I am convinced that God calls us to build relationships with non-believers. Like Israel's calling in the Old Testament, we are to be a light to the nations. Therefore your responsibility is loving conversation. Leave conversion to God. In practice, don't try to present the entire gospel in one discussion. Instead, listen intently and respond to your friend's assumptions, one at a time. When you listen first, you earn the right to share your own assumptions later. And keep the conversation going. When you focus on a conversation rooted in love, you can enjoy the relationship and still be true to your beliefs. By focusing only on one issue at a time, as they are raised by your friend, you are validating the relationship instead of selling a worldview.
Stanley J. Ward is the Director of Campus Life and Ministry at The Brook Hill School in Bullard, TX. He is also the author of Worldview Conversations: How to Share Your Faith and Keep Your Friends.
[i] James Sires' The Universe Next Door is particularly helpful. Although I must recommend my own book, Worldview Conversations: How to Share Your Faith and Keep Your Friends as an introduction to this topic, Sires' book is a great next step.
Publication date: August 29, 2011
