How to Help Someone Who Has Lost Their Christian Faith
According to James 1:3, "... the testing of faith produces endurance." For many Christians, events occur in their life that cause them to question their faith in God. The cause may be a financial struggle, a disconnect with Church doctrine, a personal loss or a feeling of loneliness or abandonment. If this person is a friend, family member, neighbor or part of your congregation, it can be natural to want to help get the person back on track.
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Instructions
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Arrange a time and a place to talk with the person about his struggles. You will not want to have such an important conversation on the fly. Invite him over for coffee or out for a picnic. Choose a location that will offer privacy and a date when neither of you will be pressed for time.
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Pray for knowledge and the right words to say before you have the discussion with this person. If it is God's will for you to bring this person back to Him, He will give you the right words to say. Praying will also help remove any nerves you may have about the impending conversation.
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Ask her to talk about the problem she is currently struggling with, if there is a specific issue. If a person has suffered a specific loss, then their faith could be directly affected by that. Knowing the context of her strife will help direct the rest of the conversation.
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Look to the Bible to find verses and characters that deal with struggles of faith. For example, one of Jesus's disciples, Peter, denied knowing Jesus three different times. He was scared of retribution for knowing Jesus during the time of his crucifixion. He questioned that God would protect him. Peter is a good example because he came back to Jesus in the end.
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Have the person describe what their faith was before they began to question God. If his faith was not very sincere to begin with, then it could easily be destroyed during times of distress. Explain that the purpose of faith is not to fix the problems in our life.
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Talk with your friend or family member about the five stages of grief, if they have suffered a recent loss, and decide if the loss of faith is a result of the grieving process. According to many mental health professionals, there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. If the person is in stage two, then she may be angry at God and be trying to hurt His feelings by rejecting the thought of his existence. Likewise, someone struggling with depression may view the world as hopeless, and Godless. Assure the person you are talking to that the grieving process is natural, and encourage them not to give up on their faith until after they have gone through the process.
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Discuss what turning your back on God may mean. This could be a very delicate part of the discussion, and it should be avoided if someone is struggling with a recent loss.
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End your conversation by answering any questions the person may have and give them time to reflect upon the discussion. You do not want to be too persistent with a person who is trying to work out religious struggles. Putting too much pressure on this person to have faith may drive him away. Be respectful of their decisions. Sometimes being a shining example is the best way to lead.
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References
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