaking here of our unrighteous deeds, but of our righteous deeds! People will not connect your kindness with Jesus unless you also bear witness to Jesus! And it is not we who “shine in the darkness”—we are far too sinful for that. It is God’s Word, carried by the Holy Spirit into people’s hearts, that convinces them of Jesus.
So, to recap: When do we shine as light in the world? When we offer the Word of Life—that is, the Gospel!
God’s Word is the seed “that does not return empty, but accomplishes what it was sent to do!” (Isaiah 55:11)
Of course, we should always strive to live a holy life and practice love for our neighbors, but ultimately that is not the reason why people come to Jesus. Our honest testimony should be: “I am a sinner, but Jesus saved me!”
Once we have internalized the first two points, the third important step in becoming “a weapon in God’s hands” is consistency.
The consistency with which I carried out my missionary work from the very beginning quickly established a firm routine for me, so that this ministry has become second nature to me. Today, it is completely normal for me to be in direct contact with atheists or Muslims, and I often go above and beyond to explain to them, from God’s Word, the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ. When interacting with Jewish and Muslim neighbors, it is very helpful to be able to explain the path to salvation based on the Old Testament as well, because they simply do not accept the New Testament.
To develop such a routine, we must study the Bible and have a solid understanding of it. A good knowledge of the Bible is very important for revealing the truth in conversations about God. It is precisely the Word of God through which the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts.
However, we shouldn’t wait ten years until we feel “ready” enough for this, because then we’ll never start sharing the gospel.
If we go by our feelings, we’ll never be mature enough for missionary work. But we Christians do not live according to our feelings; rather, we live in obedience to Jesus’ command, which is: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel!” (Mark 16:15)
Paul rightly said: “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the destruction of strongholds; thus we demolish (anti-God) strongholds of thought and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5)
But you can also start more simply. Especially if someone doesn’t have much knowledge of the Bible, handing out tracts and Gospels is a good way to begin. Flyers and CDs are also excellent materials for missionary work.
The way in which we spread “the Word” can and should be varied, because the main thing is that, in one way or another, lost souls are reached.
The important thing is simply to get started. From my own experience, I know that we tend to put things off until the next day. There’s a quiet, manipulative voice that says, “Do it, but tomorrow.” Who do you think is behind that voice?
If we don’t set a specific day to take action, things could go on like this for many more years before we take the first step forward and get to work. It is important to set a firm deadline for a specific activity and to stick to it strictly. This applies not only to missionary activities but also to many other things in life, and especially to daily Bible study and prayer. I wish you all much success and God’s blessing for your service in His kingdom.
God bless you.
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