How effective is your ministry in sharing the gospel with your community?
Jesus starts his ministry making "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17) and ends commanding His followers to go to the "ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Sharing the good news to make disciples is THE HEART of Jesus' ministry. He modeled living the gospel as a way of life, not like it was something on His "to-do list."
In the same way, National Network of Youth Ministries greatly values working together to share the gospel with every student across America. But there are still so many students who don't know Jesus!
So let's consider three questions that may help us mobilize our networks to share Jesus.
1. How is the gospel transforming my life?
Without realizing it, the daily grind of managing our ministries can reduce the gospel to merely a concept to preach or a product to market.
Years ago, Pastor Dick Kaufman shared his secret to pastoring a vibrant "gospel centered" church. He needed to internalize the power of the gospel himself every day.
One way to do this is meditate on rich Scriptures that share the gospel story. Let them transform our hearts. Consider Romans 5:8: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Wow! And this is only one of numerous passages that will compel us to share the good news as we are changed by it.
2. How am I engaging students outside the walls of the church?
When we lose touch with the "lostness" of people, we lose urgency to share the gospel. I find it easy to focus solely on my own ministry and lose track of where students live: their homes, their schools, and in the community.
Several weeks ago, I went to a local school's basketball playoff game. As I watched the players, the cheerleaders, and other fans, I considered the fact that each student in that gym has a story. Many have never had the opportunity to make Jesus a part of their story. It compelled me to pray, asking God to provide someone to bring the gospel to each one.
In our networks we look together at the "harvest fields." We look beyond our limited sphere of influence and find God breaking our hearts for students who have yet to meet Jesus; those beyond the "reach" of our ministries. Collaboration with others expands that reach. It is when we venture beyond our comfort zones we will see Him open doors that we never expected.
3. How am I working together to reach every student?
As you know, one benefit of networking is sharing resources and strategy. I'm very excited to share a new video resource on sharing the gospel that will encourage you and your network.
Greg Stier, founder of Dare2Share, is passionate about sharing the gospel. At our Accelerate summit last November in Plano, Texas, he shared a powerful message recapturing our mission to reach students. It's entitled The Gospel: The Heart of Our Mission https://vimeo.com/118639481. I ask you to stop right now and take 20 minutes to watch this compelling message! Please consider sharing this video at an upcoming network gathering.
Many times God is stirring a passion within us that He is also stirring in others. Sharing that passion with others will prompt us to form strategic partnerships and resource development, but only if we are willing to open up and share our driving force. God may have already put the resources into place; we only need to prayerfully seek His for direction to reach every student.
Our role as network leaders is more important than ever! We are seeing God's Spirit moving around our nation as we equip youth to be disciple makers through sharing the gospel. Thank you for your investment in other leaders. You play a vital role in convening leaders and leading this movement. It's exciting to be a part of what God is doing! Keep up the great work and always let us know what you are doing. We are always looking to share what is working in our networks!
Daryl is the Executive Director/CEO for the National Network of Youth Ministries. He and his wife, Donna have invested their adult lives in reaching and ministering to youth both here in the US and around the world.