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Do’s and Don'ts When Witnessing To A Jehovah’s Witness
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DO:
1)
Be loving and caring- It was once said that people do not care what
you know until they know that you care. It’s important that the Witness senses
that you care about him or her as a person.
Don’t
witness with a chip on your shoulder or to “prove something to them”. God won’t
honor it. Ask God to give you a heart for these lost men and women.
2) Be patient-
It takes the average person 6 months to a year, or longer, to become a
baptized member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They have also had years of
indoctrination and training. It may take months or years for them to leave.
Many Christians go too fast and bombard them with too
much material all at once. This has often been called the “flame thrower
approach”. It’s best to stick with 1 or 2 subjects per meeting.
3) Pray that God will
open their eyes- Salvation is a work of God. Only the
omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit can open their eyes and hearts to
understand spiritual truth. Pray that God will be present and active during
your encounter (1 Co. 3:6-7; 2 Co. 4:4, 10:4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26).
4) Ask them to “help”
you- Witnesses are trained to help people and
answer their questions. Ask questions such as, “Can you help me? I have a
question about some of the teachings of the Watchtower Society.” By doing this,
instead of battling against
their training, you will
be using their training to your advantage.
5) Control the
conversation- The Witness at your door has been trained to be
the leader when speaking with prospective converts. Get them to talk about what
you want to talk about. Remember, it’s your house. If you let them control the conversation, you won’t get
anywhere. This doesn’t mean that you have to do all the talking. Let them talk,
listen well, but control the direction of the dialogue into areas that you want
them in.
6) Get them in
unfamiliar territory- Witnesses are very well equipped to debate
on a dozen or so topics. Get them out of their comfort zone. Keep them out!
Witnesses will try very hard to get you into their areas of “expertise”.
Learn what they are good at
discussing and try to avoid those topics. Get them to discuss subjects that
they are not well trained in.
7) Focus the
conversation on the Watchtower organization-
The goal
of your witnessing encounter is to get them to question the authority of the
organization that dominates them. A Jehovah’s Witness will stand or fall based
on his view of the Watchtower Society. Since Jehovah’s Witnesses are convinced
that the Watchtower is God’s only channel of communication today, succeeding in undermining the Watchtower’s authority status
will be a major victory. See
What’s
the Problem, Anyway!, for some
ways to do this.
8) Be well prepared-
Remember, the Witness at your door has studied and rehearsed his presentation.
You might want to ask him to return a week later which will give you time to
prepare, pray and ask a mature Christian to be with you upon their arrival.
9) Ask thought provoking
questions- A well placed question can go a long way in
getting the Jehovah’s Witness to think. The question that you ask is more
important than the answer that they give. One great book on this subject is Approaching
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Love, by Wilbur Lingle. It contains pages of
excellent questions that most Jehovah’s Witnesses never thought about.
10) Present Watchtower
literature to them- Other than the bible, this is the only
religious material that the Witness will look at. They are warned against reading anything critical of the Watchtower
organization. Get your hands on some photocopies of Watchtower publications
that will show the Witness that the Society is dishonest and unreliable. Feel
free to
contact us if you need any material of this nature.
DON'T:
1) Discuss the Trinity,
the Deity of Christ, the Immortality of the Soul or Hell-
Yes,
the Trinity and the fact that Jesus is God are two of the most important
doctrines of the Christian faith, but the Witness at your door despises these
teachings more than any, and is very well trained on how to refute them. So instead of challenging them with doctrines that they can
“refute” in their sleep, learn how to challenge them in areas that they are not
well studied in or prepared for.
2) Use the Bible too
soon- One reason to avoid the bible initially is that
the average Jehovah’s Witness does not believe what the bible says, he believes
what the Watchtower Society says it means. He is not open to your
“interpretation” of Scripture. In his mind, since you are not a Witness, you
can’t possibly have a correct understanding of spiritual truth. The authority
of the Watchtower Society must be put into question before he will even begin
to believe that there may be a true interpretation of Scripture other than what he
has been taught. Secondly, he is a master at “bible ping-pong”. You give him a
verse.... he gives you one. You give him another verse.... he gives you another one.
You score a couple of points.... he scores a couple of points, but in the end no
one wins. Thirdly, the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit
of God; they are foolishness to him (1 Co. 2:14). The Jehovah’s Witness you are
encountering is not born-again. He doesn’t have the Holy Spirit leading him
into truth. He can’t understand the deep things of God.
3) Get them to agree
with you- The Jehovah’s Witness will never admit to you
that he, or the Watchtower is wrong. The goal of your witnessing encounter is
to get them to THINK! Plant seeds of doubt.
4) View them as the
enemy- Remember who the real enemy is (2 Co. 4:4)! Jesus often spoke harsh
words to the religious leaders but had compassion on those who were deceived.
The Jehovah’s Witness you are encountering is a victim of deception and false
religion. In his mind, he is doing a great work for God. He truly believes that
his gospel is the true gospel.
5) Get heated or argue-
It’s
very easy to get into an argument with a Jehovah’s Witness. Be firm and
confident without losing your cool. Keep an attitude of Christian love
throughout the encounter. That in itself can be a great witness to them. They
are used to Christians slamming the door or arguing with them. We as believers
in Jesus Christ can do better than that.
6) Put them down or tell
them they’re in a cult- This approach
actually works in the Watchtower’s favor.
Witnesses are told very early in their involvement with the Society,
that people will oppose and ridicule their association with the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Because of this, when you mock them or tell them they’re in a cult,
the Watchtower suddenly becomes a prophet in their mind. This approach only
assures them all the more that they are in God’s one true organization.
7) Try to teach them-
Jehovah’s Witnesses are trained to be the teachers when speaking with
prospective converts. They will rarely listen to you if you try to instruct
them on spiritual matters. It’s best to tactfully ask them questions in such a
way that they think they are teaching you. “Can you help me? I have a question
about some of the teachings of the Watchtower”.
8) Give them tracts-
Jehovah’s
Witnesses are strongly cautioned against reading any religious literature other
than the Watchtower’s. They will not read anything critical of their
organization.
9) Get into side issues-
Christmas, birthdays, holidays, voting, war, saluting the flag
and blood transfusions are symptoms of the problem, not the problem. The main
problem is the Watchtower’s influence on them. You need to undermine the
Watchtower’s claim that they are God’s only channel of communication on earth
today. See,
What’s
The Problem, Anyway!
10) Give up-
You
may be making great progress even though it seems futile. Most Jehovah’s
Witnesses are poker-faced. It’s hard to see what’s going on inside of them.
They will usually remain calm and collect even when presented with damaging
evidence that the Watchtower is dishonest and unreliable. Remember, it took 6
months to a year or longer for them to become a baptized Jehovah’s Witness. It
may take years for them to finally come out.
We hope that these guidelines are helpful to you. By personal
experience, we know how hard it is to witness to Jehovah’s Witnesses. They seem
like they have an answer for everything that you challenge them with. Be
content with planting seeds of doubt and letting God give the increase (1 Co.
3:6). If you do the physical work, God
will do the Spiritual work.
Please don’t underestimate the power of prayer. It is only
through the work of the Holy Spirit that these lost souls will ever come to
salvation through faith in Christ. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses make great
Christians once they get saved. We know many!!
Tower To Truth Ministries |