Jesus told his disciples to look for a person of peace when he sent them out in Luke 10:6.
It is wise to use the same method when going out to make disciples. This is even more relevant when you are trying to reach out to a community that you are not living in.
Here are a few characteristics of the person of peace according to this scripture.
A person of peace;
- welcomes you or shows interest in communicating with you.
- is willing to help you in some way or the other.
- Is hospitable to you – offers you some kind of food, drink or a place to stay or sit. If it’s in the workplace, the person of peace tries to help you to settle into the workplace.
- Listens to what you have to say.
- is willing to let you speak to the people around them (family, friends etc).
- accepts your prayers and is grateful for them.
- asks genuine questions about spiritual truth
The first test is the welcome test. When you greet them or say peace be unto this house. The one that shows interest and welcomes you is a potential person of peace.
When I go out with a group to knock on doors, usually we would find one or two who would ask us to come in and sit down.
You then proceed to say what you have come to do.
I will share some ideas with you in my next post of things that you can use as an entrance into a community.