The Five Thresholds

Recently read the book, I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus, and in it the authors (who both work with campus ministries) discuss what they’ve learned from studying the journeys of 2,000 skeptics who became Christians over the last decade or so. One thing they discovered is that just about everyone had five “thresholds” they had to cross. Thought it might be interesting or helpful to some of you. Here they are:

1. From distrust to trust: It was critical that they meet a Christian they could trust.
2. From complacent to curious: Trusting a Christian wasn’t enough, they had to become curious about Christ.
3. From being closed to change to being open to change in their life: Had to become open to examining and changing their personal lives. For most this was the most difficult.
4. From meandering to seeking: It was natural for most to meander (even if they were curious and open to change), but it was necessary for them to start actively seeking God.
5. To cross the threshold into the kingdom: Ultimately they needed to repent, believe in Jesus, and give their lives to Him. Many crossed the first four thresholds, but were never willing to take this last step.