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HOW CAN I WITNESS TO MY JEHOVAH'S WITNESS FRIEND?

“My friend is a Jehovah's Witness and seems to have all the answers. I don’t feel prepared enough to defend my beliefs with her. If I give you her information, can you talk to her? If not, do you have suggestions of what I can say to her?”

OUR RESPONSE:

Thanks for telling us about your friend and your desire to have someone reach out to her. You asked if we could follow-up with her. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot we can do to help her directly. Although we have a lot of experience in dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses who are in the process of leaving the Watchtower, active Jehovah’s Witnesses are warned by their leaders not to talk to anyone who “opposes” the Watchtower organization. They view us as “agents of Satan” sent by him to get them away from Jehovah God and “the Truth” (their religion). Therefore, if we do attempt to contact her, she will question why we want to speak with her and as soon as she finds out that we are part of this ministry, she will not have anything to do with us. So, unless she has questions and doubts what she is being told in the Watchtower, she will not want to listen to anything we have to say to her.

Every Jehovah’s Witness knows that there is simply no honorable way out of the Watchtower organization. If they do decide to speak with us knowing who we are, they run the risk of being ostracized by their fellow Jehovah’s Witness associates and subjected to disciplinary action by their leaders if it is discovered that they have had contact with us. So, until an individual Jehovah’s Witness is ready to take the final step to leave the Watchtower, the only way he or she will have contact with our ministry is to secretly investigate what our research has uncovered. They may do so in two ways:

1. By looking at our website: www.4jehovah.org.
2. By calling our “Recorded Message for Jehovah’s Witness” at 719-355-7164 x104 and/or requesting our free information packet for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

• Note: All requests for information are kept confidential and there is no requirement to reveal one’s identity, unless he or she is asking for material to be sent to them through the mail, and even in cases like these, we never divulge their information to anyone other than the people who are working with us in this ministry.

Because Jehovah’s Witnesses are told to close their minds to “outside” influences, the best opportunity they have of hearing the real truth is through personal relationships with people like you! You may be the ONLY person in her life who will care enough to share the truth in a way that will help her get free from the lies she has embraced in this controlling religion. The reality of your personal walk with Jesus and the grace, peace and confidence you have of God’s forgiveness and acceptance of you, may be the most compelling evidence of all. She can’t argue with your personal testimony.

You can also share 1 John 5:11-13 with her and tell her how you have the assurance (“know”) that you have “eternal life,” and how this “eternal life” began the moment you came to Jesus and asked Him to give you His righteousness in exchange for your sin (see John 6:47; 10:28; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Let her see the reality of His work in your heart by the way you continue to reach out to her in love — even when she may be undeserving of it. Let her know that no matter if she agrees with you or not on doctrinal points, you will always be her friend, love her, pray for her and be available if she ever just wants to talk.

In the Watchtower, friendship is conditional upon one’s performance in the religion. To have a friend who will “pray” for her and “love” her regardless of anything else is something that most Jehovah’s Witnesses have never had. Although, she may appear to be “happy” in her religion right now, if she does something that causes her Jehovah’s Witness friends to begin to “shun” her, you will be the first person she will go to for help. So, your friendship with her is the most valuable gift you can give her.

Whenever you have spiritual discussions, remember that it is not your job to change her mind. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict her of “truth” and to lead her to Jesus. Your job is just to “testify” of what He has done for you. Study to be prepared to “give an answer” for what you believe (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:15) and when she asks you what you think about a certain subject, speak the “truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

To help you become equipped to effectively share your faith, we’ve provided a number of resources on our website. You are free to download most of these resources for your personal use. Click here to read our copyright statement. Some of the most popular resources on our website for Christians witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses are listed below:

• Who are Jehovah's Witnesses? - Their History, Beliefs and Practices (www.4jehovah.org) - A simple outline and chart that provides a summary of Jehovah's Witness history and beliefs in contrast to Biblical Christianity
  
  
• How to Witness Effectively to Jehovah's Witnesses - Breaking the Watchtower Barrier - A step-by-step approach to sharing your faith with Jehovah's Witnesses and how to overcome the communication barriers

• How to Share Your Faith with Jehovah's Witnesses Without an Argument - Great ideas on how to talk to Jehovah's Witnesses in a non-confrontational way.
  
  
• Questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses: Step-by-step questions to challenge the thinking of Jehovah’s Witnesses and photocopied documentation to prove the validity of your claims
  
  
• What Does God Require? - Biblical Answers to Questions Jehovah's Witnesses Ask (www.4jehovah.org) - A Series of dialogues between a Jehovah’s Witness and Christian on a number of topics that come up in conversation.
  
  
• Christian Business Cards for Witness to Jehovah’s Witnesses (www.4jehovah.org) - These are short questions on cards you can cut out and carry with you. We don’t recommend that you give them directly to your Jehovah’s Witness friends as they are told not to read anything critical of the Watchtower, but you can have them ready in your Bible to remind you of good questions to ask next time you talk with your friends. You can also print them out and have ready at your door to give to the Jehovah’s Witnesses you may never see again. It is better to leave them with something, than to close the door and say you’re “not interested.”
  
  
• Watchtower Doctrine Exposed - Reference chart with Scripture verses to counter Jehovah’s Witness beliefs. Great reference tool to have handy in your Bible for the next conversation with them!
  
  
• Facts the Watchtower Society Doesn’t Want You to Know (www.4jehovah.org) - Great article to give to a Jehovah’s Witnesses who is meeting with you. Tell them that you found this article and want to get their “opinion” on it. Since you don’t want to believe any “lies” about the Watchtower, ask them to evaluate it and let you know where any “lies” are in it. As they are trying to “help” you see the truth, they will discover things about their organization’s history that they are not being told.
  
  
• Hoffman’s Effective Methods in Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Audio Message – Great ideas on how to share your personal testimony with Jehovah’s Witnesses

• Jehovah’s Witness Topics -  Answers to Jehovah’s Witness arguments on many issues.
  
  
• Jehovah's Witness Scripture Index - List of Scripture verses that Jehovah’s Witnesses misinterpret and Biblical response to each one.
  
  
• Resource List - Additional Books, CDs, DVDs and Photocopy Documentation Packets you can order to prepare for discussions with Jehovah’s Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses are told what to believe on almost everything. They are taught that it is wrong to “think” for themselves. (See The Watchtower, January 15, 1983, pp. 22, 27). So, we suggest that you use effective questions to challenge your friend to critically evaluate what she is being told. Consider that any witnessing encounter that leaves Jehovah’s Witnesses with a question they cannot answer is a good encounter. Your goal is not necessarily to get them to agree with you, but rather to get them to exercise the brain God gave them and to “think” for themselves (see Acts 17:11). Even if you do nothing else, you are arming the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of your Jehovah’s Witness friends.

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE:

How can I witness to my Jehovah's Witness friend and co-worker?
I'm frustrated! How can I get through to Jehovah's Witnesses?
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO RESCUE YOUR LOVED ONE FROM JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES —How to Open the Closed Mind of a Jehovah’s Witness Friend or Relative