When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. (Luke 9:1-6)
In this passage from Luke, we see Jesus sending his closest disciples out to care for people and proclaim the good news about him. In the same way, any adult with influence over teenagers can look to this “sending” as an excellent example of how to reach the upcoming generations. Our best strategic bet is to send teens to share with their peers, because they’re in the best position to reach those in their own generation.
But we should also keep in mind what we see Jesus doing in the chapters leading up to this mission trip He sent them on: Day in and day out, he was personally caring for the people around him and sharing the good news with them, while the disciples looked on.
If we’re going to encourage teens to share the gospel with their peers, we must first show them what that looks like. If we’re not consistently sharing our faith, then how can we expect those we lead to do so?
Moms, dads, youth pastors, children’s pastors, and lead pastors: I encourage you to set the example for your own kids, as well as for the children and teenagers in your church.
I challenge you with Paul’s command to the far-more-timid Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). Even if you’re not an evangelist by gifting or office, you’re still called to evangelize (Matthew 28:19).
As someone once said, it’s called “the Great Commission,” not “the good suggestion.”
Raising Teens With Evangelism
We’re just completing a research project at Dare 2 Share, and one of the biggest takeaways is that teenagers who actively share the gospel have adults in their lives who consistently model evangelism.
That doesn’t mean these adults are perfect—or perfect at evangelism. It means they set the pace for evangelism. The teenagers in their lives see their boldness and follow in their footsteps.
Jesus told his disciples: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people…” (Matthew 4:19, NLT). Here Jesus forever connects evangelism and discipleship. He gives us the pathway to impacting the next generation of disciples.
