Getting Started
It is very easy to initiate a conversation with someone you have never met before by smiling, saying “excuse me, may I ask you an interesting question?” Most people will say yes if they are sitting or standing around. If they look rushed, you may want to give them a gospel tract instead of trying to engage them in a conversation.
I taught my son at a young age (around 4) to simply go up to someone and ask them, “Excuse me, are you a Christian?” If they say yes, then I taught him to say, “ok thank you – have a good day.” If they say no, then I taught him to say, “may I give you something?” If the person says no, then he was supposed to say, “OK, have a nice day.” If they say it’s OK for Levi to give them something, then he hands them a tract and says, “have a nice day.” If they ask what it is, he says it’s a gospel tract and it has the best news on it.
Learn more about Gospel Tracts here
Starter Questions
Here is a list of questions I have heard or thought up over the years. Some I have tried and some are brand new and ready for testing. The goal is to get to the Gospel. Start with a general introduction (optional), hand them a Gospel tract (in case they don’t want to talk) and then throw out a quick, “Hey, may I ask you an interesting question?” If they say no, then politely thank them for their time and move on. If they say yes, then choose a question from below. Try them all out! Let me know which one works the best for you.
God
- Do you believe in God’s existence?
- Do you believe in God?
- Do you think God is happy with you?
- Do you know The Lord?
- Follow up:
- What would you expect to see if God became a man? (If God became a man, what would I have to see in his life to be convinced that this is in fact God?)
- What comes to your mind when you think about God?
Church
- Why have you stopped going to church? (Ask someone who used to go, not someone who never did before)
Christian
- Are you a Christian? Then ask – do you know why you need to be saved sir?
- Why ‘do’ you or ‘don’t’ you call yourself a Christian?
Reality
- Which offers a better explanation for reality, Christianity or atheism?
Rescue
- Has your life ever been saved before?
Needs
- Out of all of the needs humanity has, what is the greatest need? (Salvation – if it were education, Jesus would have come as an educator… If it was finance – he would have come as a banker… If it was peace, he would have come as a diplomat, see Luke 19:10)
Goodness
- Do you think you are good enough to deserve heaven?
- According to the Bible, how good do you have to be to go to heaven?
Morals
- Do you think evil men should be punished?
Commandments
- What do you think is the greatest command given by God to mankind? Love God (Matthew 22:34-40)
- Let’s say [lying] was the only sin that God was going to judge you on when you stand before him one day. Would you be innocent or guilty?
Best/Top
- What was the top item that you have purchased in your lifetime that was worth every penny?
- Follow up:
- What’s the best piece of evidence you have found that there is no god?
- Follow up:
Meet God
- What would you say if you died today and found yourself standing before God?
Family
- Where does your family member live that is farthest away in the world?
Hypothetical
- If you were ship wrecked on an island and you could only bring one book, what would it be?
- If God were to rid the world of evil this very moment where would you be?
- What would you do if the authorities passed a law tomorrow stating that any lie told in public or private gets you an immediate life sentence of solitary confinement at your local prison?
- You have 60 minutes to live, what would you do?
- A man is about to shoot you to death. You are a billionaire – what would you offer him in exchange for your life?
- You are given the opportunity to discover the exact date you will die. Would you want to know?
- If you were shipwrecked and could only take one book, which book would you take?
Heaven
- Do you think everyone goes to heaven when they die, or do you have to earn it or is it a gift?
- Who should go to heaven?
- What kind of people go to heaven? (Expected answer – good people or saved people… What does it take to get saved or are you a good person?)
Fairness
- Is it fair that God has only made one way for salvation?
Bible
- Excuse me sir/ma’am, do you ever read the Bible? If no, have you ever read it? It tells you how you can get everlasting life.
Trust
- Are you trusting in Jesus Christ? – for what exactly? – anything else? – how does that look in your life?
Scale of 1-10
- On a scale one to ten, where would God be in regards to God’s favor towards you?
Eternal Life
- What do you think the bible says about everlasting life?
- Do you know where you would spend eternity if you found out you had three minutes to live?
- Do you think it is possible to know before you die where you will spend eternity? Reference: 1 John 5:11
- Follow up: Is eternal life a gift you would like? Reference: Romans 6:23
Fill in the Blank
- Finish this sentence: “(name of person)…is…:_________
Two Extremes
- What was your best time and worst time to date?
- What is the hardest thing you have ever had to forgive?
- Do you see living in heaven with God as a blessing or a curse?
Take a Guess
- How large do you think the National Debt/Deficit is?
- Follow up: what would you think if someone came and paid it all in one check? Imagine your sin as the national debt – there’s no way you can pay it off. One day God is going to collect.
Evil
- Does evil exist?
- Is human nature good, evil or a little bit of both?
Justification
- On what basis will God let you into heaven assuming you are guilty of breaking any number of His rules?
- Has anyone ever lied (stolen, called you a name out of anger, etc) to you?
- What punishment should God do to that person in your opinion?
- What does the bible say about how that person should be punished?
- Why is his view so much higher than ours?
- Now have you ever lied to someone?
- How many times? Stolen? How many times? Lusted/hated/blasphemed? Not just once but thousands… He should justly throw you into hell if he is a good God.
- Does that concern you?
- Follow up:
- If you could write a note to your younger self, what would you say in only one sentence?
- Follow up:
Anger
- What do you suppose provokes God to anger/wrath? (Sin- do you believe God is angry with you right now? – what do you think will make God satisfied and pleased with you? Ps 7:11 angry w/the wicked everyday; ez 7:8; rom 2:5 – not immediately seen Romans 2:1-11 storing up wrath)
- Follow up:
What is valuable
- What is your most prized material possession?
- Follow up:
- What do you value most?
This or that?
- Would you consider yourself to be an atheist, agnostic, Christian or something else?
- Follow up:
Soul
- Do you believe you have a soul that will live forever somewhere?
- What is your only comfort in life and in death?
Jesus
- Describe for me Jesus:
Knowledge
- What question would you pay $1,000,000 to know the answer to?
Hell
- Why do people get sent to hell? (Natural response would probably be “hell doesn’t exist” or “I don’t believe in hell – to which you can respond with “that doesn’t make it go away” or give them a courtroom example)
Certainty
- What is something you know and how do you know it?
- What is something you know or feel is for certain?
Why why why why why
- Ask a question, wait for their response and then ask “5 whys” to uncover their underlying reasons for their answer.
- Where are you from? (For basic conversation starting)
- What would you do if money was no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life?
- Who do you want to be like and why? (Christians – urge to be like Christ)
- Do you consider yourself to be rich? (no, well, compared to the rest of the world…)
- What does conscience mean? Where does it come from?
- What’s the most loving thing God can do?
- What do you think is more important, the birth, the death or the resurrection of Christ?
- If you had to give up one of your senses, hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, or touching, what sense wouldn’t you like to give up most?
- How would you describe the color blue to a blind person?
- Follow up: Trying to convince someone with cunning words to believe and trust in Christ is like trying to explain what the color BLUE looks like to a blind person who has never seen before. The blind must go to a doctor themselves and have their eyes opened to see for themselves. I am merely trying to tell you about the doctor who heals. Consider it. (heard Ray Comfort explain this in a living waters video)
- If you could ask God one question and you knew He would answer it, what would it be?
- If the Good News is Jesus, what is the Bad News? (hell; do you believe in hell?)
- If you had 3 min. to live, what would your last words be and to who?
- What does trustworthy mean?
- Do you consider yourself a slave of Christ?
- If God took your family away, took all your possessions away, gave you sores all over your body, would you still honor Him?
- If you had to jump from a cliff bungie jumping, where would all your trust be? Skydiving? Sinking ship? Eternity? What evidence is there that you have put your full trust in the object at hand?
- How would you react if FSU decided to use a one-question pass/fail test for all your classes this year? What if you knew the question on your first day of school? How hard would you study for that one question?
- Deep down in your heart, do you think you are good or bad?
- Do you believe God gives second chances?
- If you (use their name) at __ yrs old, could go back in time and talk to (use their name) at age 12, what would you tell him/her? What about the opposite – what would you in the last week of your life tell you? What about after you take your last breath?
- What is something on your bucket list?
- If I wanted to get you to stop smoking because I believe evidence supports the claim that it is a deadly habit, how would you best receive me? In the same way, how would you best take me trying to tell you about turning from sin and trusting in Christ?
- Have you ever gone skydiving? isn’t it risky? Do you value life? If u die skydiving, where would you spend eternity?
- What does born again mean?
- What is a Christian?
- How are you planning for retirement? How much? What about after that?
- Did you know that the innocent man in the jungles who has never heard the gospel or Jesus will without a doubt go to heaven? (no good innocent people – show them the law)
- How do you picture heaven? (what do you think it takes to get there?)
- Who is Martin Luther?
- What do you know about hell?
- Do you believe God’s justice is flexible or inflexible? (answer is inflexible – he does not wink at sin, full payment must be made)
- Have you had any good news today?
- If you were to take your last breath tonight and stand before Almighty God and He gives you an opportunity to say why He should let you into His heaven, what would you say?
- Where do you think you will be in 5 yrs from now? 20? 50? 100?
- If you were to take your last breath tonight, what do you think happens after that?