Boldness Is Contagious.

Published May 29, 2025

Katrielle Bauknight

On February 24th, 2025, my team and I evangelized at the University of Missouri Kansas City. UMCK has a large atheist and Muslim student body population. So, naturally, we were excited to evangelize there! Typically, I am excited and bold when I share my faith with strangers. It wasn't always this way. Before my first year of college, I rarely talked to strangers about Jesus. But in my freshman year at Valencia College, I had a paradigm shift. I realized that people who don't know Jesus feel uncomfortable 24/7 in their own hearts and minds because they aren't living the life they were made to live. Helping them find peace in Jesus is worth feeling uncomfortable for a few minutes. From that day on, I shared Jesus in any way I could and laughed about all of the awkward moments. Yet, on February 24th, 2025, I lost my boldness for a moment.

The whole morning, I felt hesitant, awkward, fearful, and insecure. "Lord, why do I feel this way? Help me, please!" I pleaded in my mind as I walked through the campus. Every time I prayed, I remembered the moment I had a paradigm shift in my freshman year of college. After almost two hours of this, I ended up on the third floor of the library. I saw a young man with a Christian t-shirt and decided to talk to him. "Surely a Christian won't reject prayer."

As soon as I prayed for him, my boldness came back. Through our conversation, I learned that it was his first year at this college. He was raised in the faith but had never shared Jesus with anyone. In that moment, I knew why I re-lived my paradigm shift that morning: God wanted to use my testimony to give this man a paradigm shift of his own. So, I invited him to evangelize with me. He hesitantly said yes. As we evangelized, I shared my testimony with him: suddenly, he was determined and bold. He ended up praying with an atheist professor. That professor didn't give his life to Jesus, but he started tearing up and had a soft heart towards prayer in that moment. Hopefully, his heart will continue to soften, and he will choose Jesus. Regardless, now this young man is bold in sharing his faith on campus. He is a light in the darkness.