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How to Kick-Start Evangelism in Your Youth Group

4 proven ways to ignite teens to share their faith
Picture of Greg Stier
Greg Stier

Today’s motorcycles are mostly press and play. You turn a key, press a button, and the engine automatically starts. But back in the day, it wasn’t so simple. To get a motorcycle going, you had to kick-start it.

Here’s how it works: You put the motorcycle into neutral. Then you put your foot and body-weight down on what’s called “the kick.” At the bottom of your foot-stroke, the motorcycle should start. If not, you have to go through the process again.

It’s old-school cool to kick-start a motorcycle. You feel like a true rebel without a cause.

Well, youth leaders are called to be rebels with a cause—the cause of Christ to “go and make disciples” and equip their teenagers to do the same.

I wish there were a press-and-play button that would help you automatically do this. Unfortunately there isn’t. Youth leaders who do this well must kick-start their group’s evangelism efforts.

Here are 4 proven ways to do that:

1. Give them Gospel urgency.

“…snatch others from the fire and save them.” Jude 23

Teenagers need to understand the urgency of the Gospel. As Jude reminds us, when we share the Gospel we’re snatching the lost from the flames of an eternal Hell. As Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:36, we need to view the lost as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Help your teenagers understand that their non-Christian friends need rescued from the Hell they’re headed to and the one they’re going through apart from Jesus.

2. Teach them Gospel fluency.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Even the apostle Paul was trained in Gospel fluency. Someone trained him with a creedal summation of the Gospel (“what I received…”), and then he trained the Corinthians in that same creed (“I passed on to you…”).

In the same way, we must help our teenagers master the message of the Gospel before we teach them a method for sharing the Gospel.

At Dare 2 Share, we provide youth leaders with a simple acrostic to share the Gospel message. It goes like this:

God created us to be with Him.                                               Genesis 1–2

Our sins separate us from God.                                               Genesis 3

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.                              Genesis 4 – Malachi 4

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.          Matthew – Luke

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.           John

Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.                        Acts – Revelation

Here’s a link to some free curriculum based on this acrostic that we’ve used at Dare 2 Share to teach teenagers Gospel fluency.

3. Equip them with a Gospel strategy.

“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” Acts 17:2

Paul had a simple strategy for reaching the Jews. He went into their synagogues and used the Old Testament Scriptures to show that Jesus was the Messiah, the very Son of God.

Likewise, our teenagers, once they’ve learned the Gospel message, need a Gospel-sharing strategy.

At Dare 2 Share, we recommend the Life in 6 Words app. It’s a simple way for teens to share the Gospel. They simply ask a friend, “How would you describe your life in 6 words?” The friend chooses 6 words out of 14 on the app that would best describe their life. Then the Christian teen asks, “Why did you choose those words?” and listens to their friend’s story.  After hearing the story, the Christian teen can share their 6 words and then God’s 6 words, using the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic embedded into the app.

Tens of thousands of teenagers around the world are using this app to share the Gospel. It’s currently in 16 different languages and counting.

Why not have your teenagers download it and start using it right away?

This could easily kick-start a faith-sharing movement in your youth group!

4. Unleash them with a Gospel activity.

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  James 1:22

Your teenagers need activities that can kick-start their outreach efforts. We’re called to execute the Great Commission, not just exegete it. We are called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

Dare 2 Share LIVE is coming up on November 12, 2022. It is a seven-hour simulcast that will inspire, equip, and unleash your teenagers for evangelism. As part of this simulcast, teenagers go out and share the Gospel. And they come back on fire!

Here’s a quick preview of what it will be like:

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You can kick-start evangelism in your youth group by giving your teenagers Gospel urgency, fluency, strategy, and activity. Pray that God, through the Holy Spirit, kick-starts a movement.

See you on November 12 at Dare 2 Share LIVE!

Radical Like Jesus

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You are meant for more. God has called you to live a radical life for Him — one that makes a lasting impact on this world. Like Jesus did.

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