This is lesson 1 in a 6-week Five Thresholds of Faith InterVarsity series. 

People go through five stages or “thresholds” on their way to faith in Jesus. This topic will introduce these thresholds, what they mean, and how they can help us in our goal of making disciples of Jesus and helping people pursue God.

[Related: How to Start Mentoring Conversations Anywhere]

Video Highlights:

  • In Jesus’s parable, the farmer sows the seed but doesn’t know how the plants grow. His job is just to sow and to trust that the harvest will come.
  • People coming to faith is both a mystery and process, much like the growth of plants in Jesus’s parable.
  • The “five thresholds” are neither a science nor a law, but a pattern that has been noticed in the process of people coming to faith in Jesus.
  • People move from distrust to trust. They are skeptical or distrustful of Christians or Christianity. In this stage, they come to trust and appreciate a Christian friend.
  • People move from indifference to curiosity. We can have trust relationships with people in which they are indifferent to our faith. Here, curiosity in Jesus is sparked.
  • People move from closed to changed to open to change. The penny drops, and people realize Jesus relates to them.
  • People move from meandering to seeking. They are not just open to change but they are asking questions and pursuing answers.
  • People decide to follow Jesus for the first time in the fifth stage.

[Related: 3 People Lists for Biblical Mentoring]

[Related: 4 Stages of Biblical Mentoring]

Discussion Questions:

  1. Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
  2. What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
  3. “We want to be good friends to our friends who are on the journey toward faith.” What might this practically look like in your life? Explain.
  4. Review the summaries of the thresholds in the video highlights above. Can you give an example people at different stages of the “thresholds” either in your personal life or in the Bible? Explain.
  5. Think about your own journey. How did you move toward the process of faith?
  6. Who do you know who is in the process of faith? How can you help them take a step of faith? Explain.
  7. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email