Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked so many questions?

For example, he once asked a rich man, “Why do you call me good?” Why didn’t he just give the man a gospel presentation? What’s the deal with clarifying goodness?

The truth is, the questions Jesus asked engaged people on deep levels and his example helps us understand how we might do the same as a pathway to sharing the best news people have ever heard.

Randy Newman, author of “Questioning Evangelism,” will lead a seminar on this topic at the Christianity Explored North American Conference, taking place on April 14th, in McLean, Virginia. The theme of this year’s conference is “Building Momentum for Evangelism.”

Christianity Explored was developed out of All Souls Church, Langham Place, in central London, where the late Dr. John Stott was a long time rector. Questions played a key role in Stott’s conversion.

When Stott was 17 years old, Rev. E.J.H Nash made a presentation at his school. During that presentation, Nash – who would later become an important mentor to Stott – challenged him to consider the following questions:

“What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called the Christ? Have I ever opened the door to Christ? Have I ever invited him in?”

You can read more about Stott’s conversion at Justin Taylor’s blog post on The Gospel Coalition’s website.

In his book, “Honest Evangelism,” Rico Tice talks about questions. For example, Rico shares the importance of coming up with a “pain-line question” to help move conversations with people into an area where you can begin talking about the gospel. He says that we need to listen to people so that we can ask a question that draws on our relationship with them. He calls this a “pain-line question” because when we ask it, we don’t know how the person will respond. He or she could respond with a hunger for a discussion on the gospel, or perhaps the opposite response, hostility.

If this interests you, and you want to grow in this area of using questions in evangelism, I encourage you to register for the April 14th conference. Click here for more information or to register.