Using Catalytic Events to Spark a Gospel Advancing Movement

Do you want to spark a Gospel Advancing movement in your youth group? One great way to kick start a new (or renewed) focus on advancing the gospel is to take a few of your core students to some sort of catalytic event this coming summer that will kindle their passion to make a difference for the Kingdom. This could be a summer camp, retreat, an evangelism-focused service project, a mission trip or a faith-sharing training event like Dare 2 Share’s Lead THE Cause (LTC). If you can get even a small portion of your group excited about Gospel Advancement, it can dramatically change the dynamic for the rest of your group. When just a small percentage of students get fired up about something, their enthusiasm quickly spreads, fanning the small ember into a fiery flame that takes on a life of its own as it stirs others to join in and rally around a shared cause. The recent student-led movement for stricter gun control measures known as #Never Again is a powerful example of this very principle. The young survivors of the February 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, have channeled their personal pain and outrage into a teen-led effort to rally other teenagers around their cause. The success of their March for Our Lives event serves as a real world example of what motivated, impassioned teenagers are capable of doing for the sake of a cause they believe in.

The 10% Rule

As you work to build a thriving Gospel Advancing Ministry, purposefully leverage “The 10% Rule.” The 10% Rule is a scientifically documented phenomenon studied by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Scientists found that “when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society.” (Source: rpi.news). How does this translate into the real world? Think of it like this: when 10% of the population is 100% unshakably committed to a belief, the majority of the population will eventually be won over and accept their belief. For better or for worse, The 10% Rule has proven itself to be effective across history. Time after time, marginalized, yet committed, groups eventually sway the common consensus toward their once minority viewpoint. This happened in Germany with the Nazi regime, in America with the civil rights movement, and more recently with the gay rights movement. People who are 100% committed carry a disproportionate amount of influence on the rest of society because they are single-minded in their focus, passionate about their cause and determined to convince others to change their viewpoint. You can activate this same 10% Rule in your youth group for the sake of gospel advancement! If you can get just 10% of your students 100% committed to THE Cause of Christ, over time, they will significantly influence the other 90%. One great way to help your “10%-er” students become 100% committed is by giving them some sort of catalytic experience that intensifies their commitment to Christ and His Cause. That’s why getting a few of your students out of their current evangelism comfort zone by taking them on a gospel-focused mission trip or to a Lead THE Cause evangelism training week can be instrumental in triggering a Gospel Advancing movement in your youth group.

Recharging Your Batteries vs. Building a Power Plant

We hear again and again from students who’ve participated in an LTC training week about how transformative the week is for them both personally and as student leaders. To quote one of last year’s senior-to-be attendees: “I get it. It finally clicked! I finally feel equipped and confident enough to reach and disciple my friends!” When students finally catch a vision for Jesus’ call on their lives to use them to reach their friends and make disciples, amazing things begin to happen. Whatever catalytic event you decide upon—whether it’s LTC or something else—you’ll want to choose an event that does more than just “recharge” your students’ evangelism batteries. Look for an experience that will provide a return on investment for years to come, not just a temporary “mountaintop” experience that begins to recede the moment the suitcases are unpacked and stashed away in the closet. The goal of your catalytic event should be to cultivate evangelism leadership skills that will energize and enable both you and your students to be powerful change agents for Jesus for the rest of your lives. So choose an event that will help you build a power plant that will go on and on generating the kind of power your group needs to launch and sustain a student-led Gospel Advancing movement in your community.  If you already have some sort of catalytic event planned for your teenagers for this coming summer, great! Capitalize on it so that it yields long term, life-changing results! If you don’t have a catalytic event in the works yet, pray about it, do your research and move mountains so that at least 10% of your students will have the opportunity to have their small ember of passion for making a difference for the Kingdom fanned into a roaring flame. Lives depend upon it. Get your students out to a catalytic event this summer and spark a Gospel Advancing Movement in your youth group! Share on X Want more practical advice on mobilizing your teens to share the gospel? All of our Mobilize stories offer great ideas for training your students and building a Gospel Advancing Ministry. Sign up here to receive this free, hands-on, resource in your inbox!