Thirty years ago, if you wanted to equip your teenagers to share their faith, Gospel tracts were key. Teens would load up on several fit-in-your-pocket, multi-fold Gospel pamphlets they could pass out to their friends or use as a leave-behind for strangers. Although tracts are still around today, for many faith-sharing young people, the best tracts are apps.
That’s why we at Dare 2 Share are so excited about the Life in 6 Words app. We’ve seen it work powerfully across the United States—and around the world—as an effective, sharp, and easy-to-use faith-sharing tool for teenagers.
Here are five quick reasons you should equip your teens to share their faith using the Life in 6 Words app:
1. It’s catching on.
As of April 1, 2024, the Life in 6 Words app chalked up 100,000 downloads worldwide (celebrate with us!). It has resulted in tens of thousands of Gospel engagements. Like a ready-to-use Gospel tract, this app is always available for believers to share the Good News of Jesus with friends and strangers alike.
And thanks to the app’s heat map, you can see the latest Gospel conversations that have just taken place!
Whenever I get a little discouraged at the spiritual state of teenagers, I pull out my phone, open the Life in 6 Words app, and look at the evangelistic hot spots on the map. Teenagers around the world are actively sharing the Gospel using this app!
2. It’s a format teenagers are used to.
Teens are used to standing angled toward their friends, showing them a screen. It could be a TikTok or YouTube video. It could be an Instagram photo. It could be an app.
The Life in 6 Words app takes advantage of this posture and uses it to advance the Gospel. “Let me show you this app” replaces “Do you know Jesus as your Savior?” as a teenager’s opening line, and becomes a much more natural way to engage in a Gospel conversation.
3. It leads with questions.
When a teenager starts a Gospel conversation with the app, there’s a list of 14 words that appear on the screen. The words are: Relationships, Freedom, Fun, God, Meaningless, Happiness, Family, Struggles, Adventure, Money, Purpose, Routine, Broken, Pain.
The believing teen asks their friend: “If you were to describe your life in 6 words, what would those words be?” This is when “the magic” happens. Their friend chooses the 6 words that best describe their life. This process often causes teenagers to stop and think and become a bit introspective.
The believer then asks: “Tell me why you chose those words,” and the conversation begins. I’ve witnessed teenagers share this app with strangers and friends and dive into very deep conversations right off the bat. Having them choose their 6 words becomes a phenomenal Gospel-conversation starter.
4. It’s super-simple.
As I often say: “If you can swipe and read, you can share the Gospel using the Life in 6 Words app.”
After teenagers listen to their friend’s words and why they chose them, they can then share the words that best describe their lives and, in the process, share their personal testimony. Then they can swipe through the 6 screens that explain why we call it Life in 6 Words:
Verses are available for each of these 6 sentences with the push of an icon on the screen.
5. It has much, much more.
Here are just a few of the app’s great features:
- It comes in 21 languages (push the world icon to see the list).
- It provides a way to record all the people a teen has had Gospel conversations with.
- It can send notifications reminding you to pray for specific people.
- It offers follow-up videos for new believers.
- It allows youth leaders and teenagers to create groups where they can encourage and challenge one another.
- More amazing features are in the works!
The beauty of the Life in 6 Words app is that it overcomes so many of the objections teens (or anyone!) might have to sharing the Gospel. For example, it provides an easy way to start a conversation and contains the whole Gospel, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting any key points.
Have your teens download the app this week and train them how to use it—and then watch them light up that map!
