Starting a conversation with a stranger isn’t that hard. One approach you can use is offering someone a tract and ask, “Have you gotten one of these yet?” If that person won’t take a tract, you can still plant a seed in his heart by saying, “Jesus loves you.” Avoid saying “God bless you.” There are many people who believe in God but don’t know Jesus. Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Unless the Holy Spirit directs me to do something else, I prefer to use what I call “the Survey Technique.” By constantly asking questions, you maintain control of the conversation and find out quickly what a person’s spiritual beliefs are. A typical conversation may go like this:
Me: “Excuse me; I’m taking a quick survey. May I ask you a couple questions?”
Stranger: “Sure! What’s the survey about?”
Me: “First of all, I’m asking people where they think they will be in eternity when their life ends. Other people I’ve asked have said ‘Heaven’, ‘Hell’, or they’re not sure...How about you?”
Stranger: “I’d say ‘Heaven.’”
Me: “Okay, the second question is, ‘Why will God let you into Heaven?’”
Stranger: “I’ve been a good person.”
Me: “Have you lied to anyone before?”
Stranger: “Uh, yeah.”
Me: “Have you ever disobeyed your parents?”
Stranger: “Yeah.”
Me: “The truth is all of us have sinned and violated God’s word. Therefore nobody is good enough to go to heaven. However I happen to be a minister (Editor’s Note: Every born-again Christian is a “minister of reconciliation” whether they are in the five-fold ministry or not). I want to let you know that God loves you and has made a way so you that you can know for sure you will be in heaven. However, it’s not because of what you have done but by what Jesus has already done for you...
After giving the stranger a tract and quoting Romans 10:9, I continue with the “survey”...
Me: “You believe Jesus is the Son of God, right?”
Stranger: “Yes.”
Me: “You believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead, right?”
Stranger: “Yes.”
Me: “Is there any reason why you do NOT want Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior?”
Stranger: “No.”
Me: “Great! I’m not asking you to join my church. I simply want to say a short prayer with you so Jesus can come into your heart. Then you will know for sure that all your sins are forgiven and you’ll be in Heaven someday. Is that okay with you?”
If you’ve progressed this far in the survey, then most of the time the person will pray with you. Although the above script is written for use on a stranger, you can also use “the Survey Technique” with people you know. One of my subscribers did the survey over the phone with his uncle who had lived in another state. The conversation went almost verbatim to my written script and resulted in his uncle getting born again. Five months later, this uncle died. He is in heaven today because his nephew wasn’t afraid to ask him questions about his eternal destiny!
“…he that wins souls is wise.” - Proverbs 11:30
Read the "Survey Technique" in German