The 5 Thresholds
The Journey to Faith
Since 2008, we have been helping thousands of friends explore the process of faith together. Many people think Jesus is cool, but faith seems abstract and unreachable. We will break this process down into 5 understandable stages, and give you practical advice for how to help your friends move through each "threshold."
What are the 5 Thresholds?
Follow along with our video series as we break the process down into 5 simple stages, with practical advice for how to move through each one.
Watch the Video Series
5 Thresholds 101
Become aware of the journey to faith in your friends.
2+ Prayer Card
This Prayer Card PDF will help you name the friends that God has put on your heart and begin to pray for them.
Download PDF Example Prayers (Coming Soon)
5 Thresholds 201
Fuel the journey to faith in others.
(Note: these resources are in development. Please give us feedback as you use them!
Asking Good Questions
This 45 minute course will teach you about how good questions fuel the process of evangelism. Learn the two gears of question asking, safe and brave, and how to engage different types of people and contexts.
Telling Great Stories
This 45 minute course will teach you how to tell good stories that create spiritual openness. Learn the arc of a good story: the descent, the pit, the ascent, and the invitation.
5 Thresholds Training Materials
Help your community grow in the thresholds.
Training PPT
Use this one hour training presentation to train your chapter, leaders, church, or staff team in the 5 Thresholds.
Coaching Cheat Sheet
This Cheat Sheet PDF will show you common barriers and obstacles to helping someone progress in the thresholds. Use it to get unstuck and keep moving your friend along.
Non-Christian Bible Studies
This 5 week Bible study series will help your friends encounter God in the step they are on. Each study has artistic interpretations of each passage, as well as a few simple discussion questions
FAQ on Contextualization
Just like for all of us, the 5 Thresholds should be aspirational. Everyone (Christians and non-Christians alike) should desire to become more curious, more open and transparent, a better seeker of Jesus, etc. Jesus is an expert at inviting his people to become more curious, more honest, more clear about their quest...let’s be like Jesus and do this all together.
Nominal Christians
Nominal Christians claim the identity of Christian without a true and abiding faith in Jesus. They can be difficult to identify because they use our lingo, sing our songs, and like to hang out with us. We recommend that you focus on the 4 Threshold in helping nominals take next steps. Focus their quest. You have the honor of pointing out common concerns and objections to following Jesus with our whole lives:
- Help them become trust builders with others.
- Help them become curious about the real Jesus.
- Help them wrestle with some passages in the Gospels they have never seen before.
- Help them become open about real needs in their lives, and bringing those honest needs to Jesus.
- Focus their quest. Name possible barriers and objections to trusting Jesus with area of their lives and future.
International Student Ministry
International students tend to be curious because they are studying in the U.S. Let’s get better at inviting them into openness. Please ask them:
- What’s your spiritual background?”
- What has surprised you the most about Christians?”
- What are some challenges or barriers that might keep you from following Jesus?
- How is learning from Jesus challenging your personal values and relationships?
Grad & Faculty
“The beauty of the Five Thresholds is that it helps grad students and faculty see that having the right answer is not nearly as important as being a trust-worthy friend. I like to remind students and faculty that we can actually build trust by exploring answers together with our friends and NOT giving them immediate answers. Grad students and faculty are often very good at asking questions, so another strength with the Thresholds is focus on asking good questions to help folks on their spiritual journey. Lastly, GFM folks have been responding positively when given a chance to follow Jesus for themselves.” - (Melodie Marske, GFM Regional Director)
Other Religions
We interviewed various new believers in Turkey and we noticed that both devout and nominal Muslims do pretty much follow the 5 Thresholds. We also discovered that they are very slow to trust Christians and to become curious. God often used dreams to help them become open and seek Jesus. The 5 Thresholds are very helpful with people of other faiths:
- Go to their faith event and read their religious texts in order to build trust and reciprocity.
- Be curious about what they believe. Ask good questions about their experience and convictions.
- Tell them honest stories about your needs and how you bring your issues to Jesus in prayer. Ask if you can pray for them in the name of Jesus. “It is fine if you do not believe in Jesus. I need to pray in the name of Jesus because it’s the only way I know how to access his power.
- You would like Jesus. I love this story about the two thieves and Jesus. One mocks him. The other asks for mercy. Jesus welcomes only one into heaven. (Luke 23: 32-43).