How to Bring Someone to the Orthodox Christian Faith?

Answer 1

How to bring someone or bring back someone to the Orthodox Christian faith.
Steps

1. Pray for the person to come to the faith, and for God's help in your task. Trust that God will do whatever is necessary to help, so long as you are working from a pure heart. This is very important.
2. If possible, seek the council and support of your spiritual father, another trusted cleric, or an experienced layperson.
3. Take time to review the basic principles of Orthodox Christian faith, and familiarize yourself with Orthodox apologetics in order to have the most productive conversations. Understanding various other faiths and ideologies and how they contrast to Orthodoxy is also very important.
4. Speak positively and with enthusiasm about your faith. Remember to stay calm, and only express those things you genuinely believe. Honest expression will be much more effective than repeating memorized sermons.
5. Try to learn why a person feels the way they currently do about God, Christ, and the church. Be prepared to be a good listener. It is important to understand and empathise with this person's life path.
6. Be prepared to answer difficult questions. If you cannot answer them, do not panic. Remain calm and take time to find the answer when the opportunity arises.
7. Sense when the person is feeling too much discomfort and is no longer being receptive. Do not be forceful. Be careful to avoid a patronizing attitude; simply because this person does not accept your faith in no way makes you better than they are.
8. Encourage people to come to an Orthodox church to "see for themselves" what it is about. Do not apply too much pressure, or you will drive them away. Maintain an open, friendly attitude at all times.
9. When the moment is right, try to direct the person to see a priest whom you trust to properly explain the faith to him or her.


Tips

* If in doubt about how to best approach a person, refer to God in prayer, asking for Him to guide your words, deeds, and thoughts.
* A positive example by way of a genuine (not artificially forced) warmth, sensitivity, receptivity, and kindness towards a person is vital in helping a person respect the Orthodox way of life.
* Do not take someone's lack of conversion/understanding as your own fault. Many people come to faith in gradual stages. It may take a few months, or it may take years - this is all dependent on God's will and the level of this person's receptivity.
* When discussing Orthodoxy, do not remain confined to the New Testament. The lives of the saints are a vital instrument in properly explaining what it means to live by the Orthodox way.
* Regularly remembering the person in your prayers will always be of benefit to the conversion of him or her.


Warnings

* Do not use confrontation language but follow the principle 1 Cor. 9 verse 20 of the New Testament. This is because such language usually puts people on the defensive and will not produce converts.
* Do not threaten the person's damnation for not accepting the Orthodox faith or leading a sinful life; conversion by threat is not effective.
* Abort any spiritual conversation if it gets too agitated, especially if tempers are on the rise.
* Avoid turning the conversation into a personal contest of "you're wrong, I'm right"
* Do not speak of yourself or other Orthodox Christians as being greater people for having accepted the faith.
* Trying to convert someone for your own personal agenda (i.e. to feed your sense of pride) will not produce good results. Search out and confront these motives.
* Do not attempt to artificially "smooth over" the Orthodox faith and try to cater it to the person's current ideology.
* Remember that witnessing is a difficult task, and not everyone has the strength to do it and accept failure.
* Be cautious when speaking to children, their parents may misunderstand your intentions and become hostile.


Things You'll Need

* Prayer.
* Patience.
* The support of your spiritual father or other, preferrably experienced cleric. A knowledgable layperson can also be of help.
* A book on the basics of the Orthodox faith, such as Bp. Kallistos Ware's "The Orthodox Way", and other such resources can be of great help.

Answer 2

It wasn't just Muslims who killed those who would not convert. Christians are still doing it all over the world.
But to answer your question...
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
In case that wasn't clear, you can let them know that IF they are interested, then you are able and willing to assist them. If the are NOT interested, you need to leave them alone.

Answer 3

The Muslims have found swords best for conversion, but in today's day and age I recommend a gun.

Answer 4

Simply pray and fast.