Leveraging Media to Reach Unique Cultures: Mormons
Transforming Obstacles to Opportunities
There are unique challenges as we reach out to different cultures. Some have obstacles that are prominent in one culture but may not be in another. This requires an understanding of the people and a sensitivity to reach their specific needs. Paul demonstrated taking the time to observe the culture in Athens and made specific applications when he quoted Greek poets and appealed to the unknown god. (Acts 17:16ff)Truth in Love Ministry is focused on sharing Christ with Mormons. As we do that, one of the unique challenges we face is that they already think they are Christians. Jesus Christ appears prominently in the name of their church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many well-intentioned Christians begin by focusing on the differences in teachings, discrepancies in the Book of Mormon or skeletons in Joseph Smith's closet. Unfortunately, these approaches often just lead to debating to win an argument rather than witnessing to win a lost soul.
Rather than focus on what may bother us, we have found that it's important to focus on their stress points. For example, Mormons often struggle with the stress of trying to be perfect. They see Jesus as their example rather than their substitute. One of the most common passages emphasized by Mormons states: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48, KJV). We direct them to a website, BeYePerfect.org, where they can discover that being a Christian means you are already perfect in Christ. Mormon women struggle under the pressure of trying to be worthy. We also have a website, HisHealingNow.com, dedicated to proclaiming that Jesus has given us the worth and value needed to live with Heavenly Father forever.
Another obstacle is that Mormons are taught that other Christian churches have false teachings due to "corruptions" in the Bible. This can make it difficult for a church as an institution to reach out to Mormons. However, we can leverage technology to reach Mormons within their own homes. Every week we share across social media platforms Bible passage graphics that focus on LDS stress points and often link to our websites where they can learn more information. This makes it very easy for Christians to share and witness to their Mormon friends.
Through the use of targeted social media campaigns, we have been able to reach hundreds of thousands of Mormons each year. Re-direct campaigns using Facebook pixel allows us to follow-up on those who have demonstrated additional interest. Here is an example of a video used in a social media campaign.
As a Mormon begins to study the Bible further, there can be a variety of misunderstandings to unravel. Here it is important to connect them with others who will listen and support them through this process. We also have other groups connected to our ministry who can encourage one another. Through private Facebook groups, we currently support:
- Door to door missionaries
- Evangelists witnessing to Mormon missionaries
- Family and Friends of those who have a loved one who is a Mormon
- Ex-LDS people exploring biblical Christianity
Multiply Your Mission Force
We recognize the need to empower Christians to witness in order to reach many more Mormons. Our current vision is to match the Mormon missionary force one for one. This means we will share Christ with Mormons by training 80,000 Christians to witness by 2021. We are currently developing an online curriculum to make this training more accessible at a flexible pace for individuals and small groups. This will feature several modules and include video segments and discussion forums for an interactive experience. We also offer a weekly witnessing tip through Facebook live.
Our direct outreach to Mormon missionaries, Please Open The Door, continues to expand. We provide resources through the website as well as personal follow-up mentoring via Zoom videoconferencing. Our missionary team now extends across the country and around the world. We currently have active missionaries in 14 countries. Below is a friend of our ministry, Enrico, who is witnessing to Mormon missionaries in Germany.
Just as important as producing quality content is getting your message out. Google grants for non-profits provides $10k in free ads every month which drives tens of thousands of people to TILM.org. Last month we had visitors from 110 different countries. Through this extended reach, our missionary team continues to expand every day.
Through a variety of websites geared toward specific audiences, social media platforms targeted to reach people where they're at along with a team of trained missionaries around the world, Truth in Love Ministry has invited over 1M Mormons to discover God's amazing grace in Jesus.
What are the unique cultures God is calling you to reach? What are their distinctive stress points? How can you transform obstacles into opportunities by applying the gospel specifically to their unique needs? What types of media can you leverage to extend your reach to many more? How can you make your approach accessible for others to join you? Comment below to ask questions, share and encourage one another.
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Discussion
I appreciate your work in this outreach using all these different resources to be able to reach so many people. I especially liked your approach using the thought “This requires an understanding of the people and a sensitivity to reach their specific needs.” The challenge of understanding and having sensitivity to a culture many people are unfamiliar with that you are overcoming is amazing.
While I was reading your article, I was wondering if talking and collaborating with other churches may help your outreach. Many churches in our synod have large enough congregations that they may be able to form a team to help your mission and may come out there to give a helping hand.
After reading your article, I am wondering if your experiences and your mission may be able to help reach out to other cultures in other areas in the states. I say this because your plan is so smart and I think it would be worth it to use in different areas, but on different cultures that populate that specific area. We could use all of your social media, ads, and other outreach plans to help expand christian outreach to other cultures, you state, “Our direct outreach to Mormon missionaries, Please Open The Door, continues to expand.” Not only can the Mormon outreach continue to expand, but so can many other outreaches begin to expand using these ideas and plans.
Thank you for your hard work in spreading God’s Word!
Thanks for your encouragements.
One of the things I'm currently on is partnering with churches in communities with high LDS populations. Our prayer is to come alongside them to develop specific plans that would help them reach their Mormon neighbors.
I, too, believe that people can use aspects of our approach when it comes to reaching any specific audience. Many who begin reaching out to low risk relationships (e.g. Mormon missionaries) grow in confidence when it comes to reaching out to others. More Christians reaching more of the lost more often is something we can all rally behind!
Hearing about all the work that you and Truth In Love Ministry do to reach out to the Mormon population is amazing. I think that people often think that they can not witness to Mormons because the Mormons are trained missionaries and have more experience. But your work of “developing an online curriculum to make this training more accessible at a flexible pace for individuals and small groups” will make it so people no longer feel this way. They will be able to share the good news of Jesus with members of the Latter Day Saints.
You said that your “missionary team now extends across the country and around the world.” and you “currently have active missionaries in 14 countries.” How does the LDS compare in countries across the globe to those in the United States? In the U.S., Utah is known for having the greatest number of Mormons. Do other countries have high concentration location similar to Utah?
Thank you for all the work you have done in Jesus’ name. God’s richest blessings as you continue on your mission.
There are LDS communities around the world. Their highest concentration (by percentage of population) is in the South Pacific islands. Their largest numbers of Mormons are found in the United States and Mexico. They continue to grow throughout the world wherever Christians do not have deep enough roots in Scripture to recognize the differences. The need to reach them with a worldwide plan is real.
While reading about what your program is about I was very appreciative of the work you’ve been doing and specifically how it relates to helping Mormons. I like when you stated that some Christians tend to take other approaches to teaching about Christ to Mormons which leads to arguments but these websites take the approach of “Rather than focus on what may bother us, we have found that it's important to focus on their stress points.”
Something I found interesting also were the many different websites and platforms that you guys have to reach out to them and how it brought in a million Mormons and I thought that was really special. It would be so nice to have this with other religions who have things misinterpreted or even people who don’t know the Lord.
A question that I came across while reading this article was what was your experience with Mormons, and how did it help shape you to grow closer to God and to teach them in a different approach? Obviously there were probably some obstacles and I just wondered how you dealt with them?
Thank you again for sharing this and inspiring me to make a change in the world!
I have had many different interactions with Mormons. We have encountered some that are still deeply entrenched in LDS teachings. We have encountered others who recognized (some with tears) that something more out there and they experience the joy that comes from knowing that God is love. One of the lessons ex-LDS have taught us is that they will keep a mask on right up until the day they leave Mormonism. We may not see visible results, but inwardly their foundations are collapsing. In other words, trust in the power of the Word as you sow seeds.
We have found that one of the best ways to grow in faith is to share it with others. People who grow in their witnessing journey often tell us how much they now appreciate the grace of God (after they've met people who don't yet know it) and the Spirit lights them on fire to reach the lost.
As far as overcoming specific obstacles, there are too many to mention, but allow one example. Mormons emphasize keeping the commandments, but they downplay what constitutes as a sin (so that keeping the commandments seems achievable). When we help them to see that things like lack of contentment, hate and lust are sins and helps them to see that we wrestle with those things as well, we then have an opportunity to point to the one who kept every command perfectly for us.
God bless you as you share the Word and change the world...one person at a time.
I really enjoyed your article and your videos that you posted. I thought the video was very informative and I learned a lot of new concepts. I thought this quote was interesting when you said, “ Truth in Love Ministry is focused on sharing Christ with Mormons. As we do that, one of the unique challenges we face is that they already think they are Christians.” It’s interesting how Mormons think they are Christians just because they believe what’s in the bible, just like we do. Mormons believe by being perfect they can get to God. As Christians, we know only God is perfect, but by believing in God and his word, we will be with him in heaven.
An aspect of your piece that I found helpful for Mormons was how many options you have that can teach them about Christianity. I liked when you said, “ Our direct outreach to Mormon missionaries, Please Open The Door, continues to expand.” I thought the door to door visits are the most beneficial to Mormons because we as Christians can confess our faith with them in person and they can tell us all about their religion.
After reading your article, I had a question regarding your proposal. I was wondering if you are able to reach your mission to other parts of the world? I am saying this because I think it would be important to include those people as well. Everyone could benefit from your social media adds, and your informational videos.
Thank you for sharing this inspirational presentation!
Our ministry continues to expand. At the time I originally wrote this, we had visits from 110 countries. Now in the last month, we've had visits from 131 countries. We have people requesting resources from around the world. At this point, we're just scratching the surface of the worldwide need.
We are exploring some social media campaigns to countries with high LDS concentrations. We are also working with marketing partners to develop global strategies to equip Christians to witness. The internet is a tremendous tool to carry the gospel to all nations.
I enjoyed reading about the work that is being done to witness to more Mormons. It is fantastic to hear that “Truth in Love Ministry has invited over 1M Mormons to discover God's amazing grace in Jesus.” Mormon people have souls that need to be saved. It can be tough to successfully witness to Mormons since we have so many differences in beliefs, but when God’s Word is spread, the Holy Spirit will do His work.
After reading about the different websites Mormons can visit, I realized that “BeYePerfect.org, where they can discover that being a Christian means you are already perfect in Christ”, is a website that tells Mormons something that is totally against their religion. We know that not everyone believes the truth in God’s Word because they cannot go against what they believe now. I was wondering many Mormons have reacted negatively to your website?
Thank you for this great article!
Thanks for the question.
We get a mix of responses. Some react negatively because they reason "it just can't be that easy." Some struggle to understand "then help me to understand where good works fit in." Some respond with joy: "I knew there had to be something else...this is the good news I've been looking for." Whatever their response to the message, we try to meet them where they're at.
We'll experience mixed reactions no matter who we're witnessing to. Many times when someone reacts negatively, they may be desperately trying to defend a position even they are starting to question. On the surface from a human perspective we may think they're difficult to reach. My experience of witnessing with God's Word tells me that if you're willing to listen to them, they can often be much closer than they let on to be. In fact, an adverse reaction may be a signal that they're searching.
Because they don't want to be alienated from their family, private messages are often where we experience breakthroughs.
I really appreciate the material on the website to gain a better understanding of how to outreach to Mormons. I am wondering if you could provide some background of the challenges a Mormon who is leaching the church to become Christian faces. For example, some people who convert to Christianity are shunned by their family or ridiculed for their faith.
Are there plans to let more congregations know of the material which can be used for outreach? I did not know about this ministry till I started to attend MLC.
Blessings on your continued work.
People leaving Mormonism face significant persecution. In fact, Mormonism teaches that basically everyone goes to some level of heaven UNLESS you leave the Mormon church. Mormons will have contact with anyone except an apostate. For this reason, ex-Mormons often are shunned by family and friends.
People leaving the Mormon church may give up on the religious teachings long before they ever give up their connections because they still identify their culture with Mormonism. This is something Christians may struggle to fully understand.
Sadly many ex-Mormons become agnostics. They have been told that Mormonism is the most enlightened 'brand' of Christianity so when they give up on Mormonism they often don't look back at Christianity. They need Christian friends who will stand by them to help unravel the web of false teachings they have learned in order for them to discover Jesus as their Savior-Substitute.
We are trying to partner with more congregations so that the global witnessing team continues to grow. We appreciate your help to get the word out.
I am currently enrolled in a theology class at WLC, and one topic we have had many discussions on is evangelism and specifically the Trust in Love Ministry efforts. While the Mormon involvement has grown dramatically and this it the key target of TILM, I greatly appreciate the effort to provide a basic evangelism tool toward any religion or person. The concept of understanding the people and their needs is such a basic idea that can be used toward different ethnicities, races, and religions.
I had not yet heard of the website resources, and am thankful to have that knowledge now. I am originally from Southwest Michigan, and we are often visited by Mormon missionaries as there is a small, but prominent population in the area. Using technology to further the Gospel and enrich evangelism techniques and efforts is such a blessing in this current day and age. Thank you for your ministry!
God bless your mission work to the Mormons! It was really neat reading your article here and seeing the plan and all the resources your ministry has for reaching out to Mormons. I read the book "God the Ultimate Humanitarian" by Mark Cares for a theology class last semester. I know Mark Cares is the president of your ministry, so it was really nice to connect the information I read in that book with the information in this post here. I really like the fact that TIL ministry is focused on meeting people where they are at and not just debating them. I truly believe in that principle, so it's nice to see it being lived out. Pertaining more to the technology, I like how you use graphics that hit on the stress points of Mormonism. That is a really neat and effective concept, especially considering how popular graphics are in social media currently. This really seems like an excellent ministry, I pray it continues to grow and be successful!
I have a question for you: have you had many people who were once Mormons you witnessed to join you working in your ministry? I imagine that would be such a powerful witness to those who are still part of the Mormon faith. Also, I'm especially intrigued by your outreach to Mormon missionaries, Please Open the Door. How does that work exactly? Is it a one-on-one approach? I believe Mormon missions are about two years long, which wouldn't be a lot of time to reach a specific Mormon missionary when that missionary may be completing his mission soon.
There are a number of ex-Mormons who participate with Truth in Love Ministry in various ways. We encourage some as they continue to reach out to their family. Some give presentations about their experiences to create more awareness for Christians. Some support the ministry. As you can imagine, they are often invested stakeholders in our ministry.
We encourage Christians to go to PleaseOpenTheDoor.com to learn more about witnessing to Mormon missionaries. Typically they will come to your home as a pair. While they are transferred and switch companions throughout their 2 year mission, our relational approach often keeps the door open to continued contact. Some have sent wedding/baby gifts down the line as they keep in touch. Needless to say, when you get into a spiritual conversation like this and they clearly know it's motivated by love, that forges a strong bond.
Theresa, when you're ready to step out and share your faith with Mormon missionaries, let us know. We will support and encourage you every step of the way.
The thing I enjoy the most about your piece, is how much consideration has been put into how Mormon's feel. The two websites you provided to show that we are perfect through Christ is perfect. It is important to consider how others are feeling and it appears that you and your mission have done an excellent job in showing the care.
I am curious to see how successful the task to match the Mormon missionary force one for one will go. I believe it is a great and appealing strategy to develop an online curriculum to ensure that it is of easy access. I pray for the most success in your mission.
Thanks for your prayers. It is an ambitious vision, but we're seeing God bless it in remarkable ways and we trust that he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.