Summer BBQs. Fourth of July fireworks. Hiking, camping and water parks. Summer offers a whole range of options that take us away from our normal routines.
And here at Dare 2 Share, we’ve already tried something totally new this summer: Lead THE Cause University (LTCU). This new week-long D2S training event drew teenagers and youth leaders to Colorado from across the country. What a powerful time we had as we dove into intensive training on intercessory prayer, advanced evangelism, leadership, goal setting and movement mobilization. And God did some amazing things!
It’s hard to put into words what took place, but here are just a few of the comments we received from some of the youth leaders in attendance:
- “Life changing. It helped me find the purpose of our youth ministry.” – Benjamin Webb, Emmaus Free Lutheran Church
- “You guys got us so emotionally and spiritually pumped and that was just after night one! We seriously couldn’t believe we still had 4 more days to get inspired and encouraged and trained with the tools we need to really make a difference for His cause!” – Samantha Marshall, Harvest Baptist Church
- “I believe this is the greatest evangelism training now available – I will use it to transform our youth ministry, Christ community.” – Chris Gregg, First Christian Church Brazil
- “An incredible place to be broken for your community and overwhelmed by the grace of God to bring the gospel passionately to your circles.” – Nick Buda, First Baptist Church
- “Amazing training experience – not just sitting down and listening, but applying what we learned daily.” – Joann Weretta, Harvest Baptist Church
- “It’s completely unlike any other conference I’ve been to. I’d give it a 10/10.” – Megan Kirland, Village Bible Church
To give you a feel for what went on during LTCU, here’s a quick rundown of the ground we covered:
- We spent a day and a half equipping teens and youth leaders in intercessory prayer. We equipped the LTCU attendees with a powerful theological grid and model to pray. Using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide teenagers discovered how powerful intercessory prayer can be.
- We spent a day training teenagers how to “live THE Cause” by being “Holy, Humble, Hardworking and Heroic” based out of Acts 20:20-24. We then trained them to continue to reach out to their lost friends through praying, pursuing and persuading them in the power of the Holy Spirit to Accept Christ, Belong to a church and Commit to THE Cause.
- We spent time off of the campus, which included a powerful time at Columbine High School where we remembered why we needed to share the gospel with our friends and classmates. Another off-campus experience included an evangelism outreach experience in downtown Denver paired with some vision/strategy time in the beautiful Colorado mountains and Red Rocks amphitheater.
- Wednesday and Thursday were all about training teenagers how to inspire and equip other youth groups, campus groups and Christian friends to share their faith.
- Friday was all about how to set GREAT goals (God-honoring, Radical, Exact, Achievable and Time-targeted) and then how to “improvise, adapt and overcome” when things don’t go as planned when reaching their schools for Christ.
I’m so pumped about the experience that I can hardly wait until Lead the Cause University 2013 rolls around again next summer, July 14-20, 2013. There will be more information on LTCU 2013 coming soon! The Dare 2 Share staff was so impressed with the teens and the youth leaders who came. Everyone whole-heartedly dove into THE Cause and learned how to take it back to their own schools and youth groups. Hope to see you there!
But between now and July of 2013, there are plenty of other D2S training opportunities for you – several of which are totally FREE. If you’re looking for a way to amp up your youth group’s evangelism focus, join me for the free Missing Link webinar on July 10 or August 7. The webinar is pretty basic, so if you have participated in a Dare 2 Share Webinar before, it will be pretty repetitive. However, we are encouraging Youth Leaders to invite other Youth Leaders who aren’t familiar with Dare 2 Share to sign up and explore evangelism’s role in youth ministry. Get signed up now. Or join me for one of the free Follow the Leader training lunches happening all across the country this fall.
Plus, if you’re ready to get serious about boosting your teenagers’ evangelism motivation and effectiveness, check out our summer discount on tickets for the upcoming 2013 Follow Tour! This is truly the best deal of the season. Not only do you get 1 free ticket for every 10 you buy, you get them at the early bird rate of $44, and there’s no limit to the number of free tickets you can receive (buy 20, get 2 FREE; buy 100, get 10 FREE). This offer ends July 31 and is available only by phone so call 1.800.462.8355. Don’t miss it!
Summer’s a great time to relax from your normal routine. And if you get a chance, join us for one of our free trainings. These are just a few new easy opportunities to help you make the most of your sweltering summer!
