As a former youth leader at my church, I would take our high school students on a two day weekend conference called Dare 2 Share (D2S). Dare 2 Share was started by a man named Greg Stier, who after the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, stepped down as a pastor to start this new ministry. Hundreds of thousands of teens and their leaders have attended the weekend conference to not only worship and hear more about God, but to be motivated and equipped by Greg to relationally reach out to those who don’t know Jesus.
After some encouragement and practicing with one another, our teens were given the opportunity to head out into the neighborhood and speak to others about their faith in Jesus. As a leader, I loved taking the kids to this event as you see their faith transform. Personally, I was never able to put the Gospel presentation to use until recently.
Last week I was asked to speak at 2 local middle school Campus Life clubs about self-worth. During my talk, I shared with the students the lifesaving message of the GOSPEL – something I had learned many years ago at the Dare 2 Share conference. Written as an acronym, the GOSPEL goes:
G God created us to be with Him.
O Our sins separate us from God.
S Sin cannot be removed by good deeds
P Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again
E Everyone who trusts in Him alone will have eternal life
L Life starts with Jesus right now
As I read each letter, I shared a little bit more about what each meant. I also let the students know I had something for them. I painted a picture with these words:
“Imagine, you have this beautiful box. It has a red bow on it. It has been given to you and now you get to open it”. As they sat waiting for what this amazing gift was, I told them that it was Jesus. I asked them to pray with me and receive this eternal gift – the GOSPEL. Every student bowed their heads and as I prayed with them I asked them to keep their eyes closed. I asked them to raise their hand if they had prayed the prayer I had just led them in. As I watched student after student raise their hands, I could see the Holy Spirit moving across the room.
Over the course of two days I spoke to about 40 students. Of those at the clubs, 28 students accepted Christ for the first time or said yes again.
Because I am no longer on a church staff, I haven’t been to a Dare 2 Share conference in over 5 years. What was presented to the students and leaders at those conferences, the GOSPEL message, will forever have an impact on me and the ministry I serve in now.
I thank God for Greg Stier, his staff and their hearts for teaching and loving our youth. Check out their ministry at www.dare2share.org or download their app to your smartphone!
Special thanks to Greg Stier for giving me the approval to share his ministry with you!
Daring to share for Him,
Carey
Thanks to Carey Oswald for writing this encouraging post and giving me permission to repost it! Follow her on Twitter at Oswald0224.
