A few years ago I heard about a very unique way to deal with telemarketing calls, and it came from an unknown comedian who was making a point of how to get these people off our backs.

He said that when a sales person calls, he tells them about Jesus so they won’t call back again. As I listened to this strategy I thought it would be a neat way to share the Gospel, not as a way to get rid of them, but as a way to redeem the time. Now whenever a telemarketer calls I will always tell them the way to salvation. The next time you are interrupted by one of these people resist the urge to hang-up.

Awhile back a woman called with a credit card offer, so I asked if she might first answer a question from me.

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied

I then inquired as to where she would go if she should die on the other end of the line.

She said, “Why, I would go to Heaven, ma’am.”

“Why is that?”

“Because ma’am, my Lord and Saviour is Jesus Christ.”

I was happy to be talking to a sister, so I offered to pray for her success in future phone calls and didn’t bother telling her I was a “Sir.”

This is a great opportunity for those of you who are a bit shy about sharing your faith, so here are a few guidelines to help you when witnessing to tele-marketers:

1. Always be polite. We want to be good examples of redeemed humanity.

2. Ask them before they start their pitch if you can ask them some questions and that afterwards you will hear them out (they always say yes). It’s very important that you ask them the eternal questions before they try to sell you on something or they will hang up on you when you share your faith.

3. Start right in with, “If you were to die today, would you go to Heaven or Hell? You’ll know what to say from there.

4. Make it short and sweet. Don’t anger them by taking up all their time. I usually spend no longer than a minute and a half, depending on the rapport developed.

5. Thank them for listening, then listen to their pitch and decline graciously if you are not interested. Make sure that you listen to their pitch; they listened to yours.

6. Pray for their success on future calls.

After this pleasant experience, they might actually want to talk to a Christian face to face!