7 Questions I Never Hear When I Go Canvassing

The presidential primary season is in full swing. Campaign volunteers are exercising their zeal to ultimately win the election in November. The volunteers are willing to do all things for all people to convince fellow party members to vote for their candidate – even going to their doors.

Political volunteers embrace questions at the door rather than fear them. Every question is an opportunity to give reasons for the hope they have in their candidate and our country’s future.

Faithful Christians often refrain from proclaiming the gospel because they fear questions from those who don’t believe in Christ. It’s intimidating to be placed in a position where they might not know the answer or give false information.  

Faithful Christians need not fear questions from unbelievers but celebrate them.

Evangelism means proclaiming the gospel to unsaved souls. They are a different audience than those who believe in Jesus.

In my experience of going door-to-door to proclaim the gospel, the toughest questions typically come from those who already belong to a church or an avowed atheist looking for a fight.  

Those who are far from Jesus and need to hear the Good News have a completely different mindset. They will make comments and ask questions that many Christians would never expect. They are a unique audience with a far different knowledge base.

Here is an example of seven questions that I never hear from the unchurched when I go canvassing to proclaim the gospel.

#1        What denomination do you belong to?

#2        What does your church teach about baptism and holy communion?

#3        Are you a liturgical church or do you sing Christian contemporary songs?

#4        How long are the sermons?

#5        What is your pastor like? Could he stop by for a visit so I can meet him?

#6        What version of the Bible do you use?

#7        What does your church teach about the end times?

These questions are more important for Christians who are church shopping, but they will not come from those who are spiritually lost or don’t have a church home.

What type of questions do I hear from those who have not stepped inside a church for many years?

Do you allow gays in your church?
Do you have to be a member to attend your community event at church?
Does God forgive every sin?
Could your church accept someone like me?

Our world has changed so much that faithful Christians may not realize how people view the church or how little they know about what the Bible teaches. Unchurched people are heavily influenced by the media and what the world believes what Christianity ought to teach. We can’t assume they are rejecting the Truth because so many people have never really heard the Truth before. They don’t know that they don’t know. And those with a previous church background have stopped going to church because they longer want to feel judged, tired of trying to meet certain standards to be acceptable or find church no longer relevant in their life.

Christian believers should not be afraid to answer spiritual questions because people today are not bothering to ask them. Therefore, one of the greatest victories in evangelism is creating a safe and trusted environment where intrigued people who don’t have saving faith can ask questions and not feel threatened.

I am humbled and admire the zeal of political campaign volunteers. They are willing to go to the people to win votes for their candidate. Perhaps Christians can learn a lesson from them. With zeal sparked by the love of our Savior and engulfed by the power of his Word, we can go out to the people to bring Good News about our Candidate – Jesus Christ. He has already won!

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

1 Peter 3:15