Peer Evangelism Part 1: Convincing Teens of the Gospel Need
Evangelism is at the heart of the Christian faith. Sharing the Gospel, the ‘good news’, of the Kingdom of God is the first thing that Jesus did in his public ministry (Mark 1:14-15). It defined the next three years of Jesus’ life as he taught and healed his way around the cities and villages of Galilee and Judea (Matt. 4:23; 9:35). It was the definition (Rom. 1:1) and motivation (Rom. 1:16; Acts 20:24) behind all of Paul’s ministry. And it shapes the ordering and timing of God’s plan for the entire cosmos (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 14:6). Most significantly for us today, the sharing of the Good News of the Kingdom is a task that we are called up into as disciples of Jesus (Matt. 9:35-38; 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:18-21).
As we consider our church’s youth ministry, an effective youth ministry will be one that is evangelising teenagers in our community as well as equipping the Christian teenagers in our church to be evangelising their peers. Evangelism to and by teenagers highlights two important truths.
Firstly, there is an urgency in the Gospel message. As well as the “goodness” of the good news—Jesus’ redeeming, reconciling and propitiatory death and resurrection, taking away the power and punishment of sin, and making access for God to dwell with his people, both now in the Spirit and forever, physically in the New Creation—the Gospel story includes the warning to take Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and adoption seriously (Jn. 3:36) as well as the imminence of Christ’s return (1 Thess. 4:16; 2 Pet. 3:10). As peers, friends, leaders, parents, and ministers of teenagers, we long—like Christ (2 Pet. 3:9)—for all to come to repentance and faith while there is still time.
Secondly, there is a strategic imperative to sharing the truth and love of Jesus to teenagers and young adults. Research data from the National Church Life Survey (Australia) shows time and again that the majority of Christians in our churches made a decision to follow Christ before the age of 20[1]. Of course, evangelistic conversations and courses designed for adults are worthwhile! However, statistics like these show the fruit that is commonly seen in children’s and youth ministry and highlights the value of prioritising time, resources and attention to these things.
IS IT RIGHT TO EVANGELISE MY FRIENDS?
Whilst it is important to have missional programs as part of your church’s youth ministry, I am going to focus particularly on the topic of peer evangelism. How can we enable the Christian teenagers in our churches to be effective evangelists in the places they inhabit? What do they need, and how can we equip them well for this task?
In Part 2, I will offer some strategies for our Christian teens to live and speak the truth of the Gospel in their various contexts. Before we get to strategy however, teenagers themselves need to be convinced that sharing the Christian story with others is a good thing.
We may presume that the young people in our churches who know and love Jesus are eager to evangelise their family and friends. However, interesting research from Barna in the USA describes how Millennials (those born between 1984 and 1998; i.e., the generation above our current teenagers) are increasingly sceptical about the appropriateness of seeking to convert someone to Christianity. While 94% of Christian Millennials in the study either strongly or somewhat agreed that “The best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know Jesus”, almost half (47%) agreed that “it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith”. (While the current generation of teenagers, Gen Z, were not included in this study, the researchers from Barna predict that these trends would be even more pronounced for the younger generation.)
Part of the vibe of our current cultural moment in the West is to falsely equate disagreement with judgement. There is a particular pressure on our young people to affirm, and never challenge, another’s self-chosen identity. However, there is an unavoidable exclusivity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, our first task as youth leaders and parents is to help the teenagers in our ministry to untangle the joy of seeing others come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour, with the social awkwardness of confronting another’s understanding of Christianity.
The overwhelming consensus of our world on matters of religion is that one’s belief in God is a mere preference. Just like the dozens of flavours available at your local ice creamery, there are plenty of good options available for every person, and you can even mix a few different scoops together. And even if you and I are both convinced that mint choc chip is the superior flavour, to tell your friend that their mix of hazelnut crunch and bubble-gum is wrong just feels… wrong.
Therefore, while we need to equip the teenagers in our ministry with the strategies that may help them share the truth and love of Jesus to their peers, it’s essential that that they be built up in the conviction of the objective truth behind the gospel.
Christianity is not a flavour preference, but an objective reality.
PREPARING YOUTH FOR PEER EVANGELISM
Helping our friends and family to come to trust in the person of Jesus Christ for themselves is not just a value add, but an essential truth for living life as it ought to be lived. Here are a few ways in which we can begin to equip our youth to engage in evangelistic conversations.
· Providing “space” for airing, exploring and normalising doubts. When we provide space for doubt, we allow the youth to experiment with their own and their peers’ questions in a safe place and explore possible answers for the aspects of faith that concern them. We also model that those who are secure in Christ can wrestle with doubts in a non-anxious way. The best place to doubt and question should be in the church and the Christian home.
· Point blank asking youth about their understanding of Christ and their commitment to him. When I was in high school, I had a Christian teacher ask me in the playground “Tim, are you a Christian?” As a kid from a Christian family, committed to church, and attending a Christian high school, I answered “Yeah, sure, I guess so.” To which he then responded, “Great, this is where in your life I don’t see that working out.” It was a bold piece of 1-1 discipleship. But I also knew it was done in the context of the appropriate friendship and brotherhood we had in that teacher-student relationship, and out of genuine concern for my discipleship. In the context of safe and caring relational discipleship, we can appropriately challenge our youth in their understanding and outworking of their belief in Jesus.
· Airing stories of struggle and overcoming in belief. Whether it be our own stories, those of other leaders or members of our church, even parents of the teens in your group, it can be deeply formative for youth to hear that they are not the only, nor the first, to struggle with questions, doubts, and temptations to not speak confidently about their faith.
· Practicing cultural discernment. It is beneficial for us as leaders to be observing culture, helping ourselves and our young people to become literate in noticing the differences between the gospel and the culture around us. Once we notice and name the cultural influences, influencers, trends and worldviews that we marinate in every day, we can more effectively make informed and consistent choices to follow Jesus in little ways all the time.
The first step in leading our youth to evangelise their peers is to convince them of the need and prepare them for the task. In Part 2 we will look at equipping those in our group who may be particularly gifted in evangelism. In Part 3 we will notice the surprising evangelism of a quiet life, and the call for every Christian to be ready to share the truth and love of Jesus.
[1] 77.6% (2016), 74% (2011), 72% (2006) in Sydney Anglican Churches. https://www.australianchurchrecord.net/the-importance-of-childrens-and-youth-ministry/
