How to Share Your Faith Using the Launch of a New School Year
Is that dreaded early morning alarm already part of your Monday thru Friday routine? Or is that shockingly abrupt sleep schedule change just around the corner for you? Either way, it's time to think about how the launch of a new school year can help you share your faith with your friends.
As a teen you know the drill. At the beginning of every school year fall sports teams kick-off, school clubs actively recruit for new blood, homework demands return, and on and on... Well, instead of leaving the active recruiting to school clubs and organizations in the next few weeks, and instead of waiting for your friends' schedules to overflow with other commitments, consider asking your unchurched friends to come check out your youth group's weekly gathering in the next week or two. How cool would that be to have your friends join you at youth group as you explore spiritual truths about God, develop relationships with others and enjoy some fun and games?
Most people are open to considering trying something new and different at the beginning of a school year. This is a great window of opportunity for you to extend the invitation and ask your friends to come along with you. Take the initiative - offer to help with transportation, activity expenses, or whatever it takes to get them to take your invitation seriously.
And if you extend the invitation and they turn you down, don't consider it a defeat. Use it as an opportunity to engage in God talk and maybe you'll get the chance to explain why spiritual things are important to you! Here are a few suggestions to help you get the conversation going.
- Ask your friends to consider joining you at youth group this week. If they say yes, great! If they so "no thanks," move forward in the conversation anyway and ask them what they think of church. Listen. Then share your experience.
- Once you know what they think of church, ask them what they think about God. Do they believe in God? Why or why not? Do they think their parents' beliefs have influenced what they believe?
- What do they think happens when they die? Is it the end or the beginning of something new? Share what you believe. For help with this check out the GOSPEL Journey.
- Ask them how they decide what's important. What influences their decisions about they spend their time. Do they decide what to do on any given night based on what they think is fun, what their parents think they should be doing, what's screaming out to them the loudest as needing to get down... the list of possibilities is endless. This may open the door for you to talk about how your spiritual beliefs impact how you choose to spend your time. Let them know Jesus is important to you and why!
With the launch of a new school year, overnight it can seem like your calendar is full and you are headed for overload. Be proactive! Plan to make God and youth group a priority in your schedule long before you're tempted to start searching for things you can ditch! And invite your friends to join you along the way, because the start of this school year just might be the start of a new life for them!
