In the last energize issue I told you we’d be exploring “passion fuels” this time, but I want to interrupt my series this week and give you a small taste of the kind of impact a catalytic event can have in helping teenagers and youth leaders become passionate about sharing their faith and living for THE Cause of Christ.
God is at work doing amazing things in and through teenagers! The following emails and Facebook posts are examples of the stories that have flooded in following our recent Dare 2 Share evangelism training conferences. These stories get me pumped, so I’m passing them along to you to inspire you as you seek to make evangelism a priority in your youth group! They will give you a taste of what it looks like when teenagers get motivated and mobilized to take the message of the gospel to their friends and their schools.
You all changed my life…I am so sold out to Christ!…After saving two of my friends this weekend, I can’t wait to go and spread the news at my school!!! Thank you so much Dare 2 Share!!!!!! Praise God and His mighty works!!!! —Kyle
I am 12 years old and live in Pittsburgh. On February 4, 2011, I came to the Un.Tour for the first time. I have been struggling sharing the gospel and the conference really helped. Since the conference, 7 people have accepted Christ. To me 7 is the same as 700. I had been wondering through it all if the rolling of the eyes and mean jokes are worth it…[now] I know God will use me for great things! —Abbey
You were right, it is uncool to not talk about God. Today at school I shared with anyone who was willing to listen. It felt great and I’d like to thank you for what you did for me Friday night. You saved me and it’s the greatest feeling I have ever had. —Cole
Dare 2 Share really brought impact in my life, it helped me not to just take in the words but actually step forward and take action!!…I am going to go out and really tell my friends about the Gospel without being afraid of what others may think of me! —Ashley
I wanna thank you guys for allowing God to use you in a Mighty way! Dare 2 Share not only touched me, but ignited that fire that’s in me for God and moved me to start being BOLD and telling people about the Gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit! —Shaunice
I’m actually outta high school, I just came this year because I hadn’t been to this one and I’m so glad I came, because at the end of it all, I realized I’ve just been going through the motions calling myself a Christian, going to church, youth group, helping little kids, but I was never big on sharing my faith. But after this conference I realized how much it means to be a tool for God and be a part of His family and bring others to Him. My goal is to tell the GOSPEL to anyone I can and hopefully I can lead unsaved people to our family. —Brendon
Thank you guys so much for helping me open my eyes. I believed in God, but never really lived my life for him. Now I’m more than willing to be UN-cool to help spread the GOSPEL. Once again I thank all of you. —Aaron
You guys changed my life. I am ready to bring the power of Jesus Christ to my school and friends. —Taylor
Got back to Canada from the Columbus D2S Conference and let me tell you – such a great weekend!! The Conference was so awesome and I felt God really put people on my heart for me to share the gospel with…This weekend had a huge impact on me. —Josh
As you can see from these teenagers’ experiences, catalytic events for teens like conferences or retreats that focus on evangelism can be instrumental in triggering a spiritual passion to reach the lost.
So I challenge you to pray about organizing some sort of catalytic evangelism-focused event for your teenagers that will kindle their passion—both for God and for their lost friends who need Jesus. This can be a retreat, an evangelism-focused service project, a mission trip or a conference. (FYI, Dare 2 Share has two evangelism-focused events you can take advantage of: Tour (a two-day, introductory event) and Lead THE Cause (a week-long summer event for those who really want to dive deep into THE Cause of Christ). *Tour is no longer available. Check out Dare 2 Share LIVE instead.*
When God gets a hold of a teenager’s heart, watch out! Their life will never be the same and neither will your youth group.
