Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Ginger Renee
I know it is hard to go up to somebody you don't know and start a conversation. I know that there is something good in everyone. So I might mention wow nice handwriting and go from there. Be genuinely interested in what they are sharing with you. Everyone is hurting, sharing a verse of scripture with them might boost their spirits. You can invite them to church. Planting seeds if it is all you do will generate questions from the person in the future and this person will refer to what you had discussed in a conversation with them. Don't give up! Plant as many seeds as you can:))))
Danny Hickman
Writing answers on this site is probably much easier than going in a pulpit and preaching a sermon on the same topic. The difference is, one has a degree of performance and the other is mostly anonymity. Also, you can erase and start over in your writing ministry. In person, real time teaching and testifying can be intimidating. I don't suggest that people should be ashamed at not being gifted to do it. Church leaders need to stop sending shepherd boys to fight giants. Let God do it if that's what he wants to do. I only know of one instance where a shepherd boy pulled it off. Not every shepherd boy can step up like that.
Danny Hickman
In my community there are often men in suits with a shirt and bow tie, standing at a traffic light handing out the 'Muhammad Speaks' literature. When they come to my car I always smile and make it really clear to them that I'm not interested. They keep it moving; not one of them, in all the years that they've offered me the literature, have ever pressed me to take the magazine. They are never pushy.
I live near a Kingdom Hall place of worship for Jehovah's Witness. Over the years they have come to my door to witness. I try to treat them the same as I treat the Nation of Islam: 'thanks, but no, I'm good.'
Some will keep it moving. Others seem to believe that 'thank you, but no' means 'try harder.' For some reason, some believe that if you're not one of them, you're nothing; you're just a lost sheep wandering around in a dark world with no sense of direction.
What's my point? I don't have a fish symbol on my car that identifies me as a Christian. I don't have a sign in my yard that says 'this is a christian home.' But I've been with Jesus for quite a few years. I don't like strangers treating me as if I'm a lost sheep in a wilderness.
If I want to hear what a Jehovah's Witness believes I know the way to the Kingdom Hall. If I want to check out Allah and his followers I'll go to one of their Masjids.
I think the same is true for the strangers I meet; they know the way to a church if they want to hear the gospel. Or they can approach me, not the other way around.
Danny Hickman
Has anyone here ever come across a person, a complete stranger, who launched into a conversation with you about how they got cured of cancer or some other deadly disease? I have. I understand how it gives them a feeling of victory to tell someone about it, but I'm not really interested in hearing about how someone got cured of something that I'm not dealing with! My thought is usually 'why are you telling me this?'
When a person does that, that person isn't fearful of witnessing. They want to tell of 'how they got over!'
It's a beautiful thing! It's even more beautiful when they give the glory to God for 'how they got over!'
It doesn't have to necessarily be a sickness that they use to tell of how God gave them a major victory in their life, but it helps. If they start the conversation about how they were lost in drug abuse or alcohol addiction, it can also perk up itchy ears; people will listen to a testimony about victory over those two!
By the same token, if you begin by saying you were addicted to porn and got delivered, there's a good chance it won't be received quite the same way.
(When I got saved and began sharing my testimony, the first thing my parents told me was, "be careful what you tell people.")
If you launch into a conversation with a potential convert by quoting scriptures about Jesus, many will look at you crossways!
TELL 'HOW YOU GOT OVER!'.. if you got over... What's fearful about telling people God gave you an eternal victory? Tell it right!