What I Learned from Hosting Interfaith Dialogue

When I was working in campus ministry, my student leaders wanted to host an interfaith dialogue series. They expressed to me their desire to learn about some of the other faiths represented at our secular university while also growing in their own. So we invited people into our chaplain’s office to discuss various themes relating to worldview and religion.

I tried to do all the necessary prep work. I advertised the event, chose topics that would relate to all faith groups, crafted questions to start the conversation, and set up guidelines for discussing our differences respectfully. But when the time came and we began to chat with our guests (some atheists, some Muslims, some Seventh-day Adventist), I realized one major oversight: I had not prepared the students in our ministry to explain the basics of their faith to people who didn’t share it.

I found that when students spoke about Christianity with people of other belief systems, they often reduced their faith to actions: “Because we’re Christians, we don’t do ______.” Perhaps it’s easier to talk about concrete behaviors than complex theological concepts. It makes you vulnerable to say you believe in a man who rose from the dead. It’s difficult to explain that you worship a God who became human and is still here but is also coming again. Maybe it’s more comfortable to describe the way we live than the things we believe (even though our beliefs inform the way we live). Perhaps when we’re nervous we revert to the technical aspects of our faith.

But our faith is not defined by the technical parts. Ours is not a religion of do’s and don'ts. It’s a faith defined by grace, love, and trust in an intimate, self-sacrificing, relational God who takes us as we are, who holds us as his children, who walks with us through life’s ups and downs. Peter instructs us to “(a)lways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

While I was raised in a Christian Reformed subculture, I attended Pentecostal mission trips during my teenage years. We learned the ABC’s of evangelism, chanted phrases like “Repent, confess, believe, receive!” and memorized the sinner’s prayer. Then we took to the streets, where we proselytized strangers. As an adult I became critical of many aspects of this type of ministry. But one of the gifts I gained in those formative years was practice in communicating the joys of my friendship with God.

I no longer reference the ABC’s of Christianity when I talk about my faith with people. Each conversation looks quite different. I share why I still love Jesus after all these years. I describe faith as a mystery and yet a belief system that can handle our questions. I express my trust in a God who is love.

The Christian Reformed Church has a great resource for these types of conversations in Our World Belongs to God. This document can be used not only as a Sunday-morning reminder of the basics of our faith, but also as an effective resource for sharing our faith with others. I wish that, in preparation for our interfaith dialogue series, I had taken my students through Our World Belongs to God to remind us of the basics. I wish I had provided them with opportunities to practice discussing their faith with people who know little about it—not to provide canned and recitable answers, but rather so that when nervousness sets in they feel ready to authentically speak about the core of the faith that defines them.

Discussion Questions:

1. Share an experience you had with either an interfaith event or an interfaith conversation/friendship. How did you feel about it? What did you learn?
2. How would you explain the basics of your Christian faith to someone who has never heard it?
3. How do you feel about evangelism methods? What are your experiences with them?
4. Try taking a section or paragraph of Our World Belongs to God and see if you can use it to share your Christian faith to others.