PHOENIX (BP) – Evangelist and author William “Bill” Fay, a former high-rolling businessman with mafia ties who came to Christ and wrote the personal evangelism guide “Share Jesus Without Fear,” has died. He was approximately 85.
First published by Lifeway Christian Resources’ B&H Publishing Group in 1999, “Share Jesus Without Fear” has been translated into more than 50 languages. It was rereleased in 2016 as a Bible study. An accompanying booklet, “How to Share Your Faith Without an Argument,” sold more than 5 million copies by 2020, when Fay was recognized for evangelistic achievements by the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Fay’s witnessing method teaches Christians how to share the Gospel by asking a nonbeliever a series of questions to diagnose their spiritual condition and then asking them to read aloud a series of Scriptures in a marked New Testament. After each Scripture, the believer sharing the Gospel asks simply, “What does this say to you?”
“‘What does this say to you?’ is a question,” Fay wrote in “Share Jesus Without Fear.” “It is not a defense or an argument. All you have to do is listen to your friend’s answer. Your only job is to turn pages and to stay out of God’s way. The Holy Spirit will help your friend understand more from a simple reading of a verse than any explanation or sermon you could have preached.”
Fay shared the Gospel one on-one using that method more than 10,000 times, according to some estimates.
Colorado evangelist Rick Barton, a friend of Fay’s for four decades, remembered the late evangelist, who died April 21 in Phoenix, as both a tireless Gospel witness and a champion of anyone seeking to overcome their fear of sharing the Gospel.
“If you were trying to lead people to Jesus, Bill was in your corner,” Barton said. “I thought Bill could lead a lamppost to Jesus if he tried.”
“Share Jesus Without Fear” catapulted Fay to notoriety as both an author and preacher across a variety of denominations and parachurch groups.
Lifeway posted on X June 1, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of evangelist and author William ‘Bill’ Fay. We thank God for his faithful service and for the countless lives he impacted through his gospel witness. Lifeway sends our prayers and deepest sympathies to [his wife] Peggy and the entire Fay family.”
Fay came to faith in Christ in 1981 after decades of pursuing affluence and thrills – both legal and illegal. He became a successful business executive and high-stakes gambler. He also fell in with the mafia and ran a house of prostitution, according to “Share Jesus without Fear.” But none of his activities could satisfy his soul.
“I had an unlimited expense account, diamond rings, Rolexes, and gold jewelry,” he wrote. “I thought, ‘What’s next? I have both legal and illegal money. I have power, both corporately and illegally. Yet something is missing.’”
Though Gospel witness delivered by a series of believers, Fay discovered what was missing. He placed his faith in Christ March 4, 1981, at a country church in Colorado.
“God chose to take my life and flip it,” Fay wrote.
His ministry had a major impact on Southern Baptists, said Tim Dowdy, vice president of evangelism at the North American Mission Board.
“Bill Fay never got over what Jesus Christ had done in his own life,” Dowdy said. “Following a remarkable conversion, he spent decades helping believers overcome their fears and share the Gospel with confidence. His books and training resources, especially ‘Share Jesus Without Fear,’ equipped thousands of churches and inspired countless Christians to engage in personal evangelism. We thank God for Bill’s faithful ministry and for the eternal impact of a life fully surrendered to Christ’s mission.”
Fay’s clear and direct style at times impacted even the upper echelons of evangelical leaders. On one occasion, he chastised late pastor and author John MacArthur for not giving what Fay deemed a strong enough evangelistic invitation, Barton said. MacArthur received the challenged and gave a stronger invitation.
“The next service, MacArthur gave an invitation,” Barton said, “and Bill said a number of people come forward to receive Christ who had been waiting.”
Fay was “not afraid to call a spade a spade,” Barton said.
A funeral service will be held in the Denver area June 27. Yet death was not the end of Fay’s impact.
Barton was preaching near Fort Collins, Colo., recently when a man approached him and asked, “Have you heard of Bill Fay?” Barton replied that Fay was a friend and he soon would be attending Fay’s funeral. The man said a group at the church was going through one of Fay’s studies with great impact.
“Bill was instrumental in so many churches, groups of people and Bible studies,” Barton said, “teaching them how to share your faith without an argument.”
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