There are a number of potential obstacles to outreach, but people’s fear of failure is a big one. I was recently thinking about the workplace ramifications of a generation of adults who were protected from failure by schools and parents. Social media further exacerbates this issue by being quick to capture and broadcast people’s failures. This creates an environment where people simply don’t take the risk or don’t try something new because they might fail. 

This fear of failure and resistance to taking risks can hinder progress in the workplace, but it has even greater consequences for outreach.

Every time we share a God story, spread the gospel message, or initiate a new type of outreach, we are taking a risk. While data shows only 1.5% of people give their friends a hard time about their faith, people still see a risk in sharing their faith. And if we as formal and informal leaders don’t prepare those in our domain to be willing to take that risk, we won’t see the benefits of outreach. 

They say good is the enemy of great. I propose perfection can be the enemy of progress. In our work with business leaders, we are seeing more people who fail to act due to fear of making a mistake. We especially see this happening with younger clients—they fear having hard conversations in the workplace because they don’t feel  equipped with responses to all possible reactions. If it’s an issue in a job people are paid to do, it’s no surprise that it’s an issue when the hard conversations are voluntary. Many people simply opt out before they even try due to their fear of failure or concerns about not having the right words. 

To find new ways to help our communities, we sometimes need to develop new approaches to old problems. If we want to attract people to an outreach event, it often requires a fresh approach, and that means taking a risk. When I was considering starting my coaching business but hesitating for fear of failure, a former student exclaimed, “You can’t score any points if you don’t take a shot.” The same is true of our outreach efforts.

Here are some ideas to help your community move beyond their fear of failure when it comes to outreach.

Share the benefits and data about outreach

While many people are afraid of failure when it comes to outreach, data shows that 51% of unchurched individuals would respond positively to an invitation to church from a friend. This number increases to 70% for the unchurched who identify as Christians.

Talk about your experience with outreach conversations

Talking about your outreach experiences means sharing those conversations that were well-received and those that were not. This helps your community see that you’ve experienced negative outcomes, which are rarely the antagonistic scenario they may fear. It also helps them realize that the positive reactions far outweigh the negative ones and helps them learn how to organically share a story through your example.

Encourage people to take risks

Many of our clients regularly practice “out of comfort zone” challenges to increase their confidence and risk tolerance. This simply means challenging themselves personally or within a small group to do something outside of their comfort zone for personal growth. Taking small risks, even if not directly related to outreach, can help build confidence in their ability and be applied to future outreach efforts.