At some point, your meetings with any given pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses will come to an end. The chances that both of them will be ready to come to saving faith in Christ at the same time are very slim.

In fact, you will need to be alert in order to detect that you have gotten through to even one of them. That Witness won’t want to let his partner know that his faith in the Watchtower organization is wavering. If he does, he will soon find himself being summoned to explain himself to the elders. In the worst case scenario, he could be disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for apostasy. As a result, he would be completely shunned by all Jehovah’s Witnesses, including his own family.

One way to deal with this reality is to make it clear at some point that you would be happy to meet with either of the Witnesses alone if trying to meet together becomes inconvenient. The unwavering Witness won’t do that. The other one might, though secretly.

The other option would be to find a time when the two Witnesses have separated momentarily and make the offer privately to the one you think is open to the gospel.

Let’s assume that you do get an opportunity to share the gospel with that Witness one-to-one. What points do you need to make sure he understands? Continue reading

When dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses, asking questions almost always works better than making declarations. That’s because they see themselves as the teachers and you as the student.

But there comes a time in your relationship where you will need to put some of your cards on the table and open up about what you believe even though you know that will cause friction between you and the Witnesses.

It’s not always easy to know when that moment has arrived. If you move too quickly or too boldly, the Witnesses may simply pack up their book bags and leave.

Here is some advice about how to make the transition: Continue reading

Okay. You’ve broken the ice with some Jehovah’s Witnesses and you’ve built rapport with them.

Now you’re going to get into actual discussions with them about the Bible.

Here’s where you can go astray by coming on too strong and trying to proceed too fast. Some Christians try to confront them up front with contradictions in Watchtower literature or show them evidence of a Watchtower scandal. There may come a time when this will be effective, but if you start out in that fashion, you are only likely to drive them away. Continue reading

My friend, Michael Clark, manages to get into extended discussions with a lot of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I asked him to write this guest post explaining how he does this and offering advice for those of us who would like to do so as well.

When making contacts with Jehovah’s Witnesses, the first impression is the most important. Behavior psychologists call this the “halo effect”.  It is extremely difficult to change a first impression once it has been established. In the first meeting do not try to convert the person.

Think about the first time that you met a new friend that you came to admire. Many times we become friends with people because we feel as if we can open up and be ourselves around certain people. We can relate to the other person, and we can “buy-in” to their purpose. If your main purpose is to convert every Witness, then do not be surprised if they do not “buy-in” to your purpose in meeting with them. I prefer a more modest approach, which is to get to know the person that I want to meet with.  Continue reading