{"id":730339,"date":"2021-01-05T02:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T07:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=730339"},"modified":"2021-01-04T21:44:32","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T02:44:32","slug":"7-reasons-question-marks-are-more-productive-than-exclamation-points-in-evangelism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/7-reasons-question-marks-are-more-productive-than-exclamation-points-in-evangelism\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Reasons Question Marks are More Productive than Exclamation Points in Evangelism"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a professor of evangelism and missions, I hope that one of your 2021 New Year\u2019s resolutions is to evangelize more often and more regularly. If so, I encourage you to use more question marks (that is, ask questions) than exclamation points (make strong, forceful statements). I am not suggesting we compromise or soften the truths of lostness and salvation, but I am suggesting we need to ask more questions as we get to the gospel truth. Here\u2019s why:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Asking questions shows humility<\/b>. In general, questions are an admission that we don\u2019t know everything. We do have the only answer in Jesus, but that doesn\u2019t mean we know everything. Arrogant evangelists are seldom effective ones.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Asking questions says, \u201cI care about you.\u201d<\/b> When you ask questions\u2014particularly about the person you\u2019re evangelizing\u2014you show concern. You treat the person <\/span>as a person<\/span><\/i>, not as an evangelistic project.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Asking questions says, \u201cI want to know what you\u2019re thinking.\u201d<\/b> Evangelism thus becomes dialogue more than monologue, which promotes ongoing conversation. Because evangelism is seldom a one-time event, this conversation is important.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Asking questions helps move the other person toward a personal discovery of Jesus.<\/b> For example, asking the question, \u201cHow do you take care of your soul?\u201d leads the person to at least consider the importance of soul care. That\u2019s usually better than saying something like, \u201cYou have to deal with your soul!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Asking questions invites the prospect to talk about his or her obstacles and objections to the gospel.<\/b> If we don\u2019t know those concerns, we might not be addressing the very issues that stand in the way of the prospect\u2019s following Christ. Questions offer an opportunity for the prospect to share honestly without fear of ridicule.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Asking questions softens conversations about those obstacles and objections.<\/b> Particularly when those objections are blatantly unbiblical (e.g., \u201cI don\u2019t believe Jesus is the only way to God\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a good person, so God will accept me,\u201d or \u201cMy lifestyle of _X_ is okay\u201d), it\u2019s easy to get passionate\u2014even unkind at times\u2014in our response. Simply asking more questions can still answer the objection without getting defensive.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Asking questions can be clarifying for both the evangelist and the prospect.<\/b> Asking \u201cWhy do you think that way?\u201d or \u201cCan you explain that more so I know what you mean?\u201d informs the evangelist and pushes the prospect to consider his or her thinking processes. Both are good results.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I pray 2021 will take you into many more gospel conversations. May you ask more questions, and may non-believers find their answers in Christ.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a professor of evangelism and missions, I hope that one of your 2021 New Year\u2019s resolutions is to evangelize more often and more regularly. If so, I encourage you to use more question marks (that is, ask questions) than exclamation points (make strong, forceful statements). I am not suggesting we compromise or soften the truths of lostness and salvation, but I am suggesting we need to ask more questions as we get to the gospel truth. Here\u2019s why:","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":730340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[183,184,180],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-730339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communications","category-discipleship","category-outreach-and-evangelism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Reasons Question Marks are More Productive than Exclamation Points in Evangelism | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use more question marks (that is, ask questions) than exclamation points (make strong, forceful statements). 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