Dave M. has a wonderful (free) question that he sometimes uses to break the ice when witnessing. If someone says to him “look I don’t know about this God stuff. I think that I’ll just live my life and have some fun. I’ll get right with God at the end before I die and go to heaven.”

Dave can ask them two questions to get them thinking about God right now. (You can use these questions with or without the Living Waters “Million Dollar/Pound Note” tract)

Well we are not talking about what a builder does with a chalking gun around your bathroom sink. It is a way of seeding the mind of someone to start thinking about their eternal future without direct confrontation. You can put thought provoking phrases or questions around public spaces in chalk. We use chalk (or non-toxic crayon on the footpath if you want it to be more weather proof) so that it will not damage public property and if someone takes great offence to it they can wash it off. You can also mix it up in the same area so that people are not exposed to the same sign every day.

Ever had someone state emphatically that they do not have any spiritual beliefs at all?

You could try just talking them around but many people today respond better to visual communication as well as just talking.

Youth today have an attention span of about 1 minute. Just look at their browsing habits.

Someone that has just tried to shut you down and end the conversation probably can only stand about another minute or so before they walk off. What can you do in a minute?

A long time ago Dave M shared this concept of how to explain the gospel simply. Since then it has been tweaked and reformed often to suit the target audience.

Here is the classic “3x Circles Gospel Presentation” but with a more complete explanation than usual.

You can get what you need and ditch the rest.

For example instead of a full explanation of what baptism is you could just say that “you need to get washed clean” or similar.

Communist dictator Joseph Stalin is credited with the quote, "The death of one is a tragedy. The death of a million is just a statistic."

While many people may be shocked at both the quote and the person who said it, there is indeed some truth about this saying which teaches us something about the way we perceive lostness. In most countries today, over 90 percent of the population do not have a living relationship with Jesus. Millions upon millions of people are on a collision course with eternity and will perish--yet to most of us, this is merely a statistic!

(Supplied by Stan)

"I would like to ask you 6 Quick Questions:" (Stopping whenever they feel uncomfortable. Don’t comment on any answer they give, just listen to them patiently and move down the list.)

“If God could do a miracle today for you or your family, what would it look like?”

(For more Icebreakers you can search the term “icebreaker”)

This is particularly good if you are forced to work with a group and not an individual. A real challenge sometimes. It seems especially good with pre-teenage and teenage boys or young men.

(Please go with prayer coverage and be sensible about your safety.  It is always better two by two.)

Here’s how it works:

Introduce yourself and ask them if they want to play a simple game. The game gets harder as it goes on but so do the rewards.

The 3 biggest reasons people fail to change are:   

1.  They don’t really see the need to change.  The change is imposed on them based on the expectations, or  perceived expectations, of others (externally).

2. Lack of CLEAR, SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE goals.

3.  Little or no SUPPORT (training, backup) and ACCOUNTABILITY in reaching those goals.

Addressing these issues will increase your ability to succeed in life. (See also a related article on SMART Goal Setting for Following Jesus)

Find your Blind Spot.  There are many ways to find your blind spot.  The first is using a Card or sheet of paper with a dot and a cross on it.  All you do is hold the paper out in front of you (say holding the Cross closest to your hand, it doesn’t matter) Then cover your eye with the other hand.