Kelli Mahoney is an experienced youth worker and contributor for About.com’s Christian Teens section. She regularly posts articles on the site sharing her insights and learnings in the world of Christian teenagers. I came across an article she had written entitled, “5 Principles of Evangelism for Christian Teens,” (http://christianteens.about.com/od/christianliving/tp/WitnessPrincipl.htm) and needless to say it caught my attention. 
The 5 principles she asserts are:
- Understand your own faith
- Other religions aren’t all wrong
- Know why you’re sharing your faith
- Set limits
- Be prepared for what you may face
I completely agree that teens need to understand their own faith. This is one of the main reasons I appreciate Dare 2 Share’s GOSPEL Journey as it lays out the basics beliefs of what it means to be a Christian. In order to clearly communicate the Gospel, students certainly need to understand what it is that they believe. It’s safe to assume that if students understand the Gospel enough to make their own decision then they understand enough to communicate it. But it doesn’t hurt to have the Gospel outlined for them.
Out of fear of overstating the second point, I prefer to say that there are elements of truth in other religions. The fact is, as a Christian, I believe that other religions are wrong and don’t want to step onto a slippery slope where I could give more credibility to them than they deserve. A resource that explains this concept better than I can and helps teens (and adults) to identify truth elements in other religions and bring it back to the Gospel is, Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith.
I really struggle with the point Kelli is trying to make with know why you are sharing your faith. I have observed that teenagers can be more apathetic and don’t sense enough urgency to share their faith. The truth is, I’d rather work with students who did have an internal clicker tracking the number of people they shared their faith with and even led to Christ vs. students who aren’t compelled to share their faith at all. We should be motivated to see as many people come to Christ as possible. You can read Jude 23, 2 Peter 3:9, and 2 Corinthians 5:11, just to share a few verses, that lean more toward sensing the urgency to share the Gospel so more and more people are saved than being too laid back in our approach. That being said, I believe there is a balance to strike in being Relational & Relentless.
In the same vein I struggle with telling students to set limits because the fact is most of them, in my experience, haven’t set lofty enough goals for advancing the Kindgom. I am sure to teach my teens that God is the One who will ultimately save them and that their lost friends have to decide for themselves if they will choose to trust in Jesus, but it is definitely our responsibility to share the Gospel. It could simply be that Kelli and I have different experiences in Youth Ministry but telling my teens to set limits is not the issue I see them struggling with. Convincing them to share their faith more regularly is the greater need in my ministry.
As we equip our teens to share their faith I agree that we need to prepare them for what they may face. Jesus Himself promised us persecution and adversity and rejection when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel to the world. Again, there is a balance we need to strive for. That being, when we prepare them for push back that we aren’t equipping them with one more reason not to share their faith.
I appreciate the thought that Kelli put into her article and I greatly value hearing perspectives from fellow youth leaders. I don’t have it all figured out and it’s extremely helpful to learn from other’s experiences. However, I am at a place in Student Ministry where I believe teenagers need more encouragement and equipping to help them share their faith, not a better understanding of boundaries or limits that could inadvertently discourage them from sharing their faith, even if that’s not our intentions. A good book to help refine how you and your students share their faith (and one I would recommend) is Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide for Sharing Your Faith.
What are your thoughts when it comes to equipping your teens to share their faith? Do you find you have to motivate them to be more vocal with the Gospel or do you feel the need to restrain your teenagers from being perceived as overly obnoxious for the Gospel?
