80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

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In seminary, I took a class on apologetics. Basically, apologetics is defending your faith. It was fascinating to see how profoundly logical it is to believe in God and the Bible. Tons of videos and books give techniques to win a debate about Christianity. Peter encourages the churches: &ldquo;...in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s there. Courtroom stuff. Make a defense! Maybe the tricky part nowadays is, how do I get someone to ask me about the hope I have. How can I defend, without arguing, and keep a gentle attitude?
I&rsquo;ve now worked with college students in 5 countries&ndash; the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. People are asking questions, whether on campus, in your neighborhood, or at the gym. They&rsquo;re thinking about God. But the way to enter those types of conversations is more about (first) asking questions than about explaining! Let me share step-by-step how we do spiritual questionnaires or surveys in post-modern Europe. Lastly, I&rsquo;ll tell you why I think my top two questions (3 and 4) have been game changers to getting good responses.

Toughest part? Walking up and Starting

Let&rsquo;s go with a brief Introduction: &ldquo;Hi, I&rsquo;m Martha, and this is [name]. We&rsquo;re with Connexxion, a Christian-based student group, where everyone is welcome. We are doing a simple questionnaire with 5 questions. We want to get to know students, learn their ideas about God, and hear their stories. And we wondered if you could take a few minutes and help us out?&rdquo;
While talking, show the piece of paper as well as an invite. You may want to give a gift packet in a clear bag, with a Gospel of John and chocolates. Such as during Christmas, Valentine&rsquo;s, or Easter. Our Connexxion ministry became well-known for passing out tiny packets of gummy bears.
If they say yes, ask if you may sit down. Usually, one person does the interview. The partner writes answers and silently prays. Keep the pace slow. Yes, you can show interest with follow-up questions. If you overdo chit-chat, however, then the 5-question survey turns into 20 questions. Don&rsquo;t trick them.

Down to Business: the Bulk of the Survey

Question 1: What do you study? What&rsquo;s your name? (Introduce yourselves again, too; get them to spell their name)
Question 2: What was your religious background growing up, if any?
Remain positive and friendly, no matter if the student has no religious background. Or if they belong to a cult or to another religion. Sometimes I ask: &ldquo;Was it the same for your parents?&rdquo;
Question 3: If you could ask God a question, what would it be?
Now we dive right in! If he or she says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe in God&rdquo; I may ask, &ldquo;What questions do you think other students are asking?&rdquo; They may need a second. Totally understandable! I say, &ldquo;Take your time. I know you didn&rsquo;t wake up this morning getting ready to do a survey.&rdquo;
About 80-90% of the time, they have a question for God! Unbelievable! It shows me that the Lord is preparing hearts, maybe in a whisper.&nbsp;
Question 4: I believe that we learn from other people&rsquo;s stories. And we really enjoy hearing life stories. Do you maybe have a story of a moment you sensed there was something that was not a coincidence? Or you realized there was something greater than yourself at play &ndash; even if it&rsquo;s not &lsquo;God&rsquo;? Do you mind sharing it?
This question is gold!! They reveal very personal stories.

That last minute might be the most impactful

To finish, we hope to share the gospel. We love to share the good news about Christ&rsquo;s death, burial, and resurrection. This &ldquo;P.S. question&rdquo; sometimes opens an opportunity for me to share my one-minute story of coming to faith. Or I draw out the Three Circles illustration.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;Hey, we&rsquo;re done. If you&rsquo;ve got 1 more minute, and are interested, I could share why we do this survey. (your testimony or Gospel)</li>
<li>OR, could I take one minute and tell you what my question for God would be?</li>
<li>OR, could I take one minute and tell you what Jesus means to me? (share your story of coming to faith or overcoming a trial).</li>
<li>OR, could I take one minute and draw out a really quick illustration about how the Bible deals with the problems we face in the world?</li>
</ul>

Why do you think the top two questions (3 and 4) have been game-changers? We&rsquo;re living in a society similar to ancient Greece. Paul went to Athens and shared the good news at the Areopagus. He never criticized pagan idols. Instead, Paul used one as a conversation opener: the statue to the &ldquo;Unknown god&rdquo; (Acts 17:23). That was their cry for hope.&nbsp;
Once, a Dutch student told me that one year after his grandmother had passed, to the day, her favorite song came on the radio. He felt it was a sign from her. When his good buddy heard this, he said, &ldquo;No, it&rsquo;s just random.&rdquo; Honestly, I can&rsquo;t say how that song came on the radio. But the point is, even a person without any faith may &ldquo;sense&rdquo; that there is more to life than what we can see on earth.&nbsp;
There is an eternity. For most students on your campus who don&rsquo;t know the Lord, Jesus is an &ldquo;unknown god.&rdquo; They&rsquo;re curious! Especially with Question 4, I get to hear them reveal a secret longing. The uncanny sense of more! In their own stories, they&rsquo;ve encountered eternity. They&rsquo;ve gotten a whiff of the God who loves them. I listen. I show interest. I nod: Yep, there truly is more. And then God opens the door!

1. What do you study?
2. What was your religious background growing up?
3. If you could ask God a question, what would it be?
4. I believe that we learn from other people&rsquo;s stories. Do you maybe have a story of a moment you sensed there was something that was not a coincidence or something greater than yourself? You mind sharing it?
5. Would you be interested in doing a 2nd survey, using photos? We currently have 1-2 small group discussions each week called &ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo; We explore how to experience God in daily life &amp; look at stories from the life of Jesus in the Bible. &ndash; Would you like to get more info now &amp; then about Connexxion parties &amp; events (or for example the discussion huddles next week)? ▢ Yes&nbsp; ▢ No&nbsp; ▢ Maybe later
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How to Ask Your Way Into Spiritual Conversations

Martha Moore

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