Some things I did might help.KingdomBuilder wrote: With all of these verses in mind, how can we practically, meaningfully interact with those who we fear are backsliding? How to deal with them in gentleness and love?
-Simple low key friendship. I would get to know them.
-I would invite them for a meal or a coffee and get them to talk about themselves, their joys, their sorrows. I was genuinely happy to see them.
-Call them up and ask how they are doing. If they need help with a repair or other task I would try to help.
-I kept the conversation light. No heavy preaching or teaching: sometimes I'd share how I was blessed that day.
-If they seemed ready I'd invite them to church. I'd let the pulpit do the heavy preaching so I could maintain a lighter conversation.
To sum up, I placed friendship front and center in my interactions and prayed for their hearts to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It takes a great deal of time and effort but helping the Lord win another soul is worth it.