every word you speak is edifying. But in a greater sense, we should always be doing that because in everything you say or do, God sees your actions. He sees the motives of your heart. So beyond just thinking, ‘Oh somebody could write a story about this or that,’ you really have to look deeper and think, ‘I really need to make sure that my actions and my thoughts are pleasing to God all the time.’
But as far as media goes and people recognizing us when we're out, we really do try to see it as ministry opportunities. My parents have been really good to tell us that since we were young, when we first started this. Like they say, ‘God has opened this for a window of time, and it's not going to be forever. If it were over tomorrow, we would be okay with that.’ But for right now, He's allowing us to really live out the Christian life on television."
She laughed, "A lot of people we got emails from or heard from said, ‘When I first started watching your show I thought you were crazy. Then the more I watched it, I realized that you have something I don't have...’ and then they either got saved or their way of life changed. So it's really neat to see that God is always in the business of changing lives. So whether you're on television or not, you always have somebody looking up to you. And just to realize the responsibility of that, God is going to hold you accountable for the influence that you are; whether it's at school, with your friends, or with your siblings, and you want to be a positive influence and a positive role model.”
The Duggars are known for unashamedly sharing the gospel of Christ. They strive to point everyone they come in contact with to Jesus. The word "witnessing" can place a lot of fear in us. I asked Jill, “How is it that you are so bold with sharing your faith? How do you share the gospel without fear?”
“Well I can say I still have fear,” she replied, being totally real. “So the fear is a real thing, but as God says in Scripture, ‘Perfect love casts out all fear,’ so I pray for that. It's not something that I have conquered yet. And I don't think that I will!” she laughs. “But I think the devil likes to use it to scare you. I remember I was at a store one time and somebody who worked there came up and said, ‘You're not allowed to pass out literature,’ and I was like, ‘Ahh, I'm sorry!’ I hate getting in trouble at all, so that scared me for a little while. But then I was like, ‘You know what, the souls of men are important, so maybe I could go about it in a different way.' "
I think {the guy at the store} was thinking I was probably soliciting or something, but still I think [the key is] praying for boldness like Paul had in scripture."
"One of my favorite quotes is by Jonathan Edwards who says, ‘Lord, stamp on my eyes eternity.’ Basically that means 'put it ever before me.' When I see other people, help me to see them like Jesus sees them. And not like ‘Oh, I should be doing this, I should be passing out tracts,’ but instead think, ‘Lord help me to see them like you do.’"
"There's a time clock, and if you could see everybody walking around with a time clock, and think about how much time is left on their clock, that will give you a different perspective. You never know when it could be someone's last opportunity. God is going to hold us accountable for the witness that we are. I pray for that boldness, and then just try to ask Him, ‘Lord help me, give me an opportunity while I'm at the grocery store to give a tract to somebody, or talk to somebody, or lead a conversation to a spiritual level.’"
"I think also, on a practical note, learning different techniques that you can use to share the gospel really boosts your confidence. So if you've never done witnessing, learning more about how to do it will help you not be quite as scared.” She laughed, “You'll still be nervous. But also, if it's your first time, get a group of friends together to do it with you. That makes it easier too!”
One of my favorite things about the Duggars is their passion for reaching this world. We've watched their family go on many mission trips. I asked Jill about their future, and if they envision someday being planted on the mission field.
“I'm really excited for whatever the Lord has for our future,” Jill replied. “I think that's one of the things God used to draw Derick and me closer to each other; my interest in missions, and as you know, his serving in Nepal for a couple years."
The Fearless Gospel
The Mission Field