The next time you’re able to meet with the person, they already know you like to talk about deep, meaningful things. You know their story, and hopefully they’ve heard your story by now too. Now it’s time to really start digging into their ideas about religion and spirituality. Again, look for ways to work your testimony and/or the gospel into your discussion.
What Do You Fear?
Possible openers:
- What’s your biggest concern about the future?
- What would be an undesirable outcome in your life that you’re sometimes concerned could actually happen?
- What sorts of fears or concerns have the most influence on your daily decision-making?
Objectives:
- Help the person identify the fears that motivate their decisions and actions.
- Set the conversation up for a dialogue about freedom from fear.
What Do You Believe?
Possible openers:
- With such real fears, what keeps you grounded? What keeps you from just shutting down or running away from your responsibilities?
- I used to have a similar fear, but I got free from it. [Perhaps share testimony here.] What’s your experience with church or religion?
- I know a lot of people are motivated by their beliefs about spirituality. What are your thoughts on spirituality or God or faith?
Objectives:
- Learn what the person believes.
- Identify the language they use to describe spiritual things. This may be useful when you explain the gospel to them.
- Discover what the person knows (or thinks they know) about God.
Who’s Your Guide?
Possible openers:
- What people or religions do you think have most influenced your beliefs?
- What do you think makes a person or a religion worth believing?
- How confident are you that you’re right?
Follow-ups:
- If they’re confident: On what evidence do you base your certainty?
- If they’re not confident: Does that ever bother you?
- If appropriate, share why you’re so confident that Christianity is true and worth following.
Objectives:
- Pay close attention to the things this person thinks make a religion worth believing. This information may be helpful.
- Hopefully helping the person think critically about why they hold their beliefs will undermine some of their confidence in their position. This could start them seeking truth and asking the right sort of questions.
