THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE
1 Peter 3:15
BACKGROUND PREPARATION There’s a lot of ground to cover here, but move at the young people’s pace. If you need to leave out one or two activities in order to make that possible, do so. You may need pens, paper, two pots, Bibles, a flipchart and possibly a laptop and projector.
Dare to share
5 mins
Give each member of the group two slips of paper and a pen. Ask them each to write down a silly, (not humiliating!) dare on one slip of paper and a personal (but not too personal) question on the other. They should put the dares in one pot and the questions in another. (You may wish to look through the questions and dares and veto some of them.) Take it in turns to choose ‘Truth’ or ‘Dare’. Each person should take a slip of paper from either pot and read it. They can refuse to answer the question or perform the dare, but must then take something from the other pot and do that. Finish by commenting that sharing our faith takes a bit of courage. Sharing the truth can require as much courage as doing a dare!
What is God’s story?
10 mins
If we want to share God’s story, it’s important that we understand it ourselves. As a starting point, in pairs, ask your young people to try and sum up the Christian faith in under a minute. Let a few of the pairs share their work. Explain that it is probably impossible to sum up the whole of God’s story in one minute but there are some headlines we can focus on when people ask us what it means to be a Christian.
A creative example…
5 mins
Play to the group the YouTube video, ‘The Gospel in four minutes’, which is available on the links section of the Youthwork website. Explain that it is helpful to have a memorable way of summing up God’s story. An alternative model is found at www.the4points.com
Style as well as substance
5 mins
Read 1 Peter 3:15 as a group and then discuss what advice Peter gives us for how to share the truth of the gospel. How should we respond when non-Christians put us under pressure?
Door openers
5 mins
Discuss how we can connect God’s story to others without being pushy. What things could we do that might make our mates ask us about why we are a Christian? What tools can we use to open doors?
Connection 1: Build relationships
10 mins
A great start is to get to know people and to be ready for opportunities to share God’s story. The deeper your relationship with someone, the more permission you have to find out about them and the greater interest they will have in what you believe.
Divide the young people into small groups. Have each group read one of the following passages:
• Matthew 9:1-17
• Mark 10:1-23
• John 3:1-21
• John 4:1-26
Discuss how Jesus held the balance between listening and sharing, speaking truth whilst not condemning and skilfully holding people’s interest.
In the same groups, discuss five things that would be useful in bringing issues of faith into a conversation or other aspects of non-Christians’ lives.
Connection 2: Actions speak louder than words
5 mins
Read James 2:14-17 and then explain that it takes more than words to connect with people. Showing God’s love for people through our actions is all part of the connection process. Discuss what your group can do as individuals and as a team to share their faith in a practical way. Record any ideas they come up with on a flipchart. Commit to do one of these things, either as individuals, in pairs or as a group.
Connection 3: Lifestyle
5 mins
As a group, look at the following areas, in which young people make lifestyle choices. Ask the group to discuss what might be different between the lifestyle of a Christian and that of a non- Christian? Why?
• Swearing
• Smoking
• Going to parties
• Being a vegetarian
• Sex and relationships
• Spending money
• Gossiping
Discuss: how might leading a different lifestyle to those around you start conversations about God’s story?
Ask: often it is our distinctive lifestyle that leads people to ask questions about what or who we believe in.
Creative prayer
10 mins
Cover the floor in paper. Using pens or paints get the young people to draw or paint pictures or names of three specific friends they want to pray for to become Christians. Once done, or whilst drawing, encourage them to pray for these people. After praying for their own friends, encourage everyone to move and stand by someone else’s drawing and to pray for these people.
KEY POINT #1
In a world that doesn’t know God, we should make every effort to model three story living; always being ready to share our story, respectfully listening to peoples’ own stories and try to get to know God’s story so we can effectively share what he has done.
KEY POINT #2
Evangelism is about life, relationships and people. Whenever these three elements collide, we don’t get neat, tidy answers and we can’t develop formulas or patterns to ensure people accept God’s story. But let’s look at a few principles, which can guide us on this, however we choose to apply them.
