by Jason Carlson
For many Christians the site of Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormon missionaries canvassing the neighborhood is an unwelcome interruption to the regular routine of daily life. As a result, many Christians are quick to hurry the cultists away from their front door with polite, yet firm declarations of their commitment to Jesus Christ and their membership in their local Christian church. In doing so, most Christians unwittingly reaffirm the cultist’s training, which tells them to expect rejection as a sign that they are truly doing God’s work, but furthermore, the cultists are then sent off to continue spreading their false gospel throughout the rest of the neighborhood. This is a tragic outcome and I’d like to suggest a different strategy.
The next time the cults come through your neighborhood, why not try going door to door with them? Yes, you read that correctly. I’m encouraging you to go door to door witnessing with the cults!
Recently I had two Mormon missionaries visit my neighborhood. I saw them out my kitchen window working their way from house to house down my street. So, I decided to go outside and engage them in a conversation. After talking with me for a few minutes these Mormon missionaries realized I wasn’t going to be a fruitful prospect for them, so they excused themselves and began walking with their bikes towards my neighbor’s home. What did I do? I started following them up my neighbor’s driveway.
When these Mormon missionaries realized that I was following them, they turned around and asked me, “What are you doing?” I told them that I was going to go door to door witnessing with them. They replied, “You can’t do that!” And I said, “Why not? This is my neighborhood.” Then these Mormon missionaries objected, “But nobody does that!” To this I declared, “Look, this is my neighborhood and these are my neighbors. As long as you’re going to go door to door here spreading your false religion I’m going to go with you and tell my neighbors the truth about what you really believe.”
I don’t think these Mormon missionaries took me seriously at first, but after I joined them at two of my neighbors’ homes, revealing what Mormons really believe and sharing the true gospel of Jesus Christ, these two Mormon missionaries finally asked me, “How long are you planning on doing this?” So I told these two Mormons, “I’m going to go door to door with you as long as you’re in my neighborhood.” By this time these guys realized I wasn’t kidding, so they got on their bikes and rode away.
Now, I recognize that this strategy may be bold, but please understand this, as Christians we have no obligation to allow false teachers to spread their deception in our neighborhoods. If anything, we have a responsibility to warn our neighbors about teachings that could lead them into an eternity separated from God!
God has given us the mandate to contend earnestly for the faith and the charge to demolish every argument that sets itself up against His truth (Jude 3; 2 Cor. 10:5). This is why I want to encourage you, the next time the cults come through your neighborhood, try going door to door witnessing with them. You’ll be protecting your neighbors from false teaching, you’ll have a ready-made opportunity to share the true gospel of Jesus Christ with them, and you may even have a transformational impact on the lives of the cultists you’re with.
Going door to door with the cults literally requires a step of faith, but I’ve found it to be one of the greatest evangelistic strategies I’ve ever engaged in. I encourage you to give it a try!