5 Ways to Inspire Teens to Share the Gospel

By Greg Stier

Teenagers can be a tough audience and sharing the gospel a tough subject.

Teenagers can be a tough audience and sharing the gospel a tough subject. So how do you inspire a tough audience to engage in the tough stuff of evangelism?
As the leader of a ministry called Dare 2 Share, an organization that annually equips tens of thousands of teens to evangelize, I am in the motivation business. I have to be. If a clinical approach to evangelism were enough to motivate teenagers, we could just do a video-based training series for youth groups and leave it at that. But it takes way more to motivate teens to actually go beyond talking about evangelism to actually doing it.
Here are the five essentials I have discovered about motivating teenagers to share the gospel:
1. Reposition evangelism from being just another Christian duty to being the ultimate cause.
Jesus rebuked the religious grumblers and mumblers of his day with a crystal clear comeback: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” Luke 19:10. The driving mission of Jesus was a hands-on search and rescue mission for the lost, disenfranchised, too-evil-to-rescue sinners. Specifically in this passage, he was referring to Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was despised by the Jews and used by the Romans. But once this tree climbing traitor put his faith in Jesus, he gave half of his possessions to the poor and quadrupled payback for any social injustices he had committed.
Help your teens see Luke 19:1-10 as the key to eradicating poverty, stopping human trafficking and advancing social justice. The more we can lead people to Jesus, the more they can create change in their circle of influence. Stop separating social justice from evangelism (like I did for years) and view it as the real key to multiplying change makers across the planet.
2. Share a lot of stories.
The more stories of changed lives your teens hear, the more motivated they will be to evangelize. Stories can capture the hearts of teenagers in a way that mere lecture cannot. Maybe that’s why Jesus was such a prolific storyteller. He bypassed intellectual objections and went straight to the hearts of his hearers. But Jesus wasn’t the only storyteller in the New Testament.
When Paul and Barnabas were headed back to Jerusalem, they told stories of changed lives along the way: “The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them” Acts 15:3,4.
Have teenagers share stories of those they are engaging with the gospel. Tie stories into your weekly talks. The more stories you share, the more inspired your teens will be to share their faith.
3. “Create” more stories by taking your teens out to evangelize.
If you want to have more stories to share, then create them. In other words, go out and evangelize with your teenagers. Go to a park with some of your teens and have a pick up game of basketball with the teenagers who are there, and, afterward, share the good news of Jesus (or get one of your teens to do it and you be their wingman).
There are many ways you can get your teens involved with evangelism. Here are a few:
-Do a community survey. Use it as a way to take the spiritual temperature of your neighborhood as well as a springboard for evangelistic conversations.
-Sponsor a free car wash and take prayer requests of those in the cars (which can lead to more gospel conversations).
-Take your teens to a local shopping mall, break up in twos, and engage in conversations with other teenagers.
-Give out free bottles of water at a busy walkway on a hot day and use it as an opportunity to talk about the living water with those you are serving.
There are many ways for teens to engage evangelistically. Ultimately, the best place for them to start sharing their faith is in their own circle of friends. Hold them accountable to do just that and let them do the same with you.
As you lead your teenagers to evangelize, you’ll create more and more stories that you can share with the rest of the youth group to inspire them to do the same.
4. Talk about hell.
There I said it. Teenagers need to be reminded of what’s at stake for those who die without Christ. In a very real way, those who don’t know Jesus are unknowingly headed 100 mph at a cliff that leads to everlasting destruction. Our job as caring Christians is to jerk the steering wheel … and to get our teens to do the same with their friends.
Paul put it this way in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
Jude put it this way in Jude 1:23, “Save others by snatching them from the fire … ”
John put it this way in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
Jesus put it this way in John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.”
We need to inspire our teens to help their friends cross from death to life. We must equip them to rescue their friends from the hell they are headed to and the one they are going through apart from Jesus Christ. (By the way, there’s an app to help you do just that!)
5. Pray
Ultimately, the power to truly inspire teenagers to share the gospel is rooted in the Holy Spirit. Pray for your teenagers consistently, specifically and fervently. Pray that they will be inspired to live and give their faith in powerful ways. Intercede on their behalf, that God will fill them with an unstoppable passion to spread the good news.
As God answers your prayer, your youth group meetings will be filled with an air of excitement and more and more new believers! And that will inspire everyone!  
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on ChurchLeaders.com in 2013.

Greg Stier is the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, which is mobilizing teenagers across America to share their faith. More from Greg Stier or visit Greg at http://www.dare2share.org

The Wisdom of Mourning

By Brian Berry

Using tragedy as a springboard to be reminded of God’s love and faithfulness.

Ecclesiastes 7:1–2 reads:
“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” (TNIV)
Every time I go to a funeral, I’m reminded that Solomon was right when he wrote those words. Every time I help my kids navigate a loss in a critical soccer game, I’m reminded that losers ponder their methods and rethink objectives, but winners just celebrate and toast the victory. Every time I make a mistake or suffer loss or struggle as a pastor, husband or father … I’m reminded that pain and hardship cause me to rethink stuff, but victory and ease cause me to coast through life. It just does.
C.S. Lewis put it like this in his book The Problem of Pain. He writes, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
And that reality is no less true today than it was 3,000 years ago when Solomon wrote it down or when C.S. Lewis echoed it in 1940. However, since the majority of my work is with high school students, most of them feel like death is a lifetime away (and I pray they are right). So they never give death or morning much thought. Not that their parents do either, but death and mourning are not popular subjects for teens.
However, the biblical book of James reminds the reader that our lives are like a blip on the map of eternity and even a long 90-year life will be over before we know it. He warns: “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
To this end, I think one of my jobs as a youth pastor is to remind teens that today should be lived in light of forever. I have a responsibility to challenge my students to consider the life they are living and the destiny they desire. I have a responsibility to live that way myself.
Just last Sunday, I sat down with a young woman in our high school ministry who had asked to talk. She told me she was not happy with where she was at spiritually and that she wanted to make some changes. Rather than spend a lot of time focusing on how to help her do that … I spent the majority of our time reminding her that what she does today should be shaped by who she wants to be tomorrow.
When we know what we want said about us at our funeral … when we know what we want to be known for and to be all about … then and only then do we have a solid filter through which to make our decisions. Youth ministry is not about giving students tools to navigate the stress of today. It is instead about helping them set a compass that will help them navigate all their days in a way that honors God.
Recently … I was reminded of these truths by two GREAT pastors on opposite ends of our country:
1. Louie Giglio recently gave a sermon in Atlanta, Ga., that is beyond worth the time to listen to on this very subject. Seriously, it’s so good you should go download it now and give yourself an hour of life that will remind you what you want all of life to be about. Get some earbuds and drown out the rest of the world for a few. You’ll be so thankful you did.
Here it is under the title: From Here and Now to Now and Forever.
2. Britt Merrick is a pastor in the Santa Barbara, Calif., area whose 8-year-old daughter, Daisy, just tragically died from a three-plus year battle against cancer. In that context, he gave a sermon a few days before Daisy’s death that will rip your heart out. It will also, in no uncertain terms, remind you that while the day of morning is not chosen by any of us, it is still the crucible through which life screams its lessons and lives are forever transformed. This sermon is a video and might be the best 50 minutes you’ve spent in the last 50 days.
It is titled, “When Sparrows Fall,” and was given at Reality Santa Barbara.  

Brian is a 17 year veteran of student ministry and is currently serving as the generation ministries pastor at Journey Community Church near San Diego, CA. As the generations pastor he is hands on in high school and oversees a staff that responsible for birth through twenty-somethings. He also blogs about his life and learnings, writes here and there including a column for group magazine, teaches youth ministry seminars, and speaks at various camps and retreats. He is married to his wife Shannon and together they have 5 kids. More from Brian Berry or visit Brian at http://briancberry.blogspot.com/

The Selfie

Free Youth Series: “Social Media Me”

Download this timely 3-week series to share with your youth ministry.

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Download this timely 3-week series to share with your youth ministry.
From YouthMinistry.com, “Address social media and its effects with students as you dive into these topics:”

• Week 1: What Social Media Reveals About You Week
• Week 2: Be True to God Week
• Week 3: Be True to Yourself

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Free Youth Lesson Package: “Jesus and Stuff”

Help students embrace a Christ-centered attitude toward their stuff.

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From YM360, “Our culture puts a tremendous value on having stuff. And not just on having stuff, but being emotionally attached to our stuff. This message is played out in so many different aspects of our lives. We’re told a certain car will make us happy. A certain brand will make us cool. A certain gadget will make us fulfilled. And so many of us buy into these messages wholeheartedly. Especially our teenagers. Good thing Jesus had a lot to say about this.”
This lesson package includes:

• Bible background
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Planetshakers—”All About You”

What Are We REALLY Calling Students to Be?

By Brian Berry

Are we using our voices as leaders to create disciples?

Recently, I watched my son’s final JV soccer game. The game was intense, and during the second half a player on his team got into it with their opponent, and in the fight for the ball, he knocked the other guy to the ground. Obviously, neither player was happy about it, but the player on my son’s team was especially angry and moved to fight the player on the ground. His teammates jumped in to stop him and it caused a huge scene as they tried to keep him from physical contact that would have likely cost the team a red card—and forced them to play a man down for the remainder.
In the midst of the stink this all caused, the coach decided it would be best to pull his player and give him some time on the bench to calm down. This is not the first time this has happened with this player, and he makes a lot of spur of the moment anger decisions. I was about 10 feet behind the bench when I watched one of the coaches walk over to the offending player. He only said two sentences to him. He got down in his face, looked him straight in the eye, and said in a firm and calm voice,
“Seriously, you were going to kick a man while he was on the ground? Son, that’s not leadership.”
I kept waiting for him to tell him something else, but that was it. He didn’t move away for a few seconds, as if he was waiting for the words to sink in and be fully processed. But I honestly don’t think the player was even remotely thinking, “This is how I lead.” Which is why this was pure genius. I absolutely love watching this coach interact with these teens because he invites them into manhood. In every way, he calls these players to become something. Not to obey rules. Not to play the game right. Not to just improve as athletes, but to improve as young men.
It got me thinking, “What am I really calling students to? What am I calling my own kids to be?”
• Am I calling them to be Bible readers or followers of Jesus?
• Am I calling them to obedience or to passion?
• Am I inviting them to tow the line or to live by risk and faith?
• Am I asking them to be believers or to be leaders?
It also reminded me of this truth: What I call students to is what they’ll aim for. In other words, if our student ministries or even our families lack leaders, maybe it’s simply because we never require it of them. Maybe, instead of just correcting a mistake, we should call them to step into a different identity. Instead of calling students to behave a certain way, we should be calling them to become a man or woman of character. That character, by default, excludes the option of certain actions. It’s like a grid through which decisions can be made.
Then tonight, on my way to dinner, I walked past this karate studio with these pictures in the window.
I again was struck by what they don’t say. They don’t read, “Punch. Kick. Fight. Win.” Instead, they read, “Leadership. Determination. Goal Driven. Dedication.” It’s time we take a clue from the athletic coaches of the world.
Let’s call teens to live better lives, not have better behavior.   

Brian is a 17 year veteran of student ministry and is currently serving as the generation ministries pastor at Journey Community Church near San Diego, CA. As the generations pastor he is hands on in high school and oversees a staff that responsible for birth through twenty-somethings. He also blogs about his life and learnings, writes here and there including a column for group magazine, teaches youth ministry seminars, and speaks at various camps and retreats. He is married to his wife Shannon and together they have 5 kids. More from Brian Berry or visit Brian at http://briancberry.blogspot.com/

7 Things Youth Need From Their Parents So They Won’t Abandon God

By Frank Powell

“When it comes to kids’ faith, parents get what they are.”

Why are young people leaving the church? If I had a dollar for every time I heard this question, I would have a lot of dollars. And I get it. The rate at which young people are leaving the church is alarming. Everyone has experienced a young person throwing aside their faith, either directly or indirectly. It’s devastating.
So, how does the church need to change? While this question needs to be addressed, I don’t think it provides an answer to the problem.
Stick with me, I am going somewhere.
You see, I believe parents are the primary link between young people and God. Not the church. In his book Soul Searching, Christian Smith says this:

The most important social influence in shaping young people’s religious lives is the religious life modeled and taught to them by their parents.

In an interview with Drs. Kara Powell and Chap Clark, Smith goes even further:

When it comes to kids’ faith, parents get what they are.

Whoa. That’s real.
Here’s the deal. Parents, you are painting a portrait of God for your children every day. Every word, action and conversation is a brushstroke. And when your children prepare to leave home, they are staring at a portrait of God. A portrait that shapes their actions and decisions about faith moving forward.
Are there exceptions? Absolutely. As a youth minister, I witnessed young people leave Jesus, even though the faith of their parents was rock solid. I also saw young people continue into college on fire for God, even though their parents had shaky, fickle faith. So, this isn’t a black and white issue. Few issues are.
But will you, as a parent, play an enormous role in shaping the faith of your children? No doubt.
With that being said, I want to point out some things young people need from their parents. I present these as someone who left God for a season in college, someone who ministers to young people every day, and someone who is passionate about reaching the next generation.
Here are seven things youth need from their parents so they won’t abandon God.

1) They need you to stop handing their faith off to youth leaders.

I grew up in church. But I was never part of a youth group. I didn’t receive formal training in youth ministry. So, when I jumped into youth ministry, the whole thing was new to me.
In the first few months, I noticed something alarming. It appeared as though parents looked to me as the primary person responsible for the spiritual growth of their kids. Why is this alarming? The Bible makes no mention of this model.
Unfortunately, most churches have created this mess. And reinforced it. Calendars are filled with events, and a cultural pressure is placed on young people to get a gold star for perfect attendance. Don’t get me wrong. I am not against youth ministry. I think it is a great tool for building faith in young people.
But there is a problem when youth ministry becomes THE tool.
Parents, you have the primary responsibility of building faith in your children. Youth leaders exist to equip you and supplement the work you are doing in the home. They don’t exist to replace you.

2) They need you to care as much about their struggles as you do about their salvation.

Growing up, I remember numerous conversations with my parents about baptism. My fellowship holds baptism in very high regard. Too high. That’s how I felt, at least. I grew to hate the word “baptism,” and with every conversation about why I needed to be baptized, I took one step further away from God.
Maybe that’s not fair. But that’s where I was. As strange as this sounds, I needed someone to care as much about my struggles as they did about my salvation.
And I struggled mightily in high school. I searched everywhere for my identity. I struggled with lust and pornography. I traveled down dark roads searching for direction.
It was as if my salvation was the only thing that mattered. Eventually, I started to see God this way. He didn’t have much to say about my present struggles. He just wanted me to be “saved.” And I didn’t care much for a God who didn’t inform my current situation. So, I left.
Here’s what I learned from that season. While everyone who talked to me was sincere, I believe they were trying to manufacture my salvation. Humans don’t have the power to save someone. That is God’s job.

You can’t manufacture salvation. But you can show people God’s love.

Parents, what you can do is show the love of God to your children. This starts by helping them see their present struggles as God’s concern. Sit down with your children. Talk to them. Show them grace.
As you do this, the gospel will come to life. Because the gospel doesn’t just inform salvation. It informs everything. Addictions. Temptations. Identity issues. And once your children see that God walks with them through their struggles, they will have a stronger desire to give their lives to him.

3) They need you to answer the questions they are asking.

Today’s culture is extremely complicated and complex. Young people see everything. Information (good and bad) is available on-demand. And as young people battle with difficult questions about sexuality and social issues, among many other things, the world is forming their perspective. Every article. Every conversation. Every video.
It is more important than ever that parents open up space to discuss difficult topics. It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to the questions prevalent in the lives of your kids. Naivety is not an excuse. Awkwardness and tension won’t work as excuses either.
I never had a conversation (at least not one I remember) with any adult about sex growing up. Nothing about lust. Nothing about God’s design for purity. Nothing about masturbation. I never had a conversation about alcohol. I was battling these questions, but Christians weren’t there to give me answers. So, I tried to figure it out myself. You can only imagine how that worked out for me.
Yes, these conversations are awkward. Yes, they create tension. But your children are asking them. Unless you create space for the hard questions, they will turn to other sources for answers. And that usually doesn’t end well.

4) They need you to stop protecting them.

The world is broken. No argument from me there. It seems as though our world is more sinful than ever.
But I wonder what the response would be if the same microscope were placed on cities like Ephesus and Corinth? During the time of Paul, Ephesus was overtaken by witchcraft. Every spring, roughly 1,000,000 people traveled to the temple of Artemis, which was filled with prostitutes. Let’s just say these people weren’t going to the temple to talk about the weather.
To top it off, Ephesus hosted the Festival of Dionysus, a keg party that would have laughed in the face of any St. Paddy’s Day party you have thrown (not that you would do that sort of thing).
So, how does Paul instruct the Ephesians to respond in the midst of a culture blanketed with sin? He tells them to put on the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-20). In other words, jump in the fight. Paul didn’t understand a theology of retreat. There is no such thing. He expected the Christians in Ephesus to engage the culture, not run from it.
When the ultimate goal is to make sure our children never experience the evils of the world, we not only do them an injustice socially, we rob them of seeing the gospel’s transformative power.
As a parent, your goal should not be to teach your kids how to flee from evil. Your goal should be to show them how to engage it. For the glory of God. In those spaces, they will see the gospel. And it will become real.

5) They need to see God as more than rules and church attendance.

Every decision, every thought and every action comes down to this: In whom do I place my trust? Kara Powell

Looking back on my childhood, this was the most important factor in my faith as I transitioned into college. I needed to see that my parents trusted the promises of God. I needed to see that my parents made decisions as though God was real and alive, not a set of rules or a list of “do’s and don’ts.” I got that from my mom. Not so much from my dad.
And until God surrounded me with men who modeled an unwavering trust in Him, I thought following Jesus was just a piece of the puzzle.
Parents, especially fathers, never underestimate the impact of your decisions on your children. They need to see you trust God with your time and money. They need to see you approach your job as a mission field. They need to see you love people well. All people. They need to see you trust the promises of God in Scripture.
If you boil Christian living down to church attendance and morality, your children will notice. And who wants to follow a God who is nothing more than rules and showing up to a building? I sure don’t.

6) They need to see your struggles and doubts.

You need to be strong for your children. They need to see that you have it together. I understand that. But let’s get real for a second. God is mysterious. Faith is not easy. Some questions about God don’t have easy answers. You have probably experienced days where you considered throwing in the towel.
Join the party. I want you to meet some people. These are the apostles. Yeah, the ones who walked with Jesus and started the church. Yes, they are at the “I have doubted my faith at some point” party.
Parents, your kids have doubts. And they need to see that you have doubts as well. Otherwise, when questions about God come, your kids will either internalize them or turn to another source for answers. Both are bad options.
I am not telling you to have confession hour every night. But there is power in vulnerability and authenticity. Your kids need to know you are human. And they need to know the path to intimacy with God involves seasons of doubt and struggle.

7) They need you to plead for God to build and sustain their faith.

Parents, in the journey to lay a foundation of faith for your children, nothing is more important than prayer. Pray for your children. Pray with your children. Every day.
The best part of my day is when my boys lay in bed and ask Tiffani and I to pray for them. I also know a day will probably come when they won’t ask us to pray for them. Instead, we will have to fight through the tension and pray for them even though they don’t necessarily want us to. But we are committed to praying for them every night.
I am eternally grateful for my mom. She is awesome! And I am convinced that my faith is a product of her relentless devotion to prayer. I think my mom prayed so much eventually God got tired of hearing her ask for transformation in my life. So, after years of hearing thousands of versions of the same prayer, he called me back home. And I haven’t looked back since.

Even if your child is a long way from God, He is only one prayer from them.

Never stop praying for your kids. Don’t allow their current circumstances to impact God’s power. Even if your child is light years from God, God is only a prayer away from them. One prayer can change everything.
Parents, you are painting a portrait of God for your children. What does the picture look like?
It is never too late to start investing in the faith of your children. God doesn’t operate like money. The outcome of your kids’ faith isn’t necessarily determined by the time you put in. God isn’t confined to such things.
It is also never too early to get started. Set the trajectory of faith for your children now.
The church plays a role in the faith of your children. But the primary responsibility is yours, parents. You got this. God would never give you a task and not equip you for it. Your children don’t need the funniest, most knowledgeable or best communicator to build their faith. They need you.
So, give them what they need.

In your experience, what do youth need from their parents to build a faith that lasts? Leave a comment below and let’s continue the conversation.

I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!  

Frank Powell serves in the Campbell Street Church of Christ in Jackson, Tenn., ministering to college-age and young adults. More from Frank Powell or visit Frank at http://frankpowell.me

“Get Loud”

Free Graphics Package: “Get Loud”

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” – Ps. 98:4 (KJV)

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Download this graphics package to use in your youth ministry.
This graphics package includes both a title slide and blank sermon slide.

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Looking to the Future of Youth Ministry

4 Tips for Engaging Students in the Bible

By Chris Folmsbee

When teaching from a particular passage, be sure to give the greater context.

I’ve been thinking lately about the best ways to help students engage Scripture. It seems as though each time I speak or facilitate a training seminar or workshop, I am asked about the best ways to get students to read their Bible.
I hear comments like, “My students just don’t want to read the Bible. They say it is boring,” or “Our students won’t read the Bible unless there is some prize at the end of it.” I have even heard, “Our students are so indifferent. Most of them wouldn’t know what the Bible was if it hit them on the head.” (To which I replied, “Well, maybe that is because that is what you are trying to do with Scripture. That is, beat your students over the head!”)
I haven’t got the secret formula bottled up and hidden away in my youth ministry laboratory or anything ridiculous like that. I do, however, have a few thoughts on how to engage students in the Bible.
4 Basic Tips for Engaging Students in the Bible
1. Start with the fundamentals. Help your students know that the Bible is quite simply about: 1) God, 2) humans and 3) how humans interact with God and each other for the sake of the world. For example, the creation narrative is not a science thesis; it is a biography of God.
2.  Stop proof texting! Using the Scriptures without thoughtful consideration of the verse’s meaning as understood within a greater context is not helpful. If you think reading a verse here or there or using a verse to prove your teaching point is helpful, think again. I think it may do more harm than good. Teach from a narrative perspective—not from your pet truth. When teaching from a particular passage, be sure to give the greater context for the passage. Context is everything!
3.  Begin engaging students with experience, not authority. Before I go on, let me make it clear that I absolutely believe in the authority of the Bible. I believe the Bible is true. Now with that said, I don’t think that students process information through the lens of authority. I believe that students process and learn through their own story and experience—all of life’s encounters (with self and others). If you want to engage students in the Bible, provide experiences that engage them in actively living the Bible, all the while helping them reframe their own story within the context of God’s story.
4. Provide a hermeneutical practice for your students. In other words, help them interpret the Bible and find meaning and application through an exercise that helps them better understand the context of a passage. Examples of this would be to use the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture>Tradition>Reason>Experience) as a means of interpretation. You might even just guide them into the rhythm of asking a series of questions such as, “What does this passage tell me about God? What does this passage tell me about myself? What does this passage tell me about others?  What does this passage tell me about the world?”
No doubt, students need to more deeply engage the narrative of God (as do adults, by the way!), but consider your methods, practices and habits up to this point. Evaluate if the reason your students aren’t interacting with the Bible is because of your own our confusing and vague methods.
Do any of you have tips for helping other youth workers (or parents or pastors or whomever) engage students in the Bible?  
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on ChurchLeaders.com in 2010.

Chris is the chief ministries officer at YouthFront, a ministry designed to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus. He's the author of A New Kind of Youth Ministry and the upcoming books Clear: Bringing Your Faith into Focus and Story Signs and Sacred Rhythms: A Narrative Approach to Youth Ministry. Chris also has a regular column in the The Journal of Student Ministries and speaks to and trains youth workers and students throughout North America. He's been involved in youth work for more than 13 years as a youth pastor, coach, and high school teacher. Chris lives with his wife, Gina, and their three children in Kansas City, Kansas. More from Chris Folmsbee or visit Chris at http://www.youthfront.com/

6 Qualifications of a Great Youth Pastor

By Jeremy Zach

There are some qualifications you need to know before entering the youth pastorate.

What are the qualifications of a youth pastor?
Qualifications of a Youth Pastor: courageous, rigorous discipline, unwavering devotion to Jesus, psychologically strong, brains and expertise in all that they do.
NIV Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
I will attempt to argue what it means to be a qualified youth pastor.
Entering the youth pastorate is not easy. It sucks getting paid nickels and quarters, meeting the demands of parents, elders and students.
Youth pastors aren’t lazy. Youth ministry is not only fun and games. Being a youth pastor is not a “cute” job. Youth pastors are not only “THE YOUTH PASTOR.”
One of my mentors once told me if the youth pastor has the ability to set up, maintain and sustain a kick-butt youth ministry, he/she will be able to anything they set their mind to.
Youth pastors need to be oxes! We have to realize everything hangs on the youth pastors leadership.

Traits of a Ox-like Youth Pastor:

Character
Character is everything. Character includes such things as self-discipline, modesty, teamwork, integrity, purity, virtue, hard work ethic, loyalty, honesty, fearlessness, tenaciousness and determination. Character and responsibility are everything. The youth pastor must be transforming, not conforming. Every Ox-leader must grow in Christ-like character (Matt 25:14-30, Luke 8:4-15, 2 Cor. 5:17-21, Ephesians 4:17-5.2, Genesis 2:7, Isaiah 64:8 and 2 Cor. 4:7-11)
Teacher
It is essential the youth pastor teaches with power, authority and with excellence. Teach from the Bible and connect points with clear application steps. Great books for youth ministry teaching:  Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry by Barry Shafer, Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages by Doug Fields and Duffy Robbin, and Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones.
Rebuker
Confronting problems and conflict is a huge part of youth ministry. If you are not prepared on how to handle conflict, problems will destroy you. Youth pastors need to know how to discipline. If they don’t know how to discipline, their students will run all of them! I guarantee it. Youth pastors need to know how to spot a wolf and rebuke a wolf. You will not know if your are a shepherd until a wolf shows up.  It is difficult rebuking your students, but they need it and your youth ministry needs it. Youth ministry is one big, difficult conversation.
Great Family/Relational Person
Great daddy/husband/wife/mother: The youth pastor must have his/her family life in order. If you cannot effectively manage the family, there is no way you will be able to manage a youth ministry.
NT Office–Shepherd, King, Priest
Detect if you are a Prophet, Priest or King.
A prophet is a youth pastor who has high vision, passion and discipline for the things to come. A prophet is not scared to rebuke people of their sins and doctrine. I would consider some of the reforming guys prophets.
A Priest is the ultimate shepherd. A Priest uses the “love” card a lot and really cares, nurtures and has a big heart for their students. I would consider some of the emerging guys Priests.
A King is the youth pastor who dominates everything. The King is highly skilled in management, organizational structure and is a great communicator. I would consider some of the mega youth pastors Kings.
It is important you know what type of New Testament office you hold.  Whatever office you are will determine what type of youth ministry you will build.
The youth pastor must realize: Leadership is everything!
Education
Knowing how to study the scriptures and study secular culture is imperative in order to be successful in youth ministry. The youth ministry world needs more youth pastors that are street smart. Notice I didn’t say church smart, but street smart. The future youth pastor will need to know how to integrate culture, theology and youth ministry. It will be huge if youth pastors are seminary trained and have a great public school education. Churches will need youth pastors to be very comfortable explaining why the other faiths are wrong and be able to clearly articulate a logical response without looking like a Christian idiot.
In short: “… every youth pastor should never stop training and never stop learning.”
This article originally appeared on ChurchLeaders.com in 2011.

Jeremy Zach easily gets dissatisfied with status quo. He reeks with passion and boredom is not in his vocabulary. He becomes wide awake when connecting with student pastors, thinking and writing about student ministry, experimenting with online technology, and working out. He is married to Mikaela and has two calico cats, Stella and Laguna. He lives in Alpharetta, Georgia and is a XP3 Orange Specialist for Orange—a division of the REthink Group. Zach holds a Communication degree from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities and Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. More from Jeremy Zach or visit Jeremy at http://ReYouthPastor.com

What is your greatest fear?

What is your greatest fear? (Writer's Opinion)

By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service

CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – November 15, 2015) -- “Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong,as I protect you with my arm and give you victories”— Isaiah 41:10 (CEV).

As a child, my greatest fear was of the dark. After my mother had tucked my sister and me in for the night, I would often lie awake with the covers pulled up tightly under my chin. I just knew there were monsters or other evil things lurking underneath my bed or behind the closet door waiting to snatch me away. Shadows, intensified by a full moon or the lights of a passing car, would only heighten my fear.

While I outgrew my fear of the dark a long time ago, there are other fears I still cling to: heights, snakes and being dependent on others as I age.

Other people fear flying, public speaking and spiders. Many fear rejection and failure, being alone and commitment. Those who don’t have enough fear they’ll never have enough while those who have wealth are often afraid of losing what they do have.

According to Google, the number one fear researched is “fear of death.” This ultimate fear is a normal human reaction. As a child, I feared death. It was the monster hiding underneath my bed that fortunately never materialized.

Some people, however, are never able to move beyond this fear, especially those who don’t have the reassurance of an eternal life through accepting Jesus as their Savior. As Christians we do not have to fear death. We know death through Christ Jesus has been conquered.

According to different articles I’ve read, the phrase “do not be afraid” appears in the Bible 365 times. While some articles refute this number, I’ve decided it really doesn’t matter about the number of times. What matters is—do we believe? Do we believe Jesus conquered death once and for all?

In a Christianity.com article by Eric C. Redmond, he says, “If we are going to be people who live Christ-centered, counter-cultural lives, we cannot let death bully us with concerns about death itself, the manner of our demise, and what lies just past the door to the afterlife. Instead, we must be fully assured that Christ’s work in the incarnation, on the Cross, and in the resurrection means for us that there is nothing to fear.”

In Philippians 1:21-24, Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”

While still here, I will embrace the words of Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

What is your greatest fear?

Note: I always love hearing from my readers. If you'd like to comment on this post, please email me at carol@carolaround.com  or visit my blog for more inspiration at www.carolaround.com

Photo captions: 1) A humorous look at the fear of change. (http://humoroutcasts.com). 2) Carol Round.

** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

Naomi’s Village helps teach and Encourage Orphans to become good Kenyan Citizens

Naomi’s Village helps teach and Encourage Orphans to become good Kenyan Citizens  

By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service www.assistnews.net 

NASHVILLE, TN (ANS, November 15, 2015) – Naomi’s Village sits on 5-acres outside Maai Mahiu, Kenya.

The main 9500 sq. foot home can house up to 80 children ages 0-12. A large dining facility doubles as a multi-purpose hall. A caretaker’s apartment allows their Director of Caregiving, Outreach, & Activities and family to live on site, providing consistent love and supervision to the children. Beautiful landscaping, a playground, basketball court, and soccer field have all been added by visiting teams since 2011. A separate guest house was completed June 2013 for visiting teams.

Naomi’s Village President, Kevin Perkins, likes to tell the story of how the founders started going to Kenya for two-month mission trips to work in a hospital in Kijabe, Kenya – and how he got ‘roped in’ to becoming the charity’s first president, in an interview at the 2015 Convention of the National Religious Broadcasters.

“I knew that Bob was going over to Kenya,” said Perkins. “I was doing my law practice. He was actually doing his orthopedic surgeon practice and he would go for two months and come back; and we would always get together and talk about his trips. Then they decided they were going to move over to Kenya permanently in 2008. They did work for Kijabe Hospital and a ministry called Cure International.”

They arrived right after the 2007 election violence. Bob was doing surgeries and his wife Julie was teaching at a local school on Kijabe Mission Station. “They started seeing the effects of the violence, refugee communities coming in, a lot of orphans from the AIDS crisis,” said Perkins. “Their perspective was raised from their immediate work within the school and the hospital to start a children’s home. They were working with a Kenyan couple that wanted to start a children’s home. So we raised the funds in 2008 and sent them off to start building the orphanage. It was going to be a smaller orphanage, but the plans grew bigger because Bob and Julie are Texans!”

Perkins continued: “Yeah, everything’s big in Texas or in God’s will, which I feel was a combination of both. It became a vision to rescue, restore, and empower 100 children. Bob and Julie started working under the umbrella of another organization called Lost Orphans to build the home. Where I came into the picture was after that first fundraiser -- Naomi’s Village was growing to a spot where they needed to become their own 501©3. Bob and Julie called an interest meeting on a trip to the States and I was at that meeting. Since I had done the paperwork for several friends that formed 501©3s, I reluctantly raised my hand and said I’d do the paperwork for no charge. That turned into me forming the corporation. The corporation needed a physical address and the Mendonsas lived in Kenya so my home address became the physical address. They needed an EIN number and a bank account. Well, that needed a physical address too, so we used my home as the physical address.

"Before you know it, along with my law practice, I’m forming a small company, a small non-profit with the help of the Mendonsas guiding the whole thing. We submitted the application to the IRS and Bob formed a board, which I was then on. Although I was the youngest person on the board I became the chairman. Before you know it, I was spending an inordinate amount of time at Naomi’s Village -- seeing enormous blessings coming from it. I took several trips with the board and because we had no stateside staff at the time -- we just had a board in the States and all the staff was in Kenya -- our DNA became very Kenyan-lead. The Mendonsas were working in other ministries when they first started Naomi’s Village, and then slowly God started pulling them into fulltime work for Naomi’s Village. Julie stopped teaching and became the head administrator. Bob is now down to one day a week of doing orthopedic surgeries, and the rest of his time is spent at Naomi’s Village. In the beginning, they really didn’t have anybody coming from the States to help them, so they just started hiring good Kenyan staff.”

Perkins said it made sense to hire Kenyans because they’re a Kenyan ministry. “Now we have 50 Kenyan staff and we have three Stateside.”

Perkins then told the story of how the name Naomi’s Village came about and also the story of Joshua, the village’s first orphan resident.

“The name Naomi comes from the book of Ruth. Julie was praying and studying Ruth at the time she was thinking about what to call the orphanage. Julie looked at the meaning of Naomi, which is ‘beautiful, pleasant and delightful.’ And the parallels between Naomi not having her family, but then God restoring a family; and Jesus coming from that lineage really just seemed like that was the story that connected with us.”

In 2008 the Mendonsas moved over to Kenya fulltime and in 2011 we welcomed home our first child, Joshua. A lot of our children are orphaned because of AIDS, violence, and terrorism. “But Joshua’s story was unique. His mother was pregnant and almost ready to give birth to her fourth child. He had one older brother and a baby brother so he was the middle child. His dad came home drunk one night in a violent rage. He took a knife and killed the mom and the baby that was inside of her, killed Joshua’s older brother and then finally his younger brother. Joshua snuck out of the house through a small hole in the wall. He waited outside until the noise quieted down inside. When he came back inside he found his father had hung himself. After trying to speak to his dad, not understanding why he wouldn’t respond, the 3-year-old lay down and slept the night next to his dead mother. The following morning Joshua went into town and some local villagers saw he had blood on his hands. Joshua led them back to his home to find the horror inside. At Naomi’s Village we try not to replace the nuclear family.

"If there are living grandparents, uncles, and aunts, we usually won’t displace that unless it is an unhealthy environment. However, sometimes there are situations where a child with family needs to be rescued and that was Joshua’s case. He had an uncle and some other distant family members, but in the Kenyan culture he was seen as cursed because of this tragic event. So he was left with no one and he became our first child. I recently watched a News Clip of Joshua on the day after the event. He was trying to get back in the house just wandering around confused. He didn’t even look like the same child we have today. Now Joshua has the biggest smile out of any of the kids at NV. He came in, he was loved on, he was treated like family. He was nurtured, received proper nutrition, education, and he has really blossomed. He is one of our children that have been severely scarred with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. One of the hallmarks of Naomi’s Village is that we will always do for these children what we would do for our own children. If our own children had PTSD and needed counseling we would get a counselor, so that is exactly what we did for Joshua. He is one of a handful of children going through weekly PTSD counseling. He sees an excellent professional counselor in Nairobi to help him process and work through his issues.”

Joshua is now 7-years-old and he’s in first grade.

“One of our other hallmarks is to raise our children with servant and leadership mindsets. We don’t want them to be Western. We want them to be comfortable with Westerners and be good Kenyans.”

In order to accomplish this, Perkins explained that Naomi’s Village started a school called Cornerstone Preparatory Academy with a Kenyan curriculum and Kenyan staff.

“We are intentional in how we raise them to hopefully stay in Kenya and help change their country. The children do weekly community outreach projects, often times in the Internally Displaced Peoples Camps, which now years down the road, are considered settlements. Through our children’s work in the community, we found a refugee camp the government had given no attention to called Mwi’Hangiri.”

“This is a refugee camp that is far off the road. With the help of our kids we started seeking outside help for the 24 displaced families. We built a church that they asked for, and kids now worship in that church. We’ve raised funds to build each family a home and purchase land for them. We’re trying to be an example for the kids so that it becomes a lifestyle. Our ultimate goal is to give the children a First World education, foster servant hearts, instill leadership and ethics so that they are empowered to create great change in Kenya.”

Naomi’s Village is in rural Kenya so there are a lot of educational challenges in the area. “In a local community study we found an average class size of 87 children to one teacher. And as Julie likes to say, ‘As a former teacher, that just becomes crowd control. That’s not education.’ They don’t have electricity or flushing toilets – but I don’t want to talk disparagingly as they’re trying their best with what they have. When Naomi’s Village first opened we sent our kids to a local private school and we didn’t feel like they were getting the education they needed. And again, if your child isn’t being educated like you want them to, you find a different solution. Our solution was to start a school on the Naomi’s Village property. We had a cow barn with one cow on our 5-acre compound. The cow wasn’t producing much milk so we decided to sell that cow and turn the shed into a three-classroom schoolhouse. So we started Cornerstone Preparatory Academy in an empty wing of the orphanage, transformed the cow house into a schoolhouse, and then moved our students from the main building to the new tiny school. We have 50 students from Naomi’s Village that made a dramatic turnaround once enrolled at Cornerstone. After our first eight months, Evalyne, our only 6th grader, became the #1 student in the entire district for her grade, and our 3rd grade class scored #1 as a whole. We do everything we can to pour into these children, and not only the brightest students, but the least of the least students. That doesn’t happen in the context of Kenyan education in rural Kenya. There are often so many students per class that only the smartest kids get proper attention. The lesser kids don’t. Poor children drift in and out of enrollment because of the need to support family and the lack of school fees. But with Cornerstone, we’ve taken children that have challenges in learning, poured attention, love, Godly affection, and best practices of education into them, and they’re doing amazingly well.”

Perkins said American Christians should care about what they’re doing in Kenya, “Because God’s moving!”

“What’s happening on the grounds of Naomi’s Village is something of God, and it can only be of God. The fact that an orthopedic surgeon would leave his practice to run an orphanage speaks to the sacrifice to build Naomi’s Village, and God’s blessing the sacrifice. The restoration that is seen every day with these kids is a picture of the gospel.”

Julie Mendonsa often drives out to pick up the kids and bring them home to Naomi’s Village. She speaks of the children’s arrival from nothing, into the Naomi’s Village family. “They don’t know what’s coming,” she said. “They drive up to gates that open and they don’t know what’s on the other side. What’s waiting for them on the other side is a picture of Heaven in that all the Naomi’s Village family, the staff and the kids, come out and sing and cheer as the car pulls in and the kids are welcomed into a new family. It is as when Christ woos us to him -- we don’t know what’s on the other side of that. When Christ brings us into a new family we’re restored and made new; and we see that with these kids.”

One way American Christians can get behind Naomi’s Village and Cornerstone Preparatory Academy is child sponsorship. “If you go on our website www.naomisvillage.org you can see the children who need sponsors and start a monthly sponsorship,” Perkins said. “When we build the larger Cornerstone school, which will open in 2016, supporters will be able to sponsor a wide array of students. Another way to support Naomi’s Village is to come out. We built a guesthouse on the Naomi’s Village property which is very comfortable for short-term mission trips and families.”

Perkins added: “If you want to spend all day in the baby room, we’ll put you to work in the baby room. If you want to help with the daily routine to run the orphanage, you can assist in that. You can also go with us on our outreaches -- whether we’re building a church or homes for the refugee camp. We’re in the middle of building a school so there are certain projects we can plug volunteers into there. You can go see the ministries around us that we partner with. There’s a school in the slums of Nairobi that our volunteers also serve. You can go on safari while you’re in Kenya as well! So really, you can come, you can touch and feel and taste what’s going on and see God move.”

In conclusion, Perkins said: “God’s doing something unique here. Naomi’s Village is going to grow and it’s going to blossom from these hundred kids that we are pouring into. God’s going to do something magnificent. To get in on the ground floor and help us pour into these hundred kids and see what God does is an opportunity I wouldn’t want someone to miss. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.”

** ANS would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.

Image One: Loving Up on a Kenyan child. (Naomi's Village).
Image Two: The Guest House at Naomi's Village (Naomi's Village)
Image Three: One of the main buildings at Naomi's Village (Naoli's Village)
Bio Image: Michael Ireland.

About the writer: Michael Ireland is a Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as a volunteer Internet Journalist and Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Click http://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410485204  to see a daily digest of Michael's stories for ANS.

** You may republish this or any of ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

     

Live Like a Refugee

Live Like a Refugee

By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service

WITNEY, UK (ANS – November 11, 2015) -- Could you survive on a refugee’s rations, or live out of a suitcase? Would you be able to sleep in a tent or on a church hall floor? Could you live like a refugee?

These questions have been posed by Open Doors UK and Ireland, a ministry that was begun 60 years ago by Dutchman, Brother Andrew, who began smuggling Bibles to Eastern Europe, and which is detailed in his bestselling book, “God’s Smuggler.”

Open Doors is offering a publication, “Live Like a Refugee,” which it says is “perfect for Lent,” and contains over six weeks of daily devotions, prayers and stories from refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) who have fled through persecution.

“As well as the daily Bible readings, a series of challenges – living on refugee rations, memorizing your Bible, carrying an ID card – invites you to experience something of the lives of refugees and IDPs,” said a spokesperson for Open Doors.

“The resource also includes a four-part study guide for small groups, and resources for church services.”

More Than Lent

The spokesperson went on to say, “We have plans to help people live like a refugee throughout 2016. Look out for announcements about major events in the summer, and our autumn prayer campaign.

“In the meantime, you canwrite to the UK governmenton behalf of Christian refugees in Syria and Iraq.”

Support Refugees and Displaced People

With your help, Open Doors plans to continue to support Christians around the world who have been forced to leave their homes because they are in danger of being killed or imprisoned for their faith.

“Our partners work with thousands of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in such places as Nigeria,Central African Republic, and, of courseSyriaandIraq,” added the spokesperson.

“As well as helping them with food, hygiene and medical supplies, we also provide trauma care training, employment and job creation schemes, Bibles and Christian literature and much more.”

A Syrian Pastor in Aleppo said recently, “I give huge thanks to you on behalf of these families for not forgetting us, and standing with us in the long-term. Even though the situation is difficult and prolonged, I thank you than you have continued with us. Through your partnership we are seeing beautiful results.”

Give Hope to A Family in Syria

Thousands of Christians in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence of war and extremism, but remain within the nation. Many are simply too poor or infirm to leave the country. Others feel called by God to stay and serve their people.

Almost 10,000 families in Syria are relying on Open Doors for emergency food supplies every month. One of its local partners, Pastor Samuel (not his real name) from Aleppo, says: “We are all trying to do our best to… provide God's hope in a hopeless situation.”

They are appealing for people to help them provide our brothers and sisters in Syria with vital supplies, and give them hope for a happier Christmas in years to come.

For more information on how to give (if you live in the UK or Ireland), please go to: https://www.opendoorsuk.org/campaign/stepofyes/appeal_151028.php?src=WB1533&step1=appeal .

Celebrating 60 Years of God's Faithfulness to The Persecuted Church

Open Doors is about to put on inspiring events whereby people can journey together, starting with Brother Andrew's first venture of faith, “through the milestones and miracles of the past 60 years, to the challenges for our persecuted family today and our vision of faith for the future. Open Doors 60th celebrations are for everyone who wants to be part of God’s good news story to the world,” stated the spokesperson.

Here are details of two of the UK events:

* Saturday, November, 14, 2015 -- 9.30am - 5pm: The International Convention Centre, Birmingham, England.

* Friday, November 20, 2015 -- 7pm - 10pm: Findlay Church, Glasgow, Scotland..

For details of other events, please go to: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/upcoming_events.php 

About Open Doors UK and Ireland:

Open Doors exists to strengthen the church to be the church in the most hostile places.

In over 50 countries, Open Doors is supplying Bibles, training church leaders, delivering Scripture-based literacy programs and supporting Christians who suffer for their faith. In the UK and Ireland Open Doors strives to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilizing prayer, support and action among Christians.

The Open Doors UK and Ireland website can be found at http://www.opendoorsuk.org/ .

Photo captions: 1) A Middle East refugee family in a camp. 2) Cover of Open Doors publication. 3) Brother Andrew. 4) Dan Wooding filming Brother Andrew in Hebron.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He has reported from Burma on two occasions and is also the author of some 45 books and has two US-based TV programs –- “Windows on the World” and “Inside Hollywood with Dan Wooding.” Dan previously worked as a writer for some seven years with Brother Andrew and Open Doors before starting ASSIST.

You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)