In the United States, at least in my neck of the woods, when the householder answers the door to find a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he or she has two thoughts.

”What do they want?”

“How long will this take?”

You must answer those two questions, and the quicker the better.

Mercifully, all those silhouette suggestions have been replaced with the notion to just be yourself. By degrees, I stumbled upon an approach to read a single scripture, then leave. It works so well I do nothing else. It makes field service enjoyable. It requires next to no preparation.

Fluff up the following a little if you like to suit your personality, but only a little. Here it is barebones. Upon introducing yourself—first name will do, and that of companion—say:

“The world’s crazy. We think the Bible helps. I want to read you a scripture. You tell me what you think, and I’m gone.” 

Even people who say no will often thank you for your call. Why? They know right away what you want. And they know how long it will take. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses call without appointment, something virtually unheard of in the western world. People are not just sitting on their hands. They are doing things. You must never assume their time is yours.

Thing is, many  people will say yes to your offer. You haven’t asked for much—just to read a scripture. They are refreshed by the brevity, the reassurance that you don’t mean to chew up their entire day.

Should they say yes, read your scripture. Explain in a sentence or two why you chose it. Invite their thoughts if they have any. If they don’t, take your leave. 

A verse I’ve been using lately has become a favorite for its plain vanilla quality. At first glance, it is about as non-controversial as one could select. Plain vanilla, I have found, is a good way to go, rather than some verse that requires mental effort. Reason being that the householder is only partly listening. He is also sizing you up—and you don’t want to interfere with that task. If he decides you’re okay, he may launch off with concerns having nothing to do with your chosen scripture. In that case, forget about your scripture, and go wherever he goes.

The verse I’ve used lately is 1Thessalonians 5:11, sometimes mentioning it was a recent meeting theme:

“Keep encouraging one another and building one another up, just as you are in fact doing.”

Reason I chose the verse is that, you would think it would be the biggest ‘Duh’ in the world. Of course, people should do that! But we live in a world where it seldom happens, where you are far more likely to be told what an ignoramus you are than to be built up.

I am never challenged on this point (just as I am never challenged that “the world is crazy”). Everyone knows it is so. It makes an excellent segue into how the Bible teaches people to live. I always have the card with me—the only piece of literature I ever carry these days, with the QR code linking to the Enjoy Life Forever study course.

Thing is, the approach is so versatile. You can plug in virtually any scripture. Just devise a rationale for why you are selecting it and you are good to go.

One fellow I spoke with recently, as I was reading a verse on the iPad said, ‘Wait a minute. Is that some sort of an app?’ I told him it was, JW Library, and that he could download himself, which he did right then and there.

******  The bookstore