May's Outreach Thought

Every month we are bringing you concrete tips and ideas around a particular outreach theme. Every month we are bringing you concrete tips and ideas around a particular outreach theme. 

Getting beyond the weather

by Pastor Jason Taber, Pastor of Outreach

I write a lot here about meeting people and watching for opportunities to have faith conversations. But now it’s time to connect the dots between those two. How do we go from friendly chatting with someone we’ve just met—or even known casually for a long time—to the next level of deeper conversations that might provide an opportunity for sharing some good news? You don’t want to force this, but what you can do is open the door for it. Ask questions that allow your friend to choose how they respond, by going as deep (or not) as they want to. Try questions like:

• What’s been going on in your life?
• What’s new with you?
• How have things been going for you?

Questions like these allow your friend to respond generally or talk about light things if that’s what they want to do, but they also offer the opportunity to go deeper and share if they want that. Even if they don’t want to share anything “big” right now, these questions let them know you’re available for that later.