Natural Mode Evangelism

Last Spring, I posted a tip about our R&D Team’s Evangelism Café. It was an opportunity to put in one place our best evangelism tools broken down by modes–ministry, natural, and body.

We typically begin the campus year using lots of ministry mode approaches in order to find the most interested students. But we do want to help our students and faculty learn how to share their faith in their own spheres of influence, in the natural mode.

My wife, Chris, coaches some who have graduated from our ministry and are now in the marketplace. She frequently talks about five simple things that they can do to naturally engage in spiritual conversations with those they work with. These are things our students can do on their dorm floor.

“Sometime”.

I’ve talked about “Sometime” in a previous tip. Something as simple as asking a “Sometime” question helps you find out their level of interest and takes the pressure off in the moment.

Questions like

• “Sometime could I share with you the difference Jesus Christ has made in my life?”
• “I would enjoy hearing more about your spiritual journey sometime.”

make having spiritual conversations more natural.

“I wonder”.

This comes from God Space by Doug Pollock. It recognizes the power of good questions and gives you a place to start a conversation.

“I wonder” is a way to find out what others are interested in and can invite them to search for answers. Some “I wonder” statements include.

• “That’s interesting. I wonder how you came to that perspective.”
• “I wonder what role religion has played in shaping in your life.”
• “I wonder how my answer to that question made you feel.”

“I wonder.” opens up dialogue. It communicates respect and can lead others to self-discovery. You could be helping them wrestle with contradictions within their own belief systems.

Jesus often led with questions. In fact, at times he answered a question with His own question. When you ask good wondering questions you demonstrate that you are listening thoughtfully. Such questions come from a desire to better understand the person.

Open-ended questions are best. They promote further dialogue and have the potential to cause others to reflect, possibly leading to their own questioning.

There are three more simple ideas for engaging spiritually with others that Chris uses in her coaching. Next time I’ll tell about raising a faith flag, telling a spiritual story, and sharing your own story, a conversational take on the three-minute testimony.