Yesterday I met another neighborhood family. They live near the local grocery store. The house is noticeable because they’ve converted the first floor into a temple. They were outside, so I asked a question about the large incense urn on their porch. The woman of the family was willing to talk with me beyond my initial question. During the conversation she observed that to them all religions are similar, and all gods about the same. They chose one they thought had helped them in the past when they’ve had trouble.

I’m getting used to variations on that statement since moving to this area several months ago to make disciples and see a new local church established. As I walk around the neighborhood looking for people to greet, certain comments come up repeatedly.

When I first encountered them, some comments made me realize I was not as prepared for evangelism on the mission field as I had thought. People don’t think as I do. They also don’t always think like books describing the formal teachings of their religions say they should. It’s one thing to give the right Bible answer on a test or in a sermon. It’s another thing to know the most gracious way to frame the biblical answer in an informal conversation (especially with limited language ability).

What could I have done to arrive better prepared for evangelism? Here are some things I’ve been doing that I wish I had started long ago.

Pray more.

Prepare by establishing a pattern of prayer for the advance of the Gospel. Since beginning work on a church plant, I’ve prayed more often, and more specifically, about evangelism. When we leave our home, we pass houses with a family god-shelf, in-home temples, and sometimes one of the larger temples nearby. People openly tell us that not many will want to change their religion. We’re surrounded by reminders that God must prepare and open hearts. Only then will anything of lasting spiritual value happen.

Know your Bible.

Prepare by developing confident familiarity with Bible teaching. In a place with many gods and idols, we can’t take for granted passages about God’s unique existence. We can’t skim over passages describing God’s rejection of idolatry. A study of apostolic evangelism in Acts has increased my confidence to focus on the essential themes of the Gospel. Deeper familiarity with the Bible guides me in planning how to use Scripture passages to communicate the message clearly to people who have little or no Bible knowledge.

Know your audience.

Prepare by learning not just what books say religions teach but what people actually think. What questions do they have? What do they do and why? What do they think the Bible is about? I wish I’d had the imagination before arriving to ask missionaries on our field more questions: What comments, objections, or questions surface regularly? How do you prefer to respond? What parts of the Gospel do people seem to have trouble understanding? I also wish I’d worked harder to meet more unsaved people from our target field before we arrived.

Know your goal.

Prepare by viewing evangelism as the process of making this person a disciple. Certainly, we’ll have one-time opportunities. But unless God has already been at work, conversion will probably require more than one conversation. Many people here have no Bible knowledge and no context for understanding why Jesus loving and dying for them is important enough to demand a response. Many people we meet disagree with even the first claim the Bible makes that there is a Creator to know and obey. Often it seems they won’t listen very carefully until they know us enough to believe we might be worth listening to. After all, how would you react to a weird foreigner using broken English to explain a strange and suspicious idea to you?

Thank the Lord for multiple gospel conversations with some of our unsaved friends! We believe God can do amazing things when we give people His Word. But we also realize that might take time. Evangelism requires explaining the Gospel. Maybe a little at a time. Maybe many times. We don’t want to win debates or pressure people to make polite though false professions, but we want to get people in contact with God’s Word so God will persuade them to become committed followers of Jesus.

Learn to listen before talking.

Prepare by forming a habit of asking questions and listening to the answers. Part of my evangelism strategy is just getting outside and talking with people. By talking, I mean mostly listening. I try to think of questions I can ask to get people talking, especially questions that allow them to teach me something. The only way we’ll start a conversation instead of giving a lecture is to learn the questions people have. Gauging a person’s understanding of the biblical teaching we’re presenting requires letting the other person talk.

When I let others talk, they sometimes ask me questions, which in turn gives me permission to talk. That was my experience with the neighbors I met yesterday. That was also my experience during my first year of language study with a classmate, a Jehovah’s Witness from England. I just asked him questions and let him talk. Then he asked what I thought. (Wow! He just asked me to witness to him!) This kind of conversation can lead to opportunities for inviting people to look at the Bible or have further interaction.

After you listen, do some homework. When the same questions or comments keep coming up, take them home and think about them. How do you wish you had answered? What could you ask next? How would you direct that conversation again? (No doubt, you probably will!)

I’ve had conversations with several people in our neighborhood. Some go well, like with those neighbors. Sometimes I walk away dissatisfied. Either way, I’m looking forward to our next conversation. And when I meet new acquaintances, I will have some questions in mind to start another conversation.