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GOSPEL

Checklist Ministries, which was created by our 18 year-old friend Will Scott before he passed away from cancer last May, hosted a rally called Invasion last Saturday. I had the honor and privilege of presenting the Gospel at the rally.

We did this in such a way as to enable teens to share their faith in Jesus. We wanted to give them the opportunity to stop what they were doing and text at least one person with the message of the gospel, which means “good news.”

I believe the three most common reasons people don’t share their faith are they are hypocrites, they get nervous face to face, and they don’t know what to say. If you live one way at church and another way at school, you know you can’t witness because your life doesn’t back up the message. If that is you, remove that sin from your life and become a witness for God.

And the other two excuses are easy to overcome. By texting, emailing, or using Facebook, you can tell someone about Christ without being face to face, and they will not feel like they have been put on the spot. And by following this GOSPEL pattern, you won’t have to worry too much about what to say. So here is the GOSPEL that we presented at Invasion, as adapted from Dare 2 Share Ministries.

G od created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)
O ur sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)
S ins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4 - Malachi 4)
P aying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew)
E veryone who trusts in Him alone can have eternal life. (John)
L ife with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts - Revelation)

Now, please don’t feel like you have to text this like it appears. That won’t make much sense; this is just designed to help you memorize it. Look how easy it is to use this method in a 15 second explanation: “When God created us, His desire was for us to have a relationship with Him, but our sin separates us from God. Just like how Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, so our sin separates us from God. Our sin cannot be erased, no matter how many good things we do—we need a Savior. So Jesus died on the cross to make that transaction between God and us, allowing God to punish the sin and let the sinner go free. Because of this, everyone who puts their faith in Jesus alone, and who lives for Jesus alone, can enter back into a relationship with God. This new life starts now, and goes on forever.”

The Great Commission of Jesus still applies to us, to teach all nations that Jesus is Lord. What are you doing to fulfill this command? Who is the last person you told about Jesus?

I heard of one young lady that used this method and led her friend to Christ through texting. I want to hear other stories. If you use this method, leave a comment and tell us what happened.

"For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes…" Romans 1:16

Comments

If you would like information about Checklist Ministries please visit www.philippibaptistchurch.com and click the Checklist Ministries tab.
Scott said…
Just go to read this one Tommy. God acrostic. I'll probably steal it. We have been making the same challenge to our teens here. Two weeks ago they were told that we wanted them to stop playing games and get serious about sharing their faith, and that they had an assignment:
1. Tell someone about Jesus that week.
2. Call someone else in the youth department afterwards and share the story and your feelings about doing it.
3. Come prepared to share the story the next week.

Then all we did last week was shared stories of sharing our faith and talked about how it really isn't that hard, and it feels great afterward because we are being obedient to God's call to us.
That's awesome Scott!

It is refreshing to hear that teens are sharing their faith, and I am so glad that they are being encouraged to do so. The fact that Jesus commanded us to do it means that it doesn't come naturally to us, so we have to be prodded sometimes.

Many people think sharing your faith is old school or offensive, but like you said, it is obedience to God's Word.

Keep it up, and keep sharing!

By the way, I wish more people would share here. I have gotten the usual emails and Facebook messages, but some of these stories need to be made public.

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