When I speak to students, one of the keynote talks I like to give is, "Creating a Culture of the Gospel."
Why lean into this topic so much?
Because there are over 43,000,000 teen eternities in this nation who need the gospel.
Your students are the ones best positioned to reach this next generation. But before we get there, we cannot shortcut the much-needed first step.
Before You Send Students, Let God Send You
Before I ever expect a 15-year-old to have a burning desire to share the good news of Jesus with their peers, it needs to start with me.
In Matthew 9:36-38, we see this in Jesus:
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
It was out of His compassion for the lost that Jesus prepared the hearts of the apostles for something far greater than their personal aspirations.
Four Steps Jesus Took Before Sending His Team
Here is what I see in Matthew 9:
- He knew the mission and saw the needs of the people.
- He had compassion for their plight.
- He drew awareness of this mission and these people to the Twelve.
- He called them to pray for God's intervention in sending out workers.
So I have to ask myself: What is my compassion level for those without Jesus? And how am I inviting those I disciple into that mission?
Your First Step Is Three Blocks Away
As you consider the unreached in your area, your students' mission field, gather information on the area schools. Then, go to the local middle or high school, sit in the car, and pray.
Watch as students walk past with backpacks and earbuds. See the buses pulling away. Picture the hallways you cannot see but God can.
Ask God to burn this school into your heart and move you to compassion for the students there.
Two Steps The Could Change a School
Step 1: Go and Pray
- Sit in front of your local school.
- Ask God to break your heart over the lostness of the students there.
- Pray for God to work mightily in a place where the vast majority do not know Jesus.
- Ask Him to empower His teenagers to be godly, courageous, gracious, and wise as His ambassadors.
- Ask Him to open the eyes of the lost and stir a hunger for Him.
Step 2: Bring Your Students Into It
- Sit outside the school together.
- Share what God is doing in your heart.
- Ask them what it is like to be a student there.
- Pray with them and for them.
Before there was Matthew 10 (where Christ sends the Twelve out two-by-two), there was Matthew 9 (where Jesus prepared their hearts).
If you allow God to break your heart first, and then pass that passion on to your students, you will be amazed at the movement He starts.
Your Students Are Already Missionaries
Before I was a pastor's kid, I was a missionary kid. I remember my parents' long journey of preparation before serving overseas - education, finding a sending agency, raising support, language school, and years of cultural integration before seeing fruit.
Here is the "drop the mic" moment: Your students are already on campus. They are indigenous to the culture. They speak the language. They have credibility. They have proximity.
What is missing? We need to equip and engage them in the mission.
Why Teens Can Reach Teens Like No One Else Can
From experience, we know that students reach students. Among church-raised teens, parents are often the biggest spiritual influencers. But for students who do not come from a Christian home, it is often a peer.
Do not take my word for it - ask your students: Who led you to Christ?
If they grew up in church, it is often an adult.
If they did not, it is usually a peer.
So who will reach the churched youth? Likely their parents or a church leader.
Who will reach the unchurched? Probably a peer.
Here is why saved teenagers are uniquely positioned:
- Identity - They know and are part of the culture.
- Empathy - They understand how their unsaved peers think and feel.
- Relationally - They already have friendships with unsaved students.
- Proximity - They are in the same spaces daily.
- Socially - They spend over 7,500 hours with their peers during secondary school.
- Credibility - Peers trust them more than an adult outsider.
Fifteen Minutes That Could Start a Movement
Spend 15 minutes this week parked in front of your local school, asking God to break your heart for the students inside. Then invite one or two of your key students to join you, and watch what God begins to stir.
You Don't Have to Do This Alone
We would love to walk with you as you empower students to be gospel-bearers.
I and the team at NNYM would be honored to hear what God is doing in your ministry in response to this challenge. We are not meant to do this alone.