How to Share the Gospel

One of the greatest privileges any believer has is introducing someone to life-changing faith in Jesus Christ. This is what we call “the gospel,” which simply means good news! The good news is that the kingdom of God is here and God is inviting His people into His mission to bless the world and welcome them into His family. Jesus said that His purpose on earth was to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). When we share our faith, we are joining Him in His mission to seek and save the lost people in our world.

The idea of sharing our faith can sometimes feel overwhelming. Just to take some pressure off, remember the definition of successful witnessing is

“Taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, leaving the results to God.”

So do not worry about how they will respond, that is God’s business. Your job is simply to take the initiative and trust God. He will take care of the rest.

Why Reach Students?

Just like an athlete trains for their sport in the off-season, we need to hone our skills in sharing our faith. We prepare to share our faith to be ready for the challenge, to gain confidence and skill, and to be able to speak from the heart when the time comes. We also prepare to share our faith in Christ with high school students because of the following:

80% of all Christ-followers begin a relationship with Jesus before the age of 18.
92% of all teenagers are on the public high school campus.
We want to see people experience the same love and forgiveness we have.
There is still room in heaven for one more.
We want to share the message plainly and accurately.
We want to honor God and be obedient to Him.

In His classic article, “Let the Nations Be Glad!,” Pastor John Piper shares this advice for why we should want to share our faith:

“Don’t wait for a feeling of love to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God. It is not primarily out of compassion for humanity that we share our faith or pray for the lost; it is, first of all, love for God. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:7-8: “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.”

Tools Help Share the Gospel

Cru became famous for its wide use of “The Four Spiritual Laws” gospel tract, which lays out the essence of the gospel in four simple points that are easily communicated and backed with scripture. This simple tool has changed millions of lives over the last 70 years. There is no way, and no need, to share everything you know about the totality of the gospel in one conversation, but you can share God’s message of salvation using one of these tools:

The Connecting with God booklet – is made specifically for High School students!
The Knowing God Personally (KGP) booklet
The FOUR – easy to draw or explain quickly. Available on wristbands, stickers, etc.
The God Tools app – a free app with many evangelism tools

They are all very similar. For this training, we will use the KGP Booklet. While an outline is not the only way to communicate the gospel, we like it because it is simple, transferable, and brings the person to a point of decision.

Each of the different tools has four main points, just worded slightly differently. It goes like this:

God loves you and created you to know him personally.
We are separated from God by our sin, so we cannot know Him or experience His love.
Jesus is God’s only solution for our sin. Only through Him can we know God and receive His love and forgiveness.
We must each respond to Jesus by placing our trust in Him as our Savior and Lord. Only then can we know God personally.

The gospel of Jesus is a message of love and acceptance for drowning people who need a life raft, and it can only be accepted by people who want to hear it.

Become an Expert with One Tool

Select the best evangelism tool for your setting. You need to become comfortable with the outline of the gospel presentation and aware of its contents and the Bible verses each one uses to make each point. Pay close attention to the transitional phrases at the bottom of the page, which are good points to pause and make sure the person is tracking with you. While it is possible to present the gospel by just reading through the booklet, most conversations are much more fruitful if you go about it in a more casual, conversational way.

For example, take some time to talk about what sin is during point #2, and ask them to think about how they have sinned in their life. To be more conversational, know the booklet well. At the very least, pause often to ask them to restate a point in their own words, such as asking them to explain what Ephesians 2:8-9 says in their own words during point #4. If they can explain this, they are likely grasping the essence of the gospel. Try alternating who reads each page, so that you are not talking the whole time. You want to make sure that you take time to listen to them and hear them out on whatever questions or comments they have as you go through the presentation.

Lead to a Decision

Just after the fourth point, the presentation has two circles with chairs in them, symbolizing “the throne of your life.” These circles are an excellent way to help the student wrestle with and clearly communicate where they are in their relationship with God. It also gives them a clear next step–to ask you a question, bring up a doubt or fear they have, or turn to Christ in faith. While we always want to share the gospel at the first good opportunity and bring the person to a point of decision about Jesus, we never force the gospel. We simply invite people to respond to God’s radical love for them.

Once you are done with the gospel presentation, ask them if they would like to pray and accept the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf and follow Him as Lord of their life. We simply bring them to a crossroads and invite them to respond. Whether they want to right then or not, make sure you get their phone number or social media and set up a follow-up appointment to help them take the next best step in their spiritual journey. Check out Thrive Studies for awesome follow-up material!

No Matter What, Show Them Love and Care

The gospel of Jesus is a message of love and acceptance for drowning people who need a life raft, and it can only be accepted by people who want to hear it. We are not in the business of pressuring people to pray a prayer or treating them in an unloving way if they are not interested. If someone is far from God and wants to stay there, the best thing you can do is pray for them and treat them lovingly. In the words of Jesus, “do to others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6:31 NLT).

Next Step

Take your next step in sharing your faith. If you're new at this, practice a gospel presentation with a friend. If you're ready for the real thing, text someone right now to see if you can meet with them. For help in turning the conversation to the gospel, Bridges to Gospel Conversations will help.

Bridges to Gospel Conversations

Evangelism

This article is part of the Evangelism Collection. Read the rest of these articles to get an even better understanding of how to share your faith with students.

5 Key Features of the Claim Your Campus App

Pray Now:
This section is designed to lead any student through a daily 15-minute prayer time for their school. The format is simple: Listen, Thank, Ask. Each day students read a passage of scripture, thank God for something specific He is doing in their school, and ask Him for help at their school and schools across the country.

21-Day Challenge:
Habits take time to build. The 21-Day Challenge can help you and your students build the habit of praying together daily.

Share Your Story:
Students from all over the country are using Claim Your Campus at their schools. This video feature gives students one minute to capture what God is doing at their school and then share it.

Groups:
Use the Groups section to form your own prayer group and/or join other groups. Students praying together in community for their school(s) is the foundation of CYC. The group feature keeps students connected, motivated, and encouraged to keep pressing on!

Prayer Walk Your Campus:
This feature describes how to prayer walk a campus in three easy steps. Invite. Pray. Report. It includes a brief tutorial and a downloadable prayer walk guide.

Social Media:
Stay connected through Tik Tok, Instagram, and Youtube pages; News and Updates can also be found in the app.

Cast the Vision: Prayer Equals Change

Use these videos to get excited about how God could change your campus through prayer and how He could use you to build a prayer movement at your school.
General Promo video
Marion School video

Invite Students to Be One in the Million

Students download the app using the QR code graphic & claim their campus!

We encourage all campus movements to emphasize prayer and the Claim Your Campus app is a great way to engage students in prayer.

4 Different Ways Students Can Claim Their Campus

Start a Weekly Prayer Group. The CYC app provides prompts that change weekly.
Host a prayer walk around your campus. The CYC app features a Prayer Walk Guide.
Embed 5-10 minutes of Prayer into Your Weekly Cru Club Meeting. Build a CULTURE of prayer. CYC has done all the work for you. Click here for the Leader’s Guide and here for premade slides for up to 20 weeks. That is enough for an entire school year. CYC’s GRAB-N-GO resources make praying EASY.
Participate in Annual National Events such as SYATP.

Invite the adults in your community to support SYATP by signing up for The Prayer Walk Project. This project offers a way for caring adults to join hands in prayer on the Saturdays before and after SYATP.

Prayer is the real power in any campus movement. Make it a non-negotiable in your ministry to emphasize prayer with adults and students and see how God moves.

Next Step

Download the Claim Your Campus app and consider how you could use it on your campus today. Do you have a prayer strategy for your plans? If not, send the app to a few student leaders and invite them to start praying for their campus!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

4 Ways to Prepare for a Prayer Walk

Prepare Your Heart

Surrender the Prayer Walk to the Lord. Ask the Lord for one or two scriptures to help prepare your heart. Jot them down. If you like, use them to inspire the people you invite, or share them with your team the day you meet to prayer walk. Pray for:

Divine appointments with people.
Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help.
God to guide your steps.
Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Team

Pray for Names. Ask the Lord to bring to mind specific names of students, volunteers, parents, pastors, and/or faculty you can ask to join your prayer walk. Keep in mind, this is not about numbers. Even one prayer partner is enough. Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”

Invite the People that He brought to mind. Decide what mode of communication is best: text? social media? phone call? Give them a brief description of what a prayer walk is and what they can expect that day. Share what has motivated you to gather a team to pray. Be sure to tell them the date, the start and end times, and the location. Give them an RSVP date.

Send them any final details on the day before. Remind your team what time you will begin and end and the location to meet. Let them know what to bring and any adjustments needed due to weather or other factors.

(During a Prayer Walk) Pray for: Divine appointments with people. Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help. God to guide your steps. Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Campus

Check with an Insider at Your School. Once you choose your campus and gather your team, you may want to check with an insider at the school to see if there is anyone you need to notify ahead of time. Most likely, it will not be an issue if you are prayer walking after school or over the weekend on the parts of the campus that are open to the public. Avoid prayer walking on campus during school hours without permission.

Prepare Your Details

“WHO” DETAILS: By now, you know WHO is coming. But here are some other “WHO” questions to think about if you have a larger group. Who will…

begin the prayer walk (introduce/explain it)?
end the prayer walk?
lead smaller groups (if your team is large)?

“WHAT TO BRING” DETAILS: You may want to bring copies of the Prayer Guide and the Leader Guide.

“WHERE/WHEN” DETAILS: Make sure everyone knows the date and time you will meet. Include starting point (address of meeting spot) and ending point (time and meeting spot).

“HOW” DETAILS: For your convenience, this Campus Prayer Walk Leader’s Guide provides a general flow and includes sample scripts of what to say from start to finish. If you can read it, you can lead it. But you may need to think through the unique needs of your prayer walk.

Would you like the prayer walk to be more casual or more organized? Do you have people who are comfortable prayer walking or more new people who may need more instruction?

You have prepared your part. Time to grab your walking shoes. Let’s do this!

Next Step

It is time to get on the campus to pray. Text one friend today and ask them if they would be willing to go to the school to prayer walk with you this week. Get your feet on the campus and pray together. Once you have done it yourself, it will be a lot easier to gather others to do it with you.

Prayer Walking

After the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert, God called Joshua to bring His people into the land He had promised them. The commander of the army of the Lord appeared to Joshua with instructions essentially for a prayer walk around the city of Jericho. And let’s just say the Israelites’ obedience to his words, made history. (If you are unfamiliar with this incredible story, you can read the whole story here.)

What is Prayer Walking?

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk. And you can do it anywhere: around your neighborhood, through your city, or even on your daily commute. Invite others to join you! As you walk together, let the Spirit of God use what you see to guide your prayers. Then, trust God to respond in His perfect way and timing.

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you. It puts you right where the students are—like God’s boots on the ground—allowing you to connect your heart to that specific location as you pray. And who knows? It might even lead to a chance meeting with a key person on campus. Many ministries have started with a simple “Hey there!” to a student or administrator during a prayer walk. A casual stroll can open unexpected doors!

If you have never done this before, no worries! Joshua—the young leader from the Bible—had not done it before either. It was his willingness and availability to God that mattered most. And the same goes for you—no experience required!

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk.

Prayer Walk in Three Easy Steps

Meet Up (5 minutes)

Grab a friend or two and meet on campus- ideally after school or on the weekend. Select and read a meaningful passage from the Bible together. Take a minute to pray a blessing over this time, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers.

Walk & Pray (10-20 minutes)

Start walking the perimeter of the campus and let the Holy Spirit use who/what you see guide your prayers. Here are 5 ways you could begin praying:

Ask God to move by His Spirit on this campus and be glorified.
Pray people here would hunger and thirst for God.
Pray for the believers here to live wholeheartedly for Jesus and make others feel seen, known, and loved by God.
Pray for leaders in this school’s community (students, parents, administration, faculty, coaches, etc.)

Wrap It Up (5 minutes)

Select a spot to close your time together. Talk about how it went. Was there anything that stood out as significant or meaningful? Take a few minutes to thank God for this time. Express your love for Him and your confidence that He will respond to the prayers He heard today.

Other Prayer Walking Guides

If you would rather have a more specific guide to help you in your prayer walk, try one below:

CYC Prayer Walk Guide
Locations on Campus Prayer Walking Guide
The Launchbox Prayer Walking Guide
Make a list of prayer requests to pray about your specific campus
Just invite people to pray for things that come to mind as they walk

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you.

Why Do It?

Prayer Walking Knocks Down Walls

What effect did Joshua’s and the Israelites’ obedience have on the fortified and powerful ancient city of Jericho? Well, the God of the Universe infused their faith-filled feet with power, causing the otherwise insurmountable walls of the city to collapse. That’s how they fought and won the battle of Jericho—without ever throwing a punch!

Now, maybe you are not planning to tear down any physical walls around your school—in fact, let’s definitely avoid that! But in the spiritual realm, every school is a battlefield for souls. On every campus, there are barriers to the gospel that need to be broken down. Inside every person, there are walls that separate us from God or keep us from fully experiencing the abundant life He wants for us.

Looking for a more current example of a battle fought and won with prayer? Check out this powerful story of what happened when a group of students in Marion, Indiana consistently and prayerfully put feet to their faith and watched God win the battle for their campus. If you want to read about more victories won with praying feet, check out Exodus 14 and 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.

Some Other Great Reasons to Prayer Walk Your Campus

It is a place to gather other believers who have a heart for the campus.
It is a way to be on campus with a purpose.
Sometimes God uses these times to introduce us to key gatekeepers on campus.
It might surface some needs on the campus with which you could help.
It helps your team become more familiar with the campus and less fearful of going there.
It is better than doing nothing. Sometimes God moves when we take action.

Within the campus ministry of Cru, prayer walking has actually been shown to be the single most effective strategy in seeing new gospel movements started.
– Dan Allen, Director of Mission Expansion

The powerful presence of God always has and STILL does mix with our prayers and supernaturally connects us more deeply to God, ourselves, and others. Prayer breaks down barriers that lie between us and wins the battle for souls.

Prayer walking can be your lead foot on any campus. Ready to grab a friend and step into the unknown with Him? Prayer walking is something anyone can do.

Next Step

Plan 15 minutes this week to stop at your local high school, walk around, and pray for the school. Bring a friend or do it alone; just get your feet on the campus and pray. Ask God to show you what next steps He would like you to take.