Making a Street Offer

What is a street offer? For a missionary it is initiating contact with a potential investigator. It is identifying if the gentleman walking across the street wants to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, or not.

For a member of the church, it’s being asked what church you attend or a general question about your membership.

An offer means you are offering another person the opportunity to have something. For example, if I were a Chiropractor I would answer the question about what I do for a living as follows:

I’m a Chiropractor. I eliminate chronic neck pain and recurring headaches within a few visits. Do you know anyone who wants that kind of help?

25 words and it takes less than 10 seconds.

There are 4 steps to formatting a street offer.

  1. Description of what you do.
  2. Description of problem or pain
  3. Specific result
  4. Specific convenience (optional)

The final part is an identifying question or request for commitment: Do you know of anyone who wants that or Is that something you want?

Let’s format a missionary street offer first:

  1. I’m a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ.
  2. We answer questions most churches can’t
  3. We teach people where they came from, why they’re here and
  4. Where they’re going

Do you know anyone who wants to know that?

42 words and less than 13 seconds.

What can you say as a member? Have you ever been asked what church you go to? Here’s a possible answer:

  1. I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ
  2. Because I found answers to questions other churches avoid.
  3. For example, I know where I come from, why I’m here and where I’m going after death.
  4. What does your church teach about the purpose of life?

This is 49 words and about 15 seconds worth of an answer. Notice how you open up the opportunity for dialogue and not an argument or a defensive avoidance to further talk.

Published by

Richard Himmer

Author, PhD in Organizational Psychology.

One thought on “Making a Street Offer”

  1. I continue to be awed by your gift of being straight-forward and precise. I imagine you holding the words in your hands and offering them to your readers. I, too, have a brief introduction to share by inviting. I like yours a lot! It fits you well, and I can “see” you smiling and saying those very words.

    I smiled when I read your choice to “be” a chiropractor and to choose to put the relief of neck pain and recurring headaches at the top of your list for an introduction. Relief from pain is definitely THE #ONE thing chiropractors are known to provide. I am also happy to KNOW that restoring function is another result of chiropractic care. Inviting the body to heal because of adjustments to relieve pain and restore function is incredibly effective. As you are aware, I am grateful to be acquainted with a very gifted chiropractor.

    Thank you for the invitation to practice my personal “street offer” introduction to invite in such a way as to motivate the listener to WANT to learn about the Church.

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