When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

— John 4:7

Many Christians are uneasy about sharing the gospel message. We don’t want to say the wrong thing or offend people or push them away. I remember how scared I was the one time I did door-to-door evangelism. As a teenager I volunteered in the summer with a group of young people in a neighborhood church. We led vacation Bible school for kids living nearby, and when we followed up to visit with the kids’ families, we were so nervous that sometimes we forgot the name of the church we were serving—let alone how to share our faith!

That model of evangelism tends not to be effective today. Many people have found that building relationships with people and witnessing as friends is more fruitful.

John 4 shows us how Jesus struck up a conversation with a woman at a well. It was culturally unusual for him to speak with a woman he did not know, but she sensed his care for her and her life. He was bold but also highly relational and kind. As she talked with him, she showed that she was a thoughtful but wounded person with broken relationships in her past.

Most situations of sharing the good news do not bring about such a quick turnaround. But we can follow Jesus’ compassionate approach, listening to people’s stories, entering their pain, and speaking with gentleness and respect about the God who loves them.

Jesus, equip me with your Holy Spirit to become increasingly attentive to my connections with others. Help me respond with your compassion. Amen.