As an introvert, the idea of
initiating a conversation with a nonbeliever about Jesus is a little out of my
comfort zone. Yet, at the same time, as
an introvert I love having deep and significant conversations. What could more deep and significant than a
conversation with someone about Jesus and His grace? What I need is some help in getting the
conversation started. Sometimes I use
surveys to try to start a conversation with a stranger, but I don’t always have
a survey handy and sometimes there isn’t enough time or it might not be
appropriate to go through a survey.
This past week at church an
American businessman preached on how to talk to someone about Jesus. Bob gave some really good ideas for starting
spiritual conversations. He also gave
some tips for how to initiate the topic of spiritual things which allow the
nonbeliever to take the next step in continuing the conversation if he wants to. These were great tips that even I as an
introvert am excited about using!
Start with a question.
Do you ever think about your relationship with God?”
“What would it mean to you to know that all your sins
were forgiven?”
“How do you know that your sins are completely
forgiven?” [One woman said, ‘I can’t know. I have to wait until I die to find out,’ to which he asked, ‘But what if you could know today that all your sins, past, present and
future are forgiven? to which she replied, ‘Oh, yes, I would love to know
that!]
Has anything ever
happened to you that was dramatic, personal or spectacular enough to have
caused you to be certain there is a God who is both infinite and personally
caring?
How do you know
you’ll go to heaven when you die?
Do you have a
spiritual belief of any kind now?
Do you think you
are moving toward God, away from God or staying about the same?
How strong is
your desire to know God personally?
Bob also gave a couple of
tips about opening the door to talking about the gospel that leaves the
initiative in the hands of the nonbeliever:
You can give someone a tract (like the Four Spiritual
Laws) and say, ‘you can read this and if you want to talk about it later, SMS
me.’ (Of course you would write your
contact information on the back of the booklet!) [The speaker gave someone a Four Spiritual
Laws booklet with his phone number written on the back and the nonbeliever
called back within 30 minutes and said, ‘we must tell everyone about this
wonderful information!’]
Another option is to briefly talk about the gospel
without using a tract and then offer to send them a link to a booklet on the
gospel by email. (a
suggested site: http://www.godlovesrussia.com/)
[One non-Christian guy said, ‘thanks, I will print it out and read it
tonight!’]
The speaker also had some
very good advice in general when talking about the gospel:
Keep the main part of the conversation on Jesus and
His death for your sins. Don’t focus on your life or on the changes in
your life as you are sharing the gospel…you can mention these things, but keep
Jesus central to the conversation.
He reminded us that people want to hear about God,
they just don’t want to talk about ‘religion.’ You can talk
about God and what having a relationship with Him is like without talking about
religion or religious activities. [Bob
shared about how one man immediately told him that he had no interest in
talking about religion, and so he assured him that they would not talk about
religion. Their ensuing conversation
about God and Jesus went on for a couple of hours and the non-believer was so
grateful that they had talked.]
I was so glad to hear that
last point – too often we think we are sharing the gospel with someone and
don’t realize that we are focusing instead on what church activities or other
religious activities we started are involved in. We all know that ‘going to church, reading
the Bible and praying,’ as activities in themselves are not what caused us to
become Christians. Becoming a Christian
happens when someone places their full trust in Jesus’ death on the cross and
understands that their sins have been forgiven because of Jesus. The activities that Christians do are simply
a result of having a saving
relationship with Jesus Christ, they
don’t cause one to become a Christian.
What ways have you found
helpful in starting spiritual conversations?
Have you picked up any pointers along the way as you are sharing the
gospel with those around you? Please share
them with us so that we can help one another become more effective in telling
the lost about Jesus.
