Although nearly three in four Christians say they feel comfortable sharing the gospel, the majority do not do so.

New findings from LifeWay Research -- self-described as "distressing results" -- indicate that 61 percent of evangelical Christians fail to share their faith on a regular basis, even though they believe it is their responsibility to do so. Moreover, nearly half of those respondents said they have not invited a non-Christian friend to church in the past six months.

The study, which was conducted in October 2011 and released this week, surveyed nearly 3,000 American adults who attend a Protestant church once a month or more. Only 8 percent of those surveyed said they are hesitant to share with others that they are Christians.

LifeWay president Ed Stetzer called the results "not necessarily surprising," but "alarming" in some cases.

"If you are going to be intentional about sharing your faith, praying for others is a great way to start," Stetzer wrote on LifeWay's research blog.

However, only 21 percent of respondents said they pray every day for their non-Christian acquaintances, and 20 percent said they rarely or never pray for the spiritual status of non-Christians.

CT routinely publishes on the topic of evangelism, including the importance of witnessing to others through words, and whether or not relational evangelism is "enough".