Has anyone here had any experience witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses? I am looking for someone who has had experience, not just with a one time encounter, but with someone on an ongoing basis. I have met someone who is JW and see her on a regular basis, but I am not completely sure of the best way to witness to her and reach out to her more. I would appreciate any help.Thanks!
Has anyone here had any experience witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses? I am looking for someone who has had experience, not just with a one time encounter, but with someone on an ongoing basis. I don't run into Jevovah Witness every day.. but whenever I do I really have a passion to share Christ with them. I probably study into it and know about the movement out of proportion to the application of that knoweldge .. ohh well. :PI would love to suggest alot of helps in witnessing to them. :-D One of the main points of discussion I would raise is about the 'WatchTower society' which is the organization that govern's the JW's worldwide. JW's believe that God instituted this organization as his visible reprensentatives on earth. And JW's believe it is through this organization and none other that God teaches mankind in our days.-- there are alot of questions and things you can discuss of that idea. One would be that the watchtower never came into existence until the early 19th century does that mean that God never cared about having his true words to his people before? Second would be to discuss about the founders of this organization, etc..? and third could be about the propechies given from the organization (some false) and the changes to major doctrines (basically they have recanted some things they have said) a true representive of God would usually not do that?here are some false prophieces:-The Watchtower society predicted that 1914 would mark the overthrow of human governments and the full establishment of God's kingdom on earth.- The Watchtower society predicted in 1925 select Old Testament saints (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) would rise from the grave and live in San Diego.-The Watchtower society predicted in 1975 human history would end and the 1,000-year reign of Christ would begin.------------NOTE: I personally believe beyond all else just to walk through scripture with a JW is the best way to show Christ to them. If you have them read through an entire epistle or even chapter it can do miricales in showing them Christ. (I reccomend esphesians 2 or something like that). The reason is they are prohibited to read the bible straight through.. it was said by the founder that this will surely lead you into error. To question why they cant have the liberty to read through the scriptures freely is a good point to touch on.I hope this helps.. let me know if you want more information.. or elaboration on certain points.
Hi EverlastAre these folk on your doorstep or in your office? The usual pattern for door to door work is two by two with an experienced worker accompanied by a younger believer. I always keep the younger one in mind. I try to draw that one into the conversation to give them chance to speak of their own faith or experience.One little ice-breaker I often use is to ask whether they are Jehovah's Witnesses. When they affirm, I say I am pleased to meet you. I am a Jesus's Witness. Pause for response... a Jesus's Witness? (Initially they think I am a one man denomination in spite of Clutch's recent suggestions :-D ) I then say 'would you like to know the difference between a Jehovah's Witness and a Jesus's Witness?I then turn them to Acts 1:8 where Christ says 'having received the power of the Spirit coming upon you, you shall be witnesses unto me'. I then tell them that the Spirit has entered my life and made me a Jesus's Witness. And then you have your opportunity to witness to Christ. You can go on to tell them that all the disciples were Jehovah's Witnesses until the Spirit came and then they all became Jesus's Witnesses.You might like to ask them if they would like to become a Jesus's Witness.
Hi Brother,You ask a large question, thats as vast as the individual numbers of Jehovahs (False) Witnesses that there are. Basically, they are like anyone else that is involved a religion of works. Depending on the depth of their involvment, will be the extent to which you can make an intellecutual arguement between the two philosophies. If your objective is to win a debate, there are a plethora of books on the market to teach you to do that. However, if your intent is to lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the person in question will read your life far better than anything you might present in the form of arguement. The Holy Spirit must do the convicting, and saving. Your job is to pour out the gospel, at the right time, from a clean vessel. PRAY BROTHER, PRAY!Clutch :-)
Are these folk on your doorstep or in your office? The usual pattern for door to door work is two by two with an experienced worker accompanied by a younger believer. I always keep the younger one in mind. I try to draw that one into the conversation to give them chance to speak of their own faith or experience.Yes this is very true what Ron said. What usually happens is an more experience witness will come to your door with a younger new convert. The younger person will usually just listen more and take the lead of the more experienced witness. I always take the opportunity to take them to a coffe shop and share the gospel with them. When I share scriptures and experiences with them, I found that I could actually see the Holy Spirit working in the heart of the younger convert.. you could see the conviction on his face.So the next time they meet with you the younger person will not be there. and the experienced witness with try and work on you. Then the next time there will be an leader of the church to meet you with.. WELL that is my experience and when you get to the leader man thats a hard nut to crack... definetly 100% up to the Spirit. I sowed as many seeds as possible only God knows.So just reconized the newer witness and become very personable with him in your conversation and sharing of scripture, that can be very effective. ;-)
Try to learn what their doctrine is about and here is a good page to start,http://www.apologeticsindex.org/j02.htmlYou will see that the bible they use is not quite the Bible you read. I believe as Clutch wrote, you evangelise and the Holy Spirit does the work in the JW, and you keep praying. I had a page in my favs with all kinds of ex this and that who were witnessing and giving advice on how to approach with your witnessing, but I must have cleaned it out.jouko
I have had an ongoing discussion with an old friend of mine who is a JW and I have witnessed to a few others also. It has been frustrating at times but I continue to hope in the Lord that my friend will come to the Truth.You can bring up the false prophecies and the problems with the JW leaders over the years but they are 'programmed' by Watchtower to respond to these attacks with what seems to be unwavering devotion to the organization. I my experience, this line of attack usually doesn't get to far.In the course of converstaion with them it is good to discuss the assurance of salvation. JW's don't have the assurance we have in Christ Jesus but they will often try to impress you with the good life they are leading. Discuss your Savior who's completed work on Calvary is your assurance, not any works of your own. Put your Savior down along side their savior and see which one has the Perfect Savior. Both your Saviors will have the same name, but yours is the Christ of the Bible, theirs is one they call "Jesus Christ", yet the complete and perfect work of our Savior is opposed by their counterfeit. Also, here is a link to an article from Greg Koukl that sets forth a compelling argument for the deity of Christ, I have found this effective with JW's.Deity of Christ ArticleIn Christ,Ron
Thanks for the replies. The person I am thinking of and praying about is a young woman who I see almost every other day in the work place. So she is not actively proselytizing people (at least not me). I see that she is chained to the religion, but I don't see that she is fully in belief of the system. She is more concerned about the reactions of her parents than anything else, although she does hold some convictions of her own. I know that the best way to witness to someone, especially on a personal level is to let your life be the witness through the power of the Holy Spirit. I just wasn't sure if there was somethings you don't say, or that are better than others to say. For instance, I know that with Muslims, it is best not to start off debating the Bible versus the Koran because they believe the Bible is not the final revelation of God, that only through Mohommed is the final word of God spoken. So in that case, it would not be best to start off with a debate...but to gradually show Scriptures that show the true work of God. Anyway, thanks for the input so far.God Bless,Shelly
Hi Shelly,I have a neighbor who is an elder in the JW's, for the most part we don't have much contact but I need to delve more into how I might go about disscussing things with him.A book came to mind that I have been wanting to get, here is a link to an article from the author who had been involved with the organization for 20 some odd years:http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/3289656.htmAlso, I did a search on Google for "Ex Jehovah's Witness" and came up with a number of sites. There is even an Internation Orgnization for Ex-JW's. Might give that a try as well.Edit:Here is a couple more:http://www.exjws.net/http://www.watchtowernews.org/howto/howto_files/frame.htmhttp://www.freeminds.org/psych/psych.htm
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