Basic Outreach Skills
Foreward	Though primarily written for the Internet's online chat medium (IRC), this Equipper article will help you in any one-on-one evangelism setting! Please read the following sections slowly. They are designed for immediate absorption and application. Do ensure that you constantly keep them at heart at all times. By observing them, you will show the person you're conversing with that you are a good listener, that you care for the person, that you're not trying to beat them over the head with a ten pound Bible, and that you're genuinely concerned with the person's situation. They are important because many Christians do not know how to properly convey the Gospel. There are certain denominational prejudices or biases that have been in their denominations for decades, and they will naturally see their way as right. Unfortunately, they come across as judgemental and intollerant. While such people comprise a small percentage of Christiandom, most non-Christians deem them as the entirety of Christianity. The hurt that such an approach has caused has given rise to suicides and throwing kids out of houses, for example.
Every Person Has a Background	Every person has a background. It could be anything. Culture. History. Career. A family trajedy. Sometimes the way a person acts (or reacts) is a direct result of that has happened to him/her in the past. It is very important to take this into account, and not to react towards the person. If you are finding that you're "butting heads" or in conflict with the person, always take a step back an assess the situation. There may be more than meets the eye. There may be a "big picture" to the situation you are not seeing. Sincerely ask questions and let them know you're not passing judgement but that you are trying to understand the situation further, and that you're holding off on your comments so that you can do the person's situation justice!
Handling Tough Questions	Some questions go way beyond us. Either we don't know the answer, or we have had no prior experience in the situation being discussed to be able to speak properly into that person's life. There has been a tendency for Christians to try to apply solutions to all problems. For example, someone has been diagnosed with an incurable disease. A correct approach would be to offer to pray continually, and to be there for that person. An incorrect way, however, is to suggest that maybe the person is not healed by God because of lack of prayer, lack of faith, or it's not God's will, etc. The reason why this not a correct approach is that it implies to the person that the reason why God's healing (for example) did not manifest is because of that person's failure or falling short in performance. "You must have not prayed sincerely" or "You must have some unconfessed sin" or "You must not have had enough faith", etc. It is important that we realize that we are not under a performance-Gospel, where blessings are earned by our well-doing, and that failure of receiving a blessing is due to something we've omitted doing. Living in this manner has placed many Chrisitans under bondage. Remember that Jesus came to set captives free. He loved us and washed us in His own blood even before we said, "Yes" and accepted Him! In fact, God's love towards us is not on the basis of how we perform but based on Jesus' finished work on the Cross. This goes back to the section, "Everyone Has a Background" in that you may not have considered that this person might have tried every "formula" to get healed of this disease. This person might have prayed unceasingly, etc. It is best not to belittle this persons history of efforts, nor add to his/her burden the idea that something might not have been done properly or enough. We must never conclude with comments like "Maybe it isn't God's will" because unless we hear God's voice or He illuminates a passage of scripture over this matter, we really don't know, and so we must not assume to be God's voice and mouthpiece. Many Christians have fallen away due to such well-meaning discouragement!
Conclusion	Thus, we can see that as a result from studying the scriptures, the topic of Predestination does not necessarily conflict with Free Will. It takes an act of will on our part to lay down our preconceived ideas and biases and to look at the subject objectively. Moreover, we begin to see the true character of God. Yes, He is a God of righteousness that brings Him to judge sin, but He is a God of tremdous mercy, which brings Him to judge His sinless Son instead. So that by placing your life in Christ's hands, you will have a destiny in Him, and you will begin to intimately know God the way He has known you before the beginning of Time.