You’re a witness, not a lawyer
A witness just says what they’ve seen. You don’t have to prove everything, answer every objection, or close the deal — just tell the truth about what God has done, and let him carry the rest.
Step 1 of 6 The Heart
You plant; God gives the growth
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor 3:6). One conversation is rarely the whole story. Your job is faithfulness, not results — and that takes all the pressure off.
The real meeting isn’t with you
The most important encounter isn’t their encounter with you — it’s their encounter with Christ. Your job is simply to set up that meeting, then get out of the way.
Lead with your weakness
You’re not a finished product handing down advice. You’re one person in need of change helping another. Honesty about your own struggle is exactly what makes grace believable.
The Main Thing
“Your weakness isn’t the disqualification — it’s the qualification. God sent an exiled murderer, a denier, and a persecutor: Moses, Peter, Paul. He isn’t looking for impressive. He’s looking for available.”
S · The SALT Method
Start a conversation
You rarely have to force it. Most conversations open with real interest in a person — not a sudden pivot to a topic.
Start where they are
Show real interest in their life before anything else — their week, their people, what they’ve been into. Eat together first; Jesus was called “a friend of sinners” because he was always at their table. You earn the right to go deeper by caring first.
- Eat first — share a meal or coffee before anything spiritual.
- Ask permission instead of pivoting: “Can I ask you something kind of bigger than normal?”
- Let your own honesty go first — share a real doubt before you ask for theirs.
- Use the calendar — Easter, a funeral, a wedding, a new baby, a near-miss.
- Offer to pray about what they’re carrying — right now.
- Meet a practical need, then let your kindness create the opening.
You don’t have to be Billy Graham
Scripture shows at least six ways to start — pick the one that’s already you.
A · The SALT Method
Ask what matters
Most people have never been asked what they actually believe — about anything.
Ask good questions
Don’t ask because you need an entry point. Ask because you actually want to know. People feel the difference immediately.
Question Bank
Life & Meaning
- What gives your life the most meaning right now?
- What would a genuinely good life look like for you?
- If time and money were no object, how would you spend your one life?
- What do you most want to be remembered for?
- If you could ask the universe one question, what would it be?
- Did you grow up with any faith, or none at all?
- Would you call yourself spiritual, religious — or neither?
- Do you think there’s anything beyond the physical world?
- Do you ever pray — or have there been any moments where you tried?
- What’s standing between you and belief in God — and what would change your mind?
- Has life ever felt deeply unfair to you?
- Where do you go when things fall apart?
- What’s the hardest thing you’ve walked through, and what got you through it?
- Do you think suffering means something, or is it just random?
- If there is a God, what would you want to ask him about your pain?
- Have you ever read much of the Bible? What do you make of it?
- Is there a part of the Bible that’s always bothered you?
- What do you think the Bible is really about, and who do you think Jesus actually was?
- What do you make of the miracles — myth, exaggeration, or something else?
- Do you think prayer does anything — and who are you praying to?
- Did you grow up going to church? Did you love it or dread it?
- What do you think church is even for? And what’s your honest read on Christians?
- Did anything happen with church or religion that left a bad taste?
- Is there anything about faith that quietly draws you in? Or pushes you away?
- What would a church have to be like for you to give it a shot?
- Have you ever lost someone close? Where do you imagine they are?
- What do you think happens after we die — and why?
- If heaven is real, who’s the first person you’d want to see?
- When you picture the end of your life, what do you hope you got right?
- What do you think you’d say if you stood in front of God?
L · The SALT Method
Listen for what’s underneath
Most people aren’t looking for a debate. They’re looking to be heard — and that is the most disarming thing you can offer.
Listen past the words
Listen for the fear or longing underneath what they say. Don’t assume you know what a word means to them — ask, then ask why. And don’t rehearse your reply while they’re still talking.
Technique · The Columbo Move
Borrow the detective’s trick: set down the burden of proof and just get curious. Three questions do almost all the work — curious, never combative.
- “What do you mean by that?”
- “How did you come to that conclusion?”
- “Have you ever considered…?”
Listen Loudly
Make your attention visible — it builds trust faster than any answer.
- Make your attention obvious—face them, look up, stay present.
- Listen for what the argument is guarding, and the ache beneath the answer.
- Mirror back the line that seemed to matter most.
- Ask one more question before you explain one more thing.
- Let silence do some of the work.
- Hold your rebuttal until they feel understood.
While you listen, quietly ask where they are
Distrusting
They’ve been burned. They need safety long before answers.
Curious
Something’s pulling at them. Feed it — don’t pounce.
Open
They’re weighing it honestly. Gently keep going.
Seeking
They’re reaching. Help them take the next step.
And listen for the longing or the idol underneath: what are they building their life on — and where is it starting to fail them?
T · The SALT Method
Tell your story
Not a lecture — a conversation about what happened to you. Three movements, one simple structure.
Before
What were you searching for, or running from?
The Turn
What happened? When did things change?
Keep it a Person, not a program — “Jesus met me,” not “church fixed my life.”
After
How is life different? What’s true now that wasn’t before?
Let it write your first draft
Jot down the three prompts above in your own words — even a sentence each is plenty — and we’ll weave them into a warm, three-minute story you can say out loud. It’s a first draft to make your own; nothing you type is saved.
Your first draft
The Good News — In One Breath
“We’ve all fallen short, but God loves us so much that Jesus took our place — and anyone who trusts him is forgiven and made new.”
Need more than a sentence?
Share it in under two minutes — three formats for different conversations.
After the conversation
Now what?
Every conversation goes one of two ways — and both of them are good.
They seem open Invite them in →
They seem open
Invite them in →
- 01Make the invitation relational
Invite them to come with you, not just to attend. People say yes to friends, not institutions.
- 02Lower every barrier
Offer a ride. Tell them it’s casual. Handle the logistics so all they have to do is show up.
- 03Pair it with a meal
Brunch or a potluck after turns a service into a hangout — and gives the talk somewhere to go.
- 04Keep the ask casual
“A few of us are going Sunday and grabbing brunch after — want to come? No pressure at all.”
Not yet Keep the door open
Not yet
Keep the door open
- 01Honor their honesty
Leave the conversation warm. “Thanks for being honest — I really respect that.”
- 02Make the next touch a friendship touch
Text about the job interview or the sick parent — not about God. Staying in their life is the strategy.
- 03Write it down, then pray it by name
Note what you actually heard — the fears, the longings — and pray it back to God by name.
- 04Hand them something to chew on
A Gospel of Mark, a podcast, the Reasons to Believe guide. Low pressure, high value.
Both outcomes are wins — it was never yours to close. You planted, or you watered; God gives the growth. If they’re not ready, you didn’t fail.
“You don’t need to be eloquent. You need to be honest, kind, and willing. Tell your story, point to Jesus, and trust God to do what only God can do.”