Questions and discussion about witnessing publically to strangers espe

[Strader327]

Hey everyone, I want to briefly discuss witnessing to people, specifically to people here in America in this current age of increased skepticism and just general hatred of people who hold to different views than the other who is trying to persuade them.

From what I've seen and have experienced myself (mostly on the internet) but I have also watched others out in public trying to witness to people and nine times out of ten the conversation ends up becoming a heated argument kind of like the ones you see on many of today's popular news channel political talk shows with the talking heads constantly acting rude to each other and interrupting the one talking whenever the other gets a chance to.

To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons.

The big factors remain the same. They quickly get rude and hateful, they interrupt you every chance they get, they don't listen or even care to listen and they try to pick apart every single detail of what you are trying to say.

The things I'm asking myself now are, does God really command us to witness to and debate these types of people even if we don't get anywhere or can I just do something else for God that doesn't involve debating and being yelled at?

Because for me, I'm more of the kind of guy who just wants to present the gospel and the reasons why I believe what I believe (like I did here ) and just say, "here, if you are interested in it, here are some more things you can do to help you look into the matter more.

I just don't like being involved in hateful, shouting match type of debates with people, my life is stressful enough.

I guess it has to do with some bad memories I have in my past where family members used to argue and yell at each other.

But if it is something I have to do, how can I effectively witness to people either in person or on the internet without having to study psychology and debate tactics?

Currently again, I feel more led to serve God in other (and hopefully more effective ways) but as of now, I just don't feel led to "street witness" to total strangers or people who are dedicated to their false religion or belief system.

Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for your time.

[goldust59]

I think following the lead of the Holy Spirit is the most important part of witnessing to others. Very seldom have I been led to witness to a total stranger, but when I have been, I found that the Lord had already been dealing with the person & that they were receptive to what I had to say.

Most witnessing I have done has been to people that I came into regular contact with, co-workers mainly. These people already knew where I stood & believe me, they watch a Christian like a hawk to see if they walk the talk! How we live out our relationship with God daily is our most effective witness tool. Sometimes I was led to approach the subject with someone, but most of the time, they came to me. Sometimes with honest questions & sometimes to mock. Either way, how you handle yourself in the situation is going to speak volumes, sometimes more than what you actually say.

There are a lot of people out there that are hungry for God & don't realize it. They are so disillusioned by the powerless form of the church that is so prevalent in this country that they are turned off for the most part by anyone that approaches them. WE, as the Body of Christ, need to stand up & be what we are called to be & let God use us to show forth His power in the days we are living in. That will only be accomplished when we are being led by His Spirit & not our own.

I don't think you can approach every person in the same way, with a cookie cutter approach to the gospel. Each person is unique & only God knows what that person needs at that moment. Always follow God's lead.

[goldust59]

I think following the lead of the Holy Spirit is the most important part of witnessing to others. Very seldom have I been led to witness to a total stranger, but when I have been, I found that the Lord had already been dealing with the person & that they were receptive to what I had to say.

Most witnessing I have done has been to people that I came into regular contact with, co-workers mainly. These people already knew where I stood & believe me, they watch a Christian like a hawk to see if they walk the talk! How we live out our relationship with God daily is our most effective witness tool. Sometimes I was led to approach the subject with someone, but most of the time, they came to me. Sometimes with honest questions & sometimes to mock. Either way, how you handle yourself in the situation is going to speak volumes, sometimes more than what you actually say.

There are a lot of people out there that are hungry for God & don't realize it. They are so disillusioned by the powerless form of the church that is so prevalent in this country that they are turned off for the most part by anyone that approaches them. WE, as the Body of Christ, need to stand up & be what we are called to be & let God use us to show forth His power in the days we are living in. That will only be accomplished when we are being led by His Spirit & not our own.

I don't think you can approach every person in the same way, with a cookie cutter approach to the gospel. Each person is unique & only God knows what that person needs at that moment. Always follow God's lead.

Before I witness to people I get to know them a little bit and share some of my life with them. Hopefully they will see some of Christ in me and will at least listen. I never tell them that I'm right and they're wrong as nobody wants to listen to that. They have to see something that they want.

When you say "To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons" then I think that you will never reach anybody. You must accept people where they are and not confront them with this attitude. Have a gentle spirit and try to love the person in front of you otherwise this kind of energy will turn them off and put them on the defensive.

In Christ,

Jaybo

Think you got the posts mixed up there Jaybo.

[JohnD]

Hey everyone, I want to briefly discuss witnessing to people, specifically to people here in America in this current age of increased skepticism and just general hatred of people who hold to different views than the other who is trying to persuade them.

From what I've seen and have experienced myself (mostly on the internet) but I have also watched others out in public trying to witness to people and nine times out of ten the conversation ends up becoming a heated argument kind of like the ones you see on many of today's popular news channel political talk shows with the talking heads constantly acting rude to each other and interrupting the one talking whenever the other gets a chance to.

To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons.

The big factors remain the same. They quickly get rude and hateful, they interrupt you every chance they get, they don't listen or even care to listen and they try to pick apart every single detail of what you are trying to say.

The things I'm asking myself now are, does God really command us to witness to and debate these types of people even if we don't get anywhere or can I just do something else for God that doesn't involve debating and being yelled at?

Because for me, I'm more of the kind of guy who just wants to present the gospel and the reasons why I believe what I believe (like I did here ) and just say, "here, if you are interested in it, here are some more things you can do to help you look into the matter more.

I just don't like being involved in hateful, shouting match type of debates with people, my life is stressful enough.

I guess it has to do with some bad memories I have in my past where family members used to argue and yell at each other.

But if it is something I have to do, how can I effectively witness to people either in person or on the internet without having to study psychology and debate tactics?

Currently again, I feel more led to serve God in other (and hopefully more effective ways) but as of now, I just don't feel led to "street witness" to total strangers or people who are dedicated to their false religion or belief system.

Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for your time.

As a side note... I have found myself witnessing to / discovering closet Christians... as so many of us are intimidated by the environment of the last 10-15 years.

Then I am encouraged to see football players in Dallas yesterday kneeling together (both teams) at the 50 yard line... the media covering the game quickly changed the shot... can't offend those two or three thousand unbelievers... never mind the millions of believers watching...

[Strader327]

Hey everyone, I want to briefly discuss witnessing to people, specifically to people here in America in this current age of increased skepticism and just general hatred of people who hold to different views than the other who is trying to persuade them.

From what I've seen and have experienced myself (mostly on the internet) but I have also watched others out in public trying to witness to people and nine times out of ten the conversation ends up becoming a heated argument kind of like the ones you see on many of today's popular news channel political talk shows with the talking heads constantly acting rude to each other and interrupting the one talking whenever the other gets a chance to.

To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons.

The big factors remain the same. They quickly get rude and hateful, they interrupt you every chance they get, they don't listen or even care to listen and they try to pick apart every single detail of what you are trying to say.

The things I'm asking myself now are, does God really command us to witness to and debate these types of people even if we don't get anywhere or can I just do something else for God that doesn't involve debating and being yelled at?

Because for me, I'm more of the kind of guy who just wants to present the gospel and the reasons why I believe what I believe (like I did here ) and just say, "here, if you are interested in it, here are some more things you can do to help you look into the matter more.

I just don't like being involved in hateful, shouting match type of debates with people, my life is stressful enough.

I guess it has to do with some bad memories I have in my past where family members used to argue and yell at each other.

But if it is something I have to do, how can I effectively witness to people either in person or on the internet without having to study psychology and debate tactics?

Currently again, I feel more led to serve God in other (and hopefully more effective ways) but as of now, I just don't feel led to "street witness" to total strangers or people who are dedicated to their false religion or belief system.

Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for your time.

As a side note... I have found myself witnessing to / discovering closet Christians... as so many of us are intimidated by the environment of the last 10-15 years.

Then I am encouraged to see football players in Dallas yesterday kneeling together (both teams) at the 50 yard line... the media covering the game quickly changed the shot... can't offend those two or three thousand unbelievers... never mind the millions of believers watching...

Thank you all for your responses.

[Guest yod]

Hey everyone, I want to briefly discuss witnessing to people, specifically to people here in America in this current age of increased skepticism and just general hatred of people who hold to different views than the other who is trying to persuade them.

From what I've seen and have experienced myself (mostly on the internet) but I have also watched others out in public trying to witness to people and nine times out of ten the conversation ends up becoming a heated argument kind of like the ones you see on many of today's popular news channel political talk shows with the talking heads constantly acting rude to each other and interrupting the one talking whenever the other gets a chance to.

To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons.

The big factors remain the same. They quickly get rude and hateful, they interrupt you every chance they get, they don't listen or even care to listen and they try to pick apart every single detail of what you are trying to say.

The things I'm asking myself now are, does God really command us to witness to and debate these types of people even if we don't get anywhere or can I just do something else for God that doesn't involve debating and being yelled at?

Because for me, I'm more of the kind of guy who just wants to present the gospel and the reasons why I believe what I believe (like I did here ) and just say, "here, if you are interested in it, here are some more things you can do to help you look into the matter more.

I just don't like being involved in hateful, shouting match type of debates with people, my life is stressful enough.

I guess it has to do with some bad memories I have in my past where family members used to argue and yell at each other.

But if it is something I have to do, how can I effectively witness to people either in person or on the internet without having to study psychology and debate tactics?

Currently again, I feel more led to serve God in other (and hopefully more effective ways) but as of now, I just don't feel led to "street witness" to total strangers or people who are dedicated to their false religion or belief system.

Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for your time.

Nor knowing you personally, it's hard to give any counsel without getting in the Lord's way. My advice is that it's OK to going crying to Abba, but when that's done, do whatever He tells you.

I don't think people like being "T-Bowed" with slogans or being treated like a target. Things have changed, yes, they have. America no longer has respect for God in the public arena and most people know that, so instead of addressing you as a person, they attack the concept of God altogether. I don't think this is anything new, btw. John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Believers in many societies of the world today are tortured and murdered for much less than what you are doing. It will come to America eventually, since we doing nothing to stop it yet.

But I like to do things that make people ask....

[j102]

I'll add my 2 cents but I'm sure others have said something along the same lines.

in prayer ask god to help you tell others about him and ask for his spirit to guide you to the right people. I wouldn't have witnessing as my main focus of the day, as i have found out that, at least for me, if i go through the day with an "agenda" it puts more pressure on me so that when and if an opportunity arises it bears no fruit due to a "witnessing to serve and please god" mentality.

also i dont remember any where in scripture where god tells us to go out alone by ourself to witness to others.

Do you have friends that go along with you to tell others the gosple?

[Strader327]

Hey everyone, I want to briefly discuss witnessing to people, specifically to people here in America in this current age of increased skepticism and just general hatred of people who hold to different views than the other who is trying to persuade them.

From what I've seen and have experienced myself (mostly on the internet) but I have also watched others out in public trying to witness to people and nine times out of ten the conversation ends up becoming a heated argument kind of like the ones you see on many of today's popular news channel political talk shows with the talking heads constantly acting rude to each other and interrupting the one talking whenever the other gets a chance to.

To me it's becoming for fruitless to waste time witnessing to today's cynical, overly skeptical atheistic crowd. Or even if it's to people other false belief systems like Islam, Jehovah's witness, or mormons.

The big factors remain the same. They quickly get rude and hateful, they interrupt you every chance they get, they don't listen or even care to listen and they try to pick apart every single detail of what you are trying to say.

The things I'm asking myself now are, does God really command us to witness to and debate these types of people even if we don't get anywhere or can I just do something else for God that doesn't involve debating and being yelled at?

Because for me, I'm more of the kind of guy who just wants to present the gospel and the reasons why I believe what I believe (like I did here ) and just say, "here, if you are interested in it, here are some more things you can do to help you look into the matter more.

I just don't like being involved in hateful, shouting match type of debates with people, my life is stressful enough.

I guess it has to do with some bad memories I have in my past where family members used to argue and yell at each other.

But if it is something I have to do, how can I effectively witness to people either in person or on the internet without having to study psychology and debate tactics?

Currently again, I feel more led to serve God in other (and hopefully more effective ways) but as of now, I just don't feel led to "street witness" to total strangers or people who are dedicated to their false religion or belief system.

Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for your time.

Nor knowing you personally, it's hard to give any counsel without getting in the Lord's way. My advice is that it's OK to going crying to Abba, but when that's done, do whatever He tells you.

I don't think people like being "T-Bowed" with slogans or being treated like a target. Things have changed, yes, they have. America no longer has respect for God in the public arena and most people know that, so instead of addressing you as a person, they attack the concept of God altogether. I don't think this is anything new, btw. John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Believers in many societies of the world today are tortured and murdered for much less than what you are doing. It will come to America eventually, since we doing nothing to stop it yet.

But I like to do things that make people ask....

Well as far as that goes, I specifically have not felt led by God to do any specific witnessing, I just feel pressured to go out and do it anyway because so many pastors and bible teachers I have heard in the past encourage it so much that it almost makes me assume that God demands us to do that whether we like it or not, want to do it or not, or have all the know how and ability to do it or not.

Now if you ask me, I feel more led to do other behind the scenes kind of things like pray for the people who do all the front line kind of work, also I feel led to give whether it be money or food, or anything I know of to help groups such as missionaries. Or to even help out in church with things like chior singing or helping out with things like vacation Bible school.

But when it comes to witnessing to strangers especially strangers whom you know will be hostile like atheists for example, I don't feel led to do such or at least not yet I don't. I guess it could also be due to the fact I'm not a good public speaker nor am I much of a social "people person". Well, I am in a online environment like I am here, but let's face it, people on the internet can't come through your computer screen and injure or perhaps kill you.

But that and the fact that people in public even in America are becomming as mean, rude, evil and hostile as ever. If you all don't believe me, just read the articles or even view the videos of all the "mean wildness" that went on at all the mainline department stores last Friday.

Because of that, I'm at the point to where I think it is so hard to reach people for Christ that the only way we can later reach such people is if God breaks their evil spirits and personality either through bad circumstances and tough times. Who knows, as bad as this economy and other things like the wild weather, wars in the middle east, and the corruption in our government is getting, who knows this could end up being a blessing in desguise for Christians because it may finally humble alot of people to the point that they would at least listen to the gospel and give it careful consideration. Anyway that's where I'm at currently.

But anyway, what are some of the things that you do Yod, to make people want to ask?

Edited November 29, 2011 by Strader327

[Strader327]

I'll add my 2 cents but I'm sure others have said something along the same lines.

in prayer ask god to help you tell others about him and ask for his spirit to guide you to the right people. I wouldn't have witnessing as my main focus of the day, as i have found out that, at least for me, if i go through the day with an "agenda" it puts more pressure on me so that when and if an opportunity arises it bears no fruit due to a "witnessing to serve and please god" mentality.

also i dont remember any where in scripture where god tells us to go out alone by ourself to witness to others.

Do you have friends that go along with you to tell others the gosple?

No, currently most of my friends are online, and thus I don't have that luxury. That's something else you see less and less now and that's friends who physically go somewhere and do things together. I guess it's a product of both the hard economic times, higher gas prices, and the rise of technology with the internet and social media, like twitter, facebook, and even message boards like this one

[goldust59]

Personally, I think we all have different areas of operation in the Body of Christ, though we should be open for use in others, as led by the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:5-10~ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry(garden), ye are God's building. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon.