Questions to start a spiritual conversation
In gardening the ground must be cultivated before a seed can be planted. I call the cultivating work in the context of evangelism: “pre-evangelism”. Here we look for opportunities to invest in other people and build a stronger relationship. This may involve meeting a need or being available to be a listening ear when their heart is heavy.
Pre-evangelism takes many shapes and can be summed up as being a good neighbor. As the relationship grows we also disclose God’s involvement in our lives. We share moments of insecurity, uncertainty, challenge, provision, doubt, fellowship, worship..ect. Often, when we take the first step to share our personal situation it creates an environment where they might start to open up about their own experiences with God.
When a spiritual conversation happens, we want to have an accurate understanding of their views and opinions. One helpful disposition is to be curious to discover their spiritual opinions. This is done through starting a spiritual dialogue and extending the love of Christ through being a patient and active listener.
Spiritual Conversations begin by asking a question. Here are some of my favorite questions I use:
What spiritual experiences have you had? (be quiet and listen to their answers)
What do you think happens when you die?
What is your spiritual background like?
How do you think Jesus viewed reality?
Would you be surprised if “being a good person” has nothing to do with entering heaven?
Jesus said that one cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again. What do you think he meant by that?
Say someone is stabbed violently and they have mortal wounds and will likely die in a couple minutes. They ask you, “How can I be saved?” What would you say?
How has your childhood faith changed?
Do you think prayer works?
What do you hope about God is true?
Is there anything i can pray about for you?
Our disposition is curiosity. We listen, ask for more questions to clarify and uncover. We seek to understand their feelings, thoughts, misconceptions, experiences with religion and religious people.
We build relational equity by letting the person share their point of view. This is making the deposit in the bank account.
Sometimes, people may stumble through an answer and it’s important to give them space and time to process. By opening up on the subject it may help them to re-evaluate their position. Sometimes they may ask your input.
