Start by asking the basic question: “Has there ever been a time in your life when you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?”
1. If the answer is YES, ask him or her to tell you about it in order to determine just where he or she really is.
A. If you feel that he or she has made a commitment, but is uncertain, go over “Assurance,”
B. If the person seems firm in the commitment, perhaps he or she needs help with some other spiritual problem. Go over the section called “Seeking Forgiveness and Restoration,”
2. If the answer is NO, then share “Steps to Peace with God,”
3. If the answer is vague—“I have doubts,” “I’m not sure”—then ask the question: “If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?”
A. If he or she doesn’t know, share “Steps to Peace with God,”
B. If the person believes that he or she would go to heaven, then share “Assurance,”
C. If he or she is still vague, using such phrases as “I have always attended church,” or “I’m doing the best I can,” or “I try to be a moral person,” etc., then say:
(1) “Let me share with you how you can know for sure that if you died tonight you would go to heaven.”
(2) Share “Steps to Peace with God,”
4. Always close your conversation with prayer. Remember to offer the Bible study booklet, Living in Christ, which will help in the caller’s Christian life and future witness.
The Billy Graham Christian Worker’s Handbook; World Wide Publications, 1984, 1996
