THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Turning the Conversation to Christ

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How often have you felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel with someone you know but you think, “I just don’t know how to bring it up.”  One thing that helps is having some questions ready for the situations you encounter.  Being prepared can actually help you be more relaxed and able to listen to the other person rather than worrying about what you are going to say next.

In the book of I Peter, the people were afraid for their lives because they were being persecuted for their faith. In I Peter 3:14-15, Peter challenges them to “not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…”.  So the Lord tells us in His Word to be prepared to share His message.  Of course, the best preparation is to be prayerful for opportunities.

AFTER AN OUTREACH EVENT

There are some questions you could ask students immediately after the speaker shares a message at an outreach.  Whether the speaker shares the gospel or not, you could ask these questions to gain some understanding of what the person is thinking about God and a relationship with Him.

FOUR QUESTIONS:

  • What did you think of the speaker/concert/message?
  • Did it make sense to you?
  • Have you ever heard how you could know God in a personal way?
  • Would you like to hear how you can begin a relationship with Him?

Obviously, there may be other questions you ask in between each of these questions to help bring more clarity.  Memorize these questions so you have them “in your back pocket” to use easily.   After you ask these questions, use a tool like “Connecting with God ” to share the gospel with the student (s).

DURING A CASUAL CONVERSATION

There will be many opportunities to share Jesus with students just simply from having a conversation with them.  As you talk to them, prayerfully look for some common ground or a need in their lives where you could bring up the importance of having a relationship with God.

Just by going on campus, I met Sarah at a Coke machine.  She and her friend were friendly as I chit chatted with them for a few minutes.  As I walked away, I prayed for Sarah and Bethany.  Over the next few weeks I would run into Sarah after school in the hallway or at athletic events.  I would say “Hi” and catch up with her.  After a few times of meeting her, I said “Hey, Sarah, you know I work with Cru High School.  I would really like to share with you more of what Student Venture is all about.  Would you be interested in meeting with me for coffee and maybe bringing Bethany or another friend with you and we could talk more?”  She agreed and we met. (see Follow up article for some guidelines on how to set up an appointment with a student).  As we sat in a coffee shop, I asked the girls these questions:

“If you have ever taken a psychology class or read a Seventeen magazine, you know that a person is made up of several dimensions.  We have the physical, emotional and the spiritual.  (I drew a triangle showing the three parts).  Many times we neglect the spiritual side. By that I mean a relationship with God.  Do you ever think about God?  What do you believe about Him? (I let them respond).  Can I share with you what the Bible says about a relationship with God and how we can begin a relationship with Him?” 

The girls said yes.  They still had a lot of questions as I read through the “Connecting with God” booklet with them because they had never heard the gospel before.  So I asked them to meet for four more weeks where we could go over the questions they had.

WHEN STUDENTS SHARE NEEDS OF INTERESTS IN THEIR LIVES

You can begin to share with them about the Lord by asking questions like:

  • I deal with that a lot myself. Can I tell you how I have been able to handle that situation?  I have learned to depend on God.
  • (When someone expresses insecurities) You are really valuable.  No matter what anyone thinks of you, God thinks you are so valuable.  Can I share with you what He says about you and how much He loves you from the Bible?
  • (When someone expresses hurts) Can I share with you where I have found hope (for life)?
  • Do you feel satisfied?  It may feel like these things are satisfying, but I know of something that will meet the deepest needs and longings of your heart.

From there you could transition to sharing the gospel with questions like these:

  • Would you like to know God in a real and personal way?
  • Can I share with you something that has changed my life? (Share your 3 minute testimony)
  • What do you believe about God? Can I share with you what the Bible says about God and how to know Him?
  • Do you ever think about God or spiritual things?
  • What do you think it means to be a Christian?
  • Would you mind if I shared with you what I’ve learned about knowing God personally?

HELPING A PERSON EXAMINE THEIR PERSONAL BELIEFS ABOUT GOD

We can ask them the following questions that were created by the founder of the organization “Evangelism Explosion” to help someone determine where his/her stand.

  • If you were to die tonight how certain are you that you would go to heaven?  (on a scale of 1 to 100%)?
  • If God asked you “Why should I let you into heaven? What would you say?”Or you could ask, “What makes you ___% sure?” and  “On what basis do you think you will go to heaven?”

I have used these questions many times and people are very willing to answer them.  From here I simply ask, “Can I share with you what the Bible says about how you can be 100% sure you will go to heaven?”  If they agree, then I go through the gospel with them, often using “Connecting with God.”

Finally, just ask the Lord to show you which questions to use in which environment.  Choose the questions you feel most confident using and even reword them to fit your style.  As we pray for opportunities, step out in faith taking the initiative to care about students and to share the gospel, God will open doors and we will see students know the Lord.  He promises to bear much fruit through us as we depend on Him.  (John 15).  Heaven will be so exciting as we see all those who trusted Christ as He worked through us.

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Dare to Multiply

Let’s suppose that you and four other friends decided to spend the next 20 years of your lives reaching the world for Christ. You got your heads together, plotted your strategy, and laid out your plan. Each of you would commit yourselves to a plan of spiritual addition, setting up meetings or personally to share Christ with at least 25 people every day, for 20 years. That means that you would collectively share Christ with nearly one million people. Now that would be some kind of accomplishment.

But reaching one million people is never going to reach the world, so you decide to find a different strategy. Each year you and your four friends would select two individuals whom you would disciple, training them to feed themselves from the Word, showing them how to share their faith and how to minister to new Christians. At the end of one year each of your disciples would be ready to disciple two more Christians. There would now be 15 of you involved in discipleship ministries—not a big crowd, but it’s a start.

However, if each of you trained two more for a year, you would then have a total of 45, the next year 135, and the next year 405. You would have developed a multiplication network. In ten years there would be 295,000 in your multiplication network. In fifteen years you would have 71,744,535 and in 21 years over six billion— the present population of the world!

Now, not everyone is going to become a multiplying disciple at one-year intervals. God works uniquely in everyone’s life. And of course there will be dropouts. But the point is still well made. If you want to reach people with the message of Christ you will want to do it through multiplication. It’s God’s idea (Genesis 1:27; 2 Timothy 2:2).

Paul’s Ministry Plan

  1. Personal Spiritual Growth

To be one who is giving out to others we first need to be taking in spiritual food ourselves. In other words, to be a disciple, you need to be discipled. You need to be learning from someone who is leading you. In 2 Timothy 2:2 we have four generations of spiritual multiplication. Paul is the first, Timothy is the second, faithful men are the third, and others are the fourth. Multiplying spiritual training from one generation to another had to begin with Paul and the specific things he taught Timothy. Are you learning?

Who has had the greatest impact on your spiritual growth?

What would you consider the most significant spiritual lessons you have learned?

What are the three most important things you would teach your disciples?

1.

2.

3.

  1. Discipling in Groups

The second principle in 2 Timothy 2:2 is found in the statement, “in the presence of many witnesses.”

This may seem like the most difficult part of this verse to understand. What is Paul saying? If we look back at Paul’s ministry with Timothy, we find that there were times when Paul taught and challenged Timothy in the presence of other Christians (1 Timothy 6:12; 4:14). The witnesses could have been those present. But Paul, in this statement, is also drawing Timothy’s attention to the fact that he discipled men in groups, a principle that we should take into consideration.

Why do you think it would be wise to have a group of disciples rather than just one?

In your opinion, what size group would be best, and why?

Jesus had all the spiritual gifts and resources possible, and still chose only twelve disciples. From those twelve He chose three with whom he spent most of His time. Why? Because the time He had would not allow Him to spend quality time building men if He worked with too many. He would be spread too thin; His multiplication ministry would have broken down.

This is a good guideline for you. Two to four disciples is a good number to begin with.

  1. Pass It On

The third part of 2 Timothy 2:2 is this, “these things [that you have learned] entrust to faithful men.”

The dictionary tells us that entrust means to invest a trust or a responsibility; To commit as if with trust or confidence. In this verse Paul is not talking about just casual communication from one Christian to another. He is talking about building leaders—people who will be entrusted with communicating the most critical message in the world, and that requires trust and faithfulness.

Think of an example of someone you know who is faithful. Describe why this person is faithful.

If you had the cure for cancer, who would you trust with the message? Why?

Paul is not talking about men and women who are just faithful believers, but faithful in the sense of trustworthy, true to one’s word, loyal, can be relied upon, thorough. So when Paul is talking about entrusting faithful men, he is talking about investing his time in people who are loyal. These people will take what they have learned and pass it on to others.

Paul was talking about people who were not quitters, but those who would stick with the job.

  1. Develop Leaders

The fourth thing Paul tells Timothy is that he is to enlist faithful ones “who will be able to teach others also.”

How would you describe a person who is able to teach others?

When Paul tells Timothy to invest his life in able men he is talking about people who will someday be able to lead, leaders of multiplication. Who is an able person?

  1. First, he is someone who has ability, but not unique abilities. Leading is something we can all do, whether we are leading large numbers of people or just a few. We don’t have to be exceptionally gifted.
  2. Second, he is a person who is learning from God’s Word, in order that he can pass it on to others.
  3. Third, an able person is one who is growing in character. This is primarily what Paul is talking about when he uses the word “able.” “These things commit as a trust to trustworthy men who are of such a character as to be adequate to teach others also.”

Character includes such things as honesty, humility, faith, confidence, teachability, selflessness. Qualities like this grow as we grow spiritually. It is character that makes us faithful.

As you lead others, why do you think your character is more important than your ability?

The purpose, then, of your multiplication ministry is to build up others and train them to do what you are doing. Leadership x leadership = the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

Selecting Potential Multipliers

Where do we find men and women to disciple? We are not looking for super-Christians. We are looking for people who simply want to grow spiritually, who want to be used by God, even through they might be young in their walk with Christ. Even if you are young, you can be a multiplier.

What, in your opinion, would be some indications that a young Christian is ready to be part of a discipleship group?

Putting it All Together

Have you thought about your life objective? How do you want to your life count? Describe any goals you have for your life and the type of ministry you want to have.

What is the most significant thing you have learned in this study?

Remember, multiplication is the key to reaching your campus, and the world.