Several years ago, a Christian friend of mine worked in a factory where many of his co-workers were Jehovah’s Witnesses. He said that during the lunch break they all sat together in the cafeteria and never bothered to try to witness to him. He wasn’t upset by that—just curious as to why.

What struck me was that my friend never considered initiating a Bible discussion with any of them.

Do you have any family members, friends, co-workers, or neighbors who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? There’s no reason why you can’t take the initiative in talking to them about God, the Bible, and salvation.

After all, you have the true gospel and you have been given the Great Commission along with the promise of Jesus’ presence and power: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Of course, you will need to prepare for such discussions.

My book, Getting Through to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways, and this blog have all been designed to help you do that.

If your family members, friends, co-workers, or neighbors are active Jehovah’s Witnesses, they should be happy to talk with you about God. It will probably be refreshing to them to get into a Bible conversation without having to experience a lot of rejection going door-to-door trying to find someone who is interested in talking with them.

There’s another incentive for them to meet with you—they can count the time they spend with you on their monthly field service report.

One of the advantages to talking with people you already know is that you have already built relational bridges with them. Tell them you would like to understand what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and why and how it agrees with or differs from your own understanding.

They may be willing to talk with you one-on-one rather than insisting on having another Witness sit in on your discussions. There is nothing wrong with your suggesting and even insisting on such an arrangement. Tell them you’d be much more comfortable talking with them than going into some formal witnessing setting with people you’ve never met.

Don’t say this to them, but realize that they won’t need to fear what a Witness partner will think of them if they express doubts about Watchtower teachings. This can provide a tremendous opportunity for you because they will be more likely to open up to you.

If you decide to do this, I want to caution you not to appear overeager.

If for some reason they don’t want to enter into such a discussion with you, don’t try to guilt them into it; just accept it and try with someone else.

You may be reluctant to commit to a large number of discussions on a wide range of Bible topics. Nothing says you have to do that.

Start slowly.

Read through my book and various posts on this blog, pray about it, and select an approach you think fits best with your background and personality. Then study that approach in detail. Tell your Witness friend that’s what you want to discuss.

If you feel comfortable with them, let them pick a topic. Tell them you’ll need time to study up and make some notes before you begin your discussions.

Prepare and then stick to that subject.

I won’t deceive you.

All of this will take time, study, and prayer on your part.

But isn’t that what Jesus would want you to do?

Isn’t their salvation worth the time and energy you will invest?