Do's and Don't of Witnessing.

[rita727]

Post a tip you've learned from witnessing.

 

[rita727]

DO be compassionate.

 

[ctay]

Don't be to pushy

 

[Gottservant]

Don't forget baptism. Without baptism there is no remission of sins.

Do witness to every living creature (don't limit who or what you witness to). I have witnessed with success to people, birds, four-legged animals, fish and plants both above and below water.

 

[MikeMcK]

do be respectful

don't take rejection personally (unless you're just being a jerk)

do acknowledge that you're a sinner in need of God's forgiveness, too.

don't be afraid to say, "I don't know".

Do be prepared. Know the scriptures before you go.

Don't rely on cheap emotionalism or bumper sticker phrases.

Do use the law to bring about conviction.

Don't speak Christianese. Even though it may make sense to you, even though the words or phrases may even be BIblical, remember that the lost probably don't use them every day the way that we do so they might not know what you're talking about. Consider your audience.

Do make the Gospel relevant to their situation, but never at the cost of changing the central message that man is a sinner, facing God's wrath and needs a Savior, and that God has provided that Savior in the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ.

Don't get sidetracked. If you're sharing the Gospel and they say "Well, what about all of the violence in the Bible", for instance, there's nothing at all wrong with saying, "Let's finish this and we'll come back to that later".

Do - and folks, this is the most important "do" of all - keep it close to the cross.

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

Don't mix politics with religion. You're there to introduce them to Jesus Christ, not to change their views on abortion, same-sex marriage, or the war in Iraq.

 

[rita727]

do be respectful

don't take rejection personally (unless you're just being a jerk)

do acknowledge that you're a sinner in need of God's forgiveness, too.

don't be afraid to say, "I don't know".

Do be prepared. Know the scriptures before you go.

Don't rely on cheap emotionalism or bumper sticker phrases.

Do use the law to bring about conviction.

Don't speak Christianese. Even though it may make sense to you, even though the words or phrases may even be BIblical, remember that the lost probably don't use them every day the way that we do so they might not know what you're talking about. Consider your audience.

Do make the Gospel relevant to their situation, but never at the cost of changing the central message that man is a sinner, facing God's wrath and needs a Savior, and that God has provided that Savior in the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ.

Don't get sidetracked. If you're sharing the Gospel and they say "Well, what about all of the violence in the Bible", for instance, there's nothing at all wrong with saying, "Let's finish this and we'll come back to that later".

Do - and folks, this is the most important "do" of all - keep it close to the cross.

Excellent advice, esp not knowing it all, relevance, and Christianese

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

If you are witnessing to pagans or occultists of ANY sort, NEVER pretend to know anything about what they think, feel, or believe unless you have actually BEEN one yourself. Do NOT display your ignorance by confusing what Wiccans believe with what Thelemites believe with what Celtic Reconstructionists believe, etc. etc. and NEVER try to tell ANY type of pagan that they are "actually worshipping the devil" unless THEY self-identify as a Satanist. Even then, be careful, because CoS (LaVeyan) Satanists are actually atheists who engage in ritual psychodrama, not worshippers of a literal devil.

If you don't know squat about these areas (and if your information comes entirely from Christian publications then TRUST me, you DON'T know squat), it's best to own up to that ignorance up front and keep your witness focused on realities that are common to all humanity, like our relationships, how we treat one another, problems in the world, our heart-needs and such. Don't try to play amateur demonbuster while witnessing to pagans. You'll lose both their respect and their attention, and become just another brick in the wall they've erected to keep Christ out.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but it needs to be said straight up.

 

[Randombitsofstring]

As someone who has had to deal with well meaning Christians trying to witness to me—when I tell you to please leave me alone then do so. Nothing sends a worse message then someone who won’t leave you alone when you ask them. When they come to witness on my door step I try to be polite and I’ll listen to their message, but at the end when I say “Thank you, I’ll think about it” please take this as a cue to leave. I’ve actually had people try to put their foot in my door way to keep me from closing my door—that is rude people. Like someone posted above—DON’T BE PUSHY!

And secondly, don’t be condescending and holier than thou.

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

Hehehe, good advice, Randombits!
I usually invite them in, get them all settled and comfy, then blow their minds with accurate Greek and Hebrew exegesis on the passages they try to "use on" me. Shuts 'em up and leaves their jaws on the floor -- very amusing. My fiance then finishes the job with his elite analysis of syncretism and parallels throughout history involving various religions from Egypt to Sumer, and they stumble out the door pumping our hands up and down thanking us for an AMAZING conversation, expressing their utter delight and how they cannot WAIT to get together again. We tell 'em, "Sure, come by anytime!" ------------------------ and they never do.

 

[sister_maynard]

Don't forget baptism. Without baptism there is no remission of sins.

Do witness to every living creature (don't limit who or what you witness to). I have witnessed with success to people, birds, four-legged animals, fish and plants both above and below water.

Not to be rude, but how do you measure your success? This sounds like an interesting idea, but how do you tell if a chrysanthemum has responded to your witness?

 

[hiumble1]

You measure success by being obedient. Did you do what we were commanded to? go into ALL of the world (even your neighbors, friends, family, etc.) and preach the good news.
Only God Saves.
you give them the truth. All will make a decision (yes no or indecision), and All were lead to the cross. that is all we can do.
Pray and reach out to a lost world in season and out of season.
I just got back from a witnessing in Las Vegas and let me tell you we have an extremely lost or misquided society that needs the truth. People claiming that most everyone in the US is inherently good. Then why do we need Police, the Judicial system, Lawyers, Amber alerts, Video servalence, Identity propertion, etc.
We have more crime in the US than in any other country.... ask yourself why? (no one reaches out to the lost world with the truth)

 

[Prayer_Warrior83]

Be specific about sin: don't leave it as an abstract, much less presume that the fallen concience is already aware of it on the basis of their own understanding. It is not enough to merely say that sin is simply “missing the mark of God’s standard ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3:23)" if we do not impart that standard in specifics since the actual definition of sin given by scripture is that “sin is transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4) and that “to his own, every man will declare his own righteousness. For who can find one who is truly faithful?” (Proverbs 20:6)

Let them make the final decision under the Holy Spirit's guidance: We will never fully appreciate what a deep and awesome thing conversion is until we own up to the fact that it is a miracle. It is a gift of God. Recall again the point that we not only sin, but we also are sinful – blind, hard, dead, unable to submit to the law of God. And so when we hear the gospel, we will never respond positively unless God performs the miracle of regeneration.
Repentance and faith are our work. But we will not repent and believe unless God does His work to overcome our hard and rebellious hearts. This divine work is called regeneration. Our part is called conversion.
Conversion does indeed include an act of will by which we renounce sin and submit ourselves to the authority of Christ and put our hope and trust in Him. We are responsible to do this and will be condemned if we don’t. But just as clearly, the Bible teaches that, owing to our hard heart, willful blindness and spiritual insensitivity, we cannot do this alone.
Praying a sinner’s prayer with someone who isn’t genuinely repentant may leave you with a stillborn in your hands. Therefore, rather than lead him in a prayer of repentance, it is wise to encourage him to pray himself. When Nathan confronted David about his sin, he didn’t lead the king in a prayer of repentance. Instead, David opened his heart to God and allowed his prayer to come from his own mouth.
If a man committed adultery, and his wife is willing to take him back, should you have to write out an apology for him to read to her? No. Sorrow for his betrayal of her trust should spill from his lips. She doesn’t want eloquent words, but simply sorrow of heart. The same applies to a prayer of repentance. The words aren’t as important as the presence of "godly sorrow." The sinner should be told to repent—to confess and forsake his sins. He could do this as a whispered prayer, then you could pray for him. If he’s not sure what to say, perhaps David’s prayer of repentance (Psalm 51) could be used as a model, but his own words under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are more desirable.

Regardless however, to say that the recital of a single prayer alone is all that is necessary for salvation and hence becomes the unit of measurement for “conversions” is to at once attribute salvation not to the grace of God, but a human work.

 

[Epsilon5]

Do it out of love.

Try to know at least the basis of their beliefs. Just don't think you know more than you do, like Moriah_Conquering_Wind said. I'd suggest letting them talk about their beliefs before you talk about yours. Don't make it seem one-sided. Just be sure your faith is strong.

 

[JuJube]

I'm learning this more and more, but it is true.

People don't care how much you know. They just want to know how much you care, so
LISTEN

 

[Gottservant]

Not to be rude, but how do you measure your success? This sounds like an interesting idea, but how do you tell if a chrysanthemum has responded to your witness?

It is fairly easy to discern in the spirit whether your message is being received. It is such a joy to have your message received too, the spirit rejoices!

 

[Voice of Thunder]

When another believer is intiating the conversation do not butt in. Listen until he/she is done.

 

[Dondi]

If you are witnessing to pagans or occultists of ANY sort, NEVER pretend to know anything about what they think, feel, or believe unless you have actually BEEN one yourself. Do NOT display your ignorance by confusing what Wiccans believe with what Thelemites believe with what Celtic Reconstructionists believe, etc. etc. and NEVER try to tell ANY type of pagan that they are "actually worshipping the devil" unless THEY self-identify as a Satanist. Even then, be careful, because CoS (LaVeyan) Satanists are actually atheists who engage in ritual psychodrama, not worshippers of a literal devil.

If you don't know squat about these areas (and if your information comes entirely from Christian publications then TRUST me, you DON'T know squat), it's best to own up to that ignorance up front and keep your witness focused on realities that are common to all humanity, like our relationships, how we treat one another, problems in the world, our heart-needs and such. Don't try to play amateur demonbuster while witnessing to pagans. You'll lose both their respect and their attention, and become just another brick in the wall they've erected to keep Christ out.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but it needs to be said straight up.

These are not harsh at all, Moriah, but sound advise. It sounds like pagans and wiccans are a burden on your heart. I commend you for teaching us the right way to approach them, for sometimes out of our ignorance, we end up pushing them farther away, instead of attracting them to the Savior.

I might add:

Don't win the battle and lose the war. In any conversation, don't give yourself "brownie points" because you've proven them wrong. Nobody likes to be proven wrong, nor wants to admit it. Our job is to shed the Light of the True Gospel and let the Holy Spirit deal with their hearts. Let the Holy Spirit deal with their error and with their sin, we are just the messengers. But we must present that message with love.

Do spend much time in prayer and be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Confess and forsake sin in you own life, you don't need to be going out with planks in you eyes. Allow the Spirit to fill you with compassion for those who you witness to and be filled with boldness and power of the Holy Spirit, who will speak through you the words they need to hear.

 

[shadowravenfox]

All the advice given is sage advise.

 

[KomissarSteve]

I'm learning this more and more, but it is true.

People don't care how much you know. They just want to know how much you care, so
LISTEN

Oh, seriously, to that. The fact of the matter is, when witnessing to someone, you don't know what their spiritual background is, and you don't know why they believe or disbelieve as they do.