Nichols asked Novak If he was going to present the gospel to William Shatner, who was at the same event. “I told her I was,” said Novak, “and she handed me $100 and said, ‘It’s on me. Go show him Jesus’ love.’” When Novak was done speaking with Shatner, Nichols asked him how it went and “told me she would start praying for him more.”
When asked how his encounter with William Shatner went, Novak said he has actually met Shatner four times. The first was in 2009 and Shatner was not “overly kind” at the time. When Novak spoke to Schatner in 2016 after speaking with Nichols, the evangelist said that Shatner was “way more open and receptive than he had been previously.” Shatner’s beliefs were “more on the agnostic spectrum,” said Novak, who gave the actor some materials from apologist Lee Strobel.
“I love to give out [Strobel’s] material to anyone who is agnostic, atheist, or who’s just questioning who Jesus is,” Novak told ChurchLeaders.
Novak explained that William Shatner had a cancer scare in 2016 and that Shatner has spoken publicly about his fear of death. Novak spoke to Shatner again in 2020 and at that time, Shatner remembered Novak and thanked him for his earlier gift, which the actor called “very bold” and “very touching.” The last time Novak saw Shatner was in October 2021 and Novak said Shatner told him the materials have made him “think a little bit more.”
