Ministering to the Unsaved Grieving

Q: How can I minister to my unsaved relatives or ex family after someone dies?

Today is the 1 yr anniversary of the death of my unbelieving ex-husband’s father. Please pray that God uses this, soften’s his heart, and saves him, and lead him and the rest of his unsaved family to the Lord.  



A: Prayed. And anyone reading this will pray for them too. And for the unsaved in every believers family. 🙏


I hope this on grieving can be a help to you all. You might think that they as unbelievers are not interested in "Christian things" but those who lost someone they cared about or loved... they are seeking comfort and grapling with why people die. They are thinking about death and are typically open to anything that can help them.  So use this opportunity. 

You can both share the books [some are avail in audio ver at amazon, audible & spotify] in the above link and, when the timing is right and you are led by God to, [springboard] share the gospel; base it on "Suffering, tragedy, and death exist in this word due to the Fall; 'the wages of sin is death'. We die because Adam sinned (and because we sinned against our Holy Creator God), but God offers us what we dont deserve in Christ - "but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.""

I know a lot of people have been saved by reading Christian books and Bible material. 
[Even by reading Hard to Believe.]


You could give or send the grieving books noted in the links to him/them with a sympathy letter and let them know you are thinking of them. 

If you end up talking take it here to step 2: ask if they would like some Bible verses that comfort (see link). If so you can copy and print the ones in the link too to give them. And consider sending them Hard to Believe; to break through hard ground, too; ...to prepare the way for a irl gospel convo w them [or by video call or phone call if they do not live close enough to go over/come over for tea or coffee]. 

Then step 3 would be having the gospel convo. If they or you end up talking about God... use the above to springboard into the Gospel; and even consider sharing this Gospel link after that brief touch on Rom 6:23. The video will do the rest and is very clear and helpful. 

You can follow up both about the books on the call or at the meet up. 
* seeing what they gleaned/appreciated most from the books.
*if the books were helpful to them. 
*any questions they have

and on if the Gospel made sense to them after watching the video. 1. If yes, jump to bold below. 2. If they have q's, From there answer FAQ questions or FAO; objections and provide a solid answer. This can help (even if you end up sending links [by saying you know that is a good question. Let me look into that for a clear solid answer]). But quickly get back to the gospel because THEY are the one needing Christ and the next 5 minutes/tomorrow is not guaranteed. If they have objections or hymhaw for a delay ask when they are going to die and stress that it is important to get right with God now because after death is judgment; without Christ you have no hope of a good eternity. If they go on about their loved one in Hell simply say they made their choices in life and you need to make yours. You can avoid Hell but you need to take have faith today. If they say they need evidences tell them we are rational beings; you only need reasonable evidence. The evidence is right in front of us; creation, & the human body, even the thumb alone is enough to prove there is an intelligent designer creator. So since you have reasonable evidence what can stop you from salvation? Nothing right? Jesus is the only one by whom God has given the offer of redemption(1). Theres no salvation apart from Him. Do you want to pray to God and get right with him today by repenting of your sins once and for all, and putting your trust in Christ that he paid the full price (to redeem you from the wrath of God against sin) for you to be reconciled to God? 

If they say yes tell them you will let them pray silently or aloud, and after you finish say amen and I will pray a blessing over you too. 

Then help them with the new believers steps. Do not just leave them to themselves, be a godly example of a caring guide for a new baby in Christ...
If they don't live nearby find a solid biblical church for them and schedule a meet up btwn them and the pastor. Ask the pastor to pair em up with a mature believer of same sex to help be a influence. Try to be there for the baptism. And let them know they can email you with any questions they might have over the next year while getting settled into their church. 
If they live in your town go pick them up for Church on Sunday and rejoice as they sing a new song to the Lord and worship Him. Help them slowly get acclimated at church, meet the pastor, share their testimony, and plan for baptism & new members class. 

And [either way] if they do not have a Bible, try to find a MacArthur Study Bible to gift them; it will explain a lot along the way. Encourage them to daily Read the Bible and pray. If they prefer digital <point them> to studybible.org [and clicking a verse brings up the help resources button]. Have them start in Matthew or John and read the NT first. 

The following will also be helpful to share with them after salvation:



✨️A follow up book to recommend/gift them after getting saved, and after baptism:
God bless you for your efforts to reach the unsaved around you and that you encounter. 

If it is helpful, send them an email with the useful stuff here (pasted) in it as reminders, helps and tips, incl church info & the mature contact that the pastor recommended in the church, so they can go back to this as they need all in one place. 

Feel free to check in with them once a week to see where they are/what they are reading in Scripture and ask any prayer requests. 




Footnote:
(1) If you think they won't object to Jesus being the only way, and that it won't cause them to go to objection mode again, feel free to share the italicized here. If there's a chance it will be a stunbling block and take you on a rabbit trail vs getting them to obey the Gospel... then skip this sentence and go for the gold; calling them to repentance.

FYI  the 'What about's in objections' to delay them focusing on "their sin & standing with God" by deflecting to "others"... this answers the What about the people in unreached tribes who never heard of Jesus. 
In a nutshell:
* You have heard of Him. 
*You can go reach them after you get saved
*God will send missionaries to anyone whom he will save; they wonder about the creator based on the creation and the law written on their hearts. 


God bless

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