It’s not often that a truly unprecedented event occurs, but I recently got to witness one.
On Saturday, November 8, I participated in the 2025 Day of Global Youth Evangelism (DGYE), during which hundreds of thousands of youth were mobilized worldwide to spend one specific day getting inspired, equipped, and sent out to evangelize. At least 6,715 churches from 87 countries signed up, with a reported 298,150-plus teens participating. Never before in the history of humanity (that I know of) has there been such a day.
To train teens, Dare 2 Share provided three pre-filmed, well-produced videos for free to any youth leader who committed to take their teenagers out sharing their faith on that day. The first video inspired. The second equipped. The third commissioned.
On that Saturday, I got up at 5 a.m.—about 14 hours after the first DGYE event kicked off in Australia—and started watching the social media feed, keeping an eye on it throughout the day. I also popped into an event happening with four churches in my own town to observe 50+ teenagers get trained and mobilized. Afterward, my wife and I went to Colorado Christian University to train a handful of students to share their faith. Then we headed into downtown Denver to hand out slices of Brooklyn’s Finest pizza to those experiencing homelessness and share the Gospel as we had opportunity.
It was a powerful day for us as a family, as well as for the hundreds of thousands of teenagers around the world who participated.
Here are four observations I took away from this global event:
1. God is up to something big worldwide!
Personally, I believe a global revival could be in play. Never before have I seen such staggering back-to-church stats (even in secular England) and such a surge of interest in Christianity among Gen Z. This, combined with what happened globally on November 8, may be signaling that a spiritual awakening is upon us.
Let’s not blow it.
Click here to see impact stories from the day.
2. Teenagers need leaders willing to put skin in the game.
One of the things I love most about the Day of Global Youth Evangelism is that leaders are challenged to lead the way. They don’t just send their teenagers out to have Gospel conversations—they go with them.
I can’t help but think of Jeff Schwarzentraub, the lead pastor of Brave Church, one of the largest churches in Denver. He not only encouraged teenagers to show up to the Day of Global Youth Evangelism, but he showed up himself and led the way. Afterward, he posted this on X:
Incredible day training over 100 students and adults in the Gospel and then going to Washington Park and engaging people in Gospel conversations. So proud of our students.
Leaders lead. There is a generation of pastors and youth leaders who need a re-introduction to the priority of evangelism and disciple-making. My hope is that they sense the urgency of the Gospel and take action to equip and mobilize their teens, whether they use the Day of Global Youth Evangelism materials or not.
3. Every day should be a Day of Global Youth Evangelism.
There’s a difference between “going out to witness” and “witnessing as you go.” Both matter. My prayer for the teens who were mobilized yesterday is that they will begin “witnessing as they go”—as they go to school, to work, to compete in sports, and to hang out with their friends.
Every church that signed up for the Day of Global Youth Evangelism will receive tools and resources throughout the year to help their teens witness as a lifestyle.
You can still sign up at DGYE.org, and use the videos for free to equip your teens. You can also find many more free training resources and curriculum at store.dare2share.org.
4. We must keep praying and pushing for grit-filled revival.
It’s easy to gather in a room, sanctuary, or arena to sing worship songs and hear sermons. It’s energizing and emotionally enriching.
But revival with grit takes something more: the courage to take the Gospel to the streets. My prayer is that this generation will be filled with enough Holy Spirit–fueled grit to imitate the early church and take the Gospel to those they know and meet.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31
