1. Make them your friends.

Make friends with Hindus by showing true friendship. Be prepared to give and receive help in practical ways. (John 4:17)

2. Be hospitable.

Invite them into your home and family circle for tea and conversation. Strict hindus may refuse for caste reasons, but they appreciate friendly invitations. Don't take refusal as a personal afront.

3. Respect their customs.

Always show respect to their customs and sensitivities. Concerning food and drink, ask beforehand if they are vegetarian. If they are, don't offer them meat. Always explain that drink you serve is non-alcoholic. For them to see you eating beef or even carrying it into your home would be offensife to Hindus.

4. Be modest.

Be careful to dress modestly and in a reserved manner. Be sensitive to their reserved standards. Remember that your liberty may be someone else's downfall.

5. Be a good listener.

Recognize the importance of being a good listener. Everyone wants to be heard and understood. Seek to discover their heart needs.

6. Build bridges not barriers.

Build bridges on common ground between you and them. Differences in culture and theology are profound but, initially, empahsize agreement about the fact of life after death and the spirit world.

7. Avoid debate and philosophy.

This is a field where they shine but where vital issues are seldom raised. Christianity is rarely embraced because of philosophical argument. If you must discuss philosophy at least know their material.

8. Present them a gift copy of John or Luke's Gospel.

Request them to read it and to indicate what impresses them by marking it with an asterisk and marking questions they may have with a question mark. Nothing compares to firsthand contact with Christ through the Scriptures.

9. Pray with them.

Look for opportunities to minister to their felt needs by offering and requesting permission to pray for them whenever the opportunity arises. Keep the door open for future contact when you can discover how they have made out in their reading and marking of the gospel. Hindus are won to Christ by painstaking effort over a period of time. Be loving, be patient, and persevere.

10. Share your testimony.

Your personal experience with Jesus Christ cannot be argued against. A testimony is relating your personal experience with God. "Only the man who has tasted a mango can describe its flavor."

Adapted from CLC Asian Books, 51, The Dean, Alresford Hants SO24 9BJ, England.