“For when I preach the Gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” 1 Corinthians 9:16
1. It Will Make a Statement
Your students will know that anytime they bring a lost person to youth group he or she will hear the Gospel. This is psychologically invaluable when it comes to the typical teenager in the typical youth group. The typical teenager is uncomfortable bringing up the Gospel and sharing the message with his or her friend. So instead of risking the embarrassment of messing up, they shut up. But if that same teenager knows that every single week the Gospel will be presented in the youth group setting, there is a strong likelihood that, with some prodding, he or she will invite unchurched friends out to youth group. And with your guidance that teen will also eventually learn the value of sharing the Gospel themselves.
2. It Will Train Them How to Share the Gospel
One of the side benefits of giving the Gospel every week is that it trains your students how to share the Gospel. As they hear you give it every week, it reminds them of the basic truth of “Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2) and how to communicate that message in a compelling way. When they consistently hear how you articulate the truth of Christianity, it isn’t long until they can recite it also. If you take them through Takeoff to Touchdown, they’ll get even more comfortable with sharing the message of the Gospel with their friends.
3. It Will Remind Them What They Believe
Martin Luther is largely thought to have said “We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.” When students hear you clearly share the forgiveness and love Jesus offers—by grace alone through faith alone—they’re reminded of a truth we’re all prone to forget. In a world where “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10), sharing the Gospel gives your students strength for the spiritual warfare they will inevitably face.
4. It Will Strengthen Their Faith
More than ever our teens need a catechism and a creed. They need to grasp the core tenets of the Christian belief system. These bullets will become their only ammunition when they are unleashed into the confusing, post–youth group world of college life. A clear understanding of the Gospel will give them a strong anchor for their souls in a culture that will assault their belief system like a series of tsunamis.
When you give the Gospel every week at the end of your talk, you’re taking your teens through a kind of modern catechism. You’re reminding them of the most basic building blocks of their faith. This weekly reminder helps to engrain those believes more deeply. As the country pastor who guided me in my youth used to say, “The more mud you throw against the wall, the more it’s going to stick.”
