Everyone of us would say that we want our students to be sharing their faith. Let’s be real though; not very many are. How can we get them excited and equipped to do so? Jason Lamb from Dare2Share joins Brian on the podcast today to talk about this issue and an event coming up that will help your students (and you) in this area.
Dare 2 Share exists to get students to share the gospel with their friends. Students reaching students, teens reaching teens.
Q: What are the current issues we face getting students to share the gospel with their friends?
A: Only 3% of youth ministers in America are prioritizing evangelism in their youth ministries (Barna). Evangelism used to not be popular among students. Now those students have moved into youth ministry leadership roles and the trend is continuing as they lead. These leaders still want their students to have a close walk with God but communicating the gospel with their peers is put on the back burner. Usually, the new leaders do not know how to begin implementing evangelism into their ministries. Some leaders may not see it as a value either.
Q: For those who do not know how to start, start with Dare 2 Share Live.
A: Dare 2 Share Live (Saturday, October 12, 2019) is an event designed to help achieve the goal of every teen everywhere hearing the gospel from a friend. Dare 2 Share Live enables every student to hear the gospel and then equips them to share it with their friends. It is a national simulcast event, starting at 10am mountain time at the host site in Denver, Colorado. There will be 102 satellite sites, starting at noon on the east coast. Students will be serving their community through a service project arranged by the local satellite site while being nationally trained and sent out as one. The Dare 2 Share app helps them stay connected nationally, while also serving as a tool to help them engage in gospel conversations through text messaging their friends.
The key to Dare 2 Share Live is the activation piece. Within the program they are given opportunities to share the gospel, so when they go home, they already have stories of how they shared the gospel by engaging strangers and inviting friends.
This year’s theme is “Fight 2 Win” based on Ephesians 6:10-12 (the armor of God). The sessions’ focus points are: Mission before us, danger around us, power within us, and armor up. We want students to realize that it is a battle for souls when we are sharing the gospel with our friends.
Q: Is evangelism only something that spiritually mature students can do?
A: If you know and understand enough about the gospel to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and believe in Him, then you know enough to share with your friends who don’t know that gospel message. Sharing the gospel requires intentionality, no matter the life stage or spiritual maturity. For both new believers and young believers, the sheer act of sharing the gospel is often the very thing that drives them further into intimacy with Christ and maturity in their faith. Evangelism also motivates you to grow faster, since you brought a friend along. The power to see a life changed is not in the one who proclaims the gospel. It is in the message of the gospel. We use The Gospel in Six Words (G – God, O – our, S – sin, P – paying, E -everyone, L -life) outline and acronym as a base for our evangelistic training.
Changes to Dare 2 Share Live this year:
Our new registration model makes Dare 2 Share Live more accessible to students. Kids no longer pay individually. Now the churches register based on their weekly attendance size and receive a church kit. The church kits include evangelism training material to use in their ministry, Dare 2 Share Live merchandise and eResources to build up the weekend. There is also a streaming only option available for ministries that are not near a satellite site. The website dare2sharelive.org/locations will have more details about pricing, sizes and timing.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 – A follow-up webinar will be on the website, walking through the next steps for your youth ministry after the Dare 2 Share Live event.
Last Thoughts:
We are praying for revival to sweep across our nation through our teenagers.
Resources:
Dare 2 Share Live website – dare2sharelive.org