Really good stuff here from J.D. Greear. Below are some excerpts but I would encourage you to read the whole thing:
Because getting into spiritual conversations can be so nerve-wracking, it’s good to have a few tools in your tool-belt that can get things going. Now, a tool is only as good as the person wielding it. No evangelistic tool I’ve seen is a magic bullet, and there is absolutely no substitute for Spirit-fueled love for our lost neighbors. Fortunately, we do not need to choose between genuine compassion and helpful evangelistic aids.
One of the more unwieldy evangelistic tools out there is the “diagnostic question.” This is supposed to be a non-threatening question that leads to a natural conversation about God.
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We are all wired to recognize and bristle against a sales’ pitch. People are clever enough to know the difference between you asking a sincere question and you setting a person up for an information bomb. So ask with the intent of listening, not as a ploy to score evangelism points.
[…]
One question that I find rather useful is to ask, “Do you sense yourself moving toward or away from God?” It’s an open-ended and non-threatening question, but the answer lets me know where a person is coming from—provided I actually listen.
There are a host of others that I think can be useful: “What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about God?” “What has been your experience with the church?” “What do you think a successful/happy life looks like?” Again, none of these are sufficient on their own, but if we ask sincerely and listen with compassion, we may be surprised by where the Spirit leads us.
