The Art of Asking Questions
“People don't care how much you know till they know how much you care.”
— Unknown
Warm Up
- What are some good evangelistic questions?
Lessons
Video coming soon
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'”
— Matthew 16:13-16All throughout Jesus's life we see Him asking specific questions in order to pull the truth out of those listening. 173 direct questions to be exact. He came to tear down the very isolation we put ourselves in. We set ourselves against God in our own minds and He questioned our delusion.
This act of questioning varied from person to person in whatever misunderstanding they were in. To the religious leader; it was one question, to the disciple; another and to the woman at the well; another.
To {{catechize|To teach Christian principles through questions and answers}} means to instruct Christian principles using questions and answers. This is where we get the term 'Catechism'. Studies suggest that people retain more information through questions and answers than through lecture style teaching. People don't want to be told the answers, they want to discover the answers. Uncovering information is part of the life adventure we were created for.
Maybe your fear around evangelism is because you feel the need to tell people the right information about Jesus when our true purpose is to ask people the right questions. Who are you? What have you been through? Where are you going? Who is Jesus to you? Are we spewing information on people when we should be inviting people into an authentic relationship? No one likes to be sold or told what to do. But if I lead you to the goodness of God through questions that bring about your own realization. That's relational evangelism.
“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'”
— John 5:6 NIVHave you been trying to tell people about Jesus when you should be asking questions that lead them to discover Him for themselves?