Next week our church is holding a Family Fun Day for the local community.
About 150 people have already pre-registered. That is a huge number for a church with 50 members.
Some visitors may have never been inside a church before. Some may feel nervous. Some may be spiritually open. Some may simply be there because their children want to go on the jumping castle.
Our job is to:
- Welcome people warmly.
- Start natural conversations.
- Listen well.
- Notice where God may be opening a door.
Before an evangelistic event like this, I think it is important to provide training. A little preparation can help Christians feel more confident, more relaxed, and more able to notice what God is doing.
For this fun day, our training focused on preparing for the types of conversations we might have during the day. I like to group them into four categories:
- Casual conversations
- Meaningful conversations
- Spiritual conversations
- Jesus conversations
Most conversations do not begin with Jesus. They usually start at the casual level: children, food, the weather, the event, or how someone heard about the day.
But as we listen well, casual conversations can transition into meaningful conversations. Meaningful conversations can transition into spiritual conversations. And when God opens the door, spiritual conversations can become conversations about Jesus.
I like to celebrate each time a conversation goes one step deeper.
At a family fun day, I may not get all the way to a Jesus conversation. That is okay.
Here are a few tips on how to move a conversation towards the spiritual. Ask open-ended questions which are not threatening.
Try: “Have you had much to do with Christian things?”
Then I follow up with: “What did you think about that?”
You might also want to use the sometime strategy: “Would you be interested in getting together sometime so I could hear more about your spiritual journey?”
Sometime means I am not asking them to check their calendar on the spot. I am simply seeing whether there is openness to continue the conversation later.
That matters because the best conversation may not happen during the event. The event may simply be the bridge.
So here is my encouragement:
Before your next outreach, take time to train people. Let them practice in a safe environment where they can afford to make mistakes. Help them know what it feels like to move naturally from casual to meaningful, from meaningful to spiritual, and, when God opens the door, towards conversations about Jesus.
Here is a link to the simple training guide we used. Adapt it for your own setting.
And celebrate every conversation, no matter how far you get.
Every warm welcome, every good question, every moment of listening, and every simple prayer may be one more step in someone’s journey towards Jesus.
P.S. Who do you think would be encouraged by this email? Forward it to them and let them know they can walk alongside experienced cross-cultural evangelists by visiting: https://hereslife.com/encouragement