THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Why Use a Tool to Share Your Faith

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Students today are more relational than ever, and so it makes your job of sharing Christ in a relevant way that much more important. If you are a student, you’ve got a built in advantage. You speak the language, and understand them like no other creature on the planet. You are God’s best weapon for bringing Him to your campus. If we’re honest though we’d have to say it’s tough presenting Christ as the only way to God in our culture.

Ideas are easily swapped in the cafeteria or during practice, but our message demands a response. We want that person to make an intelligent decision about what we communicated. Sometimes we can dance around the issues talking about spiritual stuff, but never really get to the heart of the matter. We often never actually bring them to the point where they can receive Christ. That’s why using a simple tool to communicate your faith can be so helpful.

Using a tool keeps the message simple and to the point.

How often have you gotten into long conversations with a friend about spiritual things, but couldn’t seem to get down to the main issue of where they stood with God. Most evangelistic tools present a simple and complete outline including Scriptures to help you keep on track.

Usually a tool will begin on a positive note – “God loves you!”

This is important, because God’s Spirit wants to draw your friends to God. Presenting God in a positive sight will let them take that first step towards Him.

A tool will always present how to receive Christ.

It’s built right into the text, and usually all you need to do is read it, and lead your friend in prayer.

A tool will give you confidence because you’ll know what to say.

The Japanese have a saying, “I will master something, then the creativity will come.” When a woodworker masters how to use the tools of his trade, he then naturally creates objects of beauty and worth. When you master a tool, you will then be able to relax and be yourself in the context of a spiritual discussion. Something many adults can’t even do well. Christ wants to express His love and concern through you. If you are always concerned about what to say next, that will be harder to express. A tool will help you become confident in the message you want to bring to your friends.

Some students react to using a tool. One guy said, “I’m the only Bible some of my friends will ever read, so I’m just gonna let my life speak for itself.” But can a person really trust Christ by just observing someone’s life? The simple definition of evangelism is to announce or proclaim good news. God has called us to back up our life with words that will clarify and bring to light the reality of Christ in us.

Remember, an evangelistic tool helps us in our mission to present Christ. However, it is only a tool. God is the one who draws people to Himself. He is the One who will open their eyes to spiritual truths. He will be the one to give assurance in their heart for what He has done. It’s not the words in the booklet that will change anyone. A tool acts as a simple outline to lead them to the truth they need to place their trust in Christ.

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What they’re saying about Cru

You’ve read the article on “Involving Adults in Ministry” and know the importance of gathering a team to help you reach your campus. How do you start this gathering process? It begins with an Adult (Family Night) Informational Meeting.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Have this meeting in a place where people will feel comfortable. Once you start, welcome everyone and introduce yourself. Let them know briefly how you came to faith in Christ and why you want to reach out to students at your school.
  2. Talk about what it is like at the school, and communicate why this ministry is needed. Explain that it is more than a Bible club; your goal is to give everyone on campus a chance to receive Jesus. Share your vision with the people. An example of a vision statement is: “Our vision is to help fulfill the Great Commission among young people, giving every student the opportunity to respond to the salvation message of Jesus Christ, to be discipled in their Christian faith, and to be trained to reach others with the Gospel.”
  3. Then go into more details of how you will do this – your strategy:
    • Evangelism – To win young people to Christ
    • Discipleship – To build them up in their faith through studying the Bible
    • Challenge – To train and equip them to effectively communicate their faith in Christ with their peers
  4. Have a Christian student take a few minutes to share how God has used him/her to influence others at school.
  5. Then talk about a process that will get other students involved:
    1. Start meeting regularly to pray for the ministry.
    2. Meet with and challenge as many Christian students as possible to commit to being involved in a discipleship group.
    3. Begin to disciple the students who respond to that challenge and train them how to share their faith in Christ with others.
    4. Organize creative evangelistic outreaches and follow up students who come to Christ.
    5. When enough students are involved, begin having regular weekly meetings.
    6. Bring students to conferences and retreats that can help them grow in their relationship with Christ.

    This may seem overwhelming to people who have busy lives (including yourself ), so you need to give them some choices. Let them know some of these specific ways to get involved. Remind them that every act of service, no matter how small, is significant.

Involvement Options

  • They can help lead discipleship groups. They can provide transportation for students who can’t drive. They can open up their home for Bible studies or outreaches.
  • They can make flyers, bring refreshments, buy pizza, form a prayer chain.
  • They can form an Advisory Committee (like a board but with important legal differences), providing support and oversight for the local ministry.
  • They can give money to support your ministry.
  • They can give you names of students and other adults at your target school who may want to be involved.
  • And other ways you haven’t even thought of yet!

GET A COMMITMENT!!!

You don’t want your time and effort to have been wasted. Pass out a response card and have them fi ll it out. Let them know that you will get back with those who respond. Then don’t neglect to get back with them! It’s very de-motivating when someone signs up to help and never gets called back.

Close in prayer and break out the refreshments!