The table

My campus ministry sets up a table four days a week inside the school's student center, with a simple sign that reads "Come ask us about the Bible." As far as different kinds of ministry go, I've enjoyed this one the most.

The main challenge of the table is that you can be asked anything, by anyone, with any intention. You don't know why the person is asking or what the ensuing conversation will be, so after a few questions, you learn to think on your toes. It also proves to be a challenge in terms of how much you know; there is no real way to be prepared for every question. To that end, I am going to tell you about a few of the questions and scenarios you will see when people ask questions. it might help those who are trying to find what spiritual questions are on the average man's mind.

The most common people you will see are other Christians who aren't there to ask questions. Usually, they'll either be there to say, "I'm glad that you're doing this!" There are also a few Christians who will tell you how to do what you are doing. In the latter case, I say that such people are free to do it their way. In the former case, it's great to be encouraged.

Next most common are still Christians who want to ask questions, or people who likely grew up in Church but drifted away at a later date. Oftentimes they will have a question about doctrine, or about pseudo-Christian writings such as the Apocrypha or books put out by the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons. There have also been those who were told one thing while the Bible says something else, and simply want validation for something they've been suspicious of. In these cases, you must keep in mind that they are seeking your help to better understand the Bible, and they may not look into the matter after they leave. You could set up a ministry just for such people, and in the case of my ministry, these are the main people we're reaching to.

After these, there are hecklers. Typically, an atheist or agnostic will be somewhat offended by your very presence, and will let you know as much. This is where you can get into a situation in which the person will deliberately ask irrational questions or talk too quickly in order to throw you off. Like the people in the previous paragraph, these people are looking to clarify or validate something, but in this case, they are validating unbelief, and will do so with hostility. One challenge I've seen is the level to which hecklers make faulty assumptions. For that reason, it'd be good to understand the doctrine you believe in, because you will likely find yourself saying "No, the Bible doesn't say that" or "No, that's not the way we see things" quite often. Being able to turn such discussions around and presenting information the heckler likely hasn't seen before will either result in their pausing to think about what hey are saying, or simply walking off, knowing they can't control the conversation. Don't worry if this happens, there's only so much you can do, and if you've done it right, then you've done your job.

Least common, meaning I've never seen one, is the person who is largely unfamiliar with the Bible and wants to get to know more about it. It's surprising, but since I am going to an American school, it would make sense that most people have some idea about Christianity, even if the ideas are skewed.

As far as numbers and encounters go... I usually see one or two people an hour at the table. If two people come, the odds of a third and fourth standing behind the first two and watching are fairly high. It's easy to draw crowds when the first ones come. Usually however, people will look at you as they walk by, and look away. There are some dynamics when other groups come around; when the campus atheists set up a table next to us (spontaneously), we got a dozen comments on "you're next to the atheists, was this arranged?" Most of the questions I see begin with an assumption, which isn't always true. My favorite one, from a man who came to heckle, began by saying, "well you know, you can't really know everything that you believe is true, so how can you have faith?" It's the notion that faith must be blind. We also get a lot of questions about Biblical history as well, with questions about extra-biblical literature, translations, and figures from church history. A lot of questions also revolve around where the Bible stands on one issue or another. While there are a number where the Bible takes a very clear stand, there are a few political issues where extrapolating from Joshua 5:13-14 is your best bet. These things typically are not things that you usually discuss in Bible study, but people want to know about them, so it'd be worth looking into a few of these topics if you'd like to engage in this type of ministry.

Is it fun? I'd say so. One thing I will say, of course, is that it truly is a stretch of the mind, so be sure to pray before starting. And, of course, be ready to take names. The harvest is indeed plentiful, there are many people who are looking for someone to talk to about faith, if you are willing to put yourself out there.

As time goes on, I will update this section (Day to day ministry) with questions of interest that come from people I meet, along with the things that arise from my other ministry, being an education director at a local church.

Take care,

Michael