Dear Saints,
Can God use High Schoolers to reach out to the world for Jesus Christ? You better believe He can!!! And it’s very exciting!!!
For the third year in a row, I had the honor to teach a 7-part Evangelism Class at a local Christian High School.
Do 14-17-year-olds have the spiritual and emotional maturity to take in the deluge of information I wanted to share with them? Would these kids be able to handle it?
I was astonished EVERY class at how mature the students were. They paid excellent attention. They participated in the discussions so well! They asked great questions. It was sooooo encouraging!
And I think I may have titled this post incorrectly. These Teens really aren’t “pint-sized.” Some of them are taller than I am – not that that’s a difficult feat to achieve! 😉 )
Here is the Syllabus I developed for our sessions (each session was an hour and a half):
- “Evangelism is Great News”
Evangelism is great news for Christians, yet many Christians see evangelism as a chore they know they must do, rather than a gift we get to do. Sadly, many miss the WONDERFUL BLESSING it is to be God’s ambassador. How amazing that God would include us in His plan to save others! It’s love in action.
- “The Theology of Evangelism”
Purpose: To warn of the danger of presenting a man-centered gospel, and to warn of the danger of making the gospel about “happiness” instead of “righteousness.” (The Bill Gates dilemma – he’s the richest man in the world with whatever he wants, but if he dies without Christ, he’ll go to Hell.) Our job is to plant seeds and we are “successful” if we do that, regardless of how people appear to respond. Show Hell’s Best Kept Secret video.
- “Rubber Meets Road Evangelism”
Practical, practical, practical! How do you share the gospel with anybody. How do you avoid “rabbit trails” and how do you keep the conversation on what is important. Vital class! Watch Way of the Master “WDJD” video. Give out “Evangelism Cheat Sheet” cards with WDJD and CCCTTTT. Kirk and Gang Members video. Hand out “Write Your Own Testimony” assignment.
- “The Heartbreak of False Conversion”
Many people have been hurt by the wrong gospel message. Changing the gospel hurts people. Not only that, but it inoculates the lost. And some of the people who are most against our message are those who think they’re saved. Watch Way of the Master “True and False Conversions” video.
- “Real-World Apologetics”
How do you answer skeptics, seekers, mockers? Ask good questions. Learn to notice logical fallacies. Learn that it’s okay not to know. Ask for permission to look into their question and to meet up with them later. Resources: “8 Reasons” video. Watch “The Atheism Delusion” video and discuss it.
- “Getting Off the Ground with Evangelism”
After most people are trained in evangelism, their reaction often is, “Now what?” Getting started in an evangelistic conversation can be the most difficult part. How do you engage a stranger and swing the conversation from the natural to the supernatural? How to make evangelism a “lifestyle” and not an “event.” Resources: Gospel Tracts. “George Street” short video. Q&A.
- “Evangelism Road Trip”
To watch evangelism in action and give opportunity for people to participate if they are so lead. Heading down to the Subways in Boston to be part of Open Air Campaigners outreach to people from around the world!
Here are some photos of the students, and how it went when I took them into the Subway in Boston to put their Evangelism skills in action!
Here are the 5 awesome students. If you look closely on the laptop on the left, one of the students was skyping in because he broke his leg. How cool is that? He's out of school with a broken leg, but still he video-conferences in so he won't miss the class! One of the students broke his foot, but didn't want to miss class so he attended via video conference! Please pray for J, K, R, A, E, and C as they grow as Evangelists, confidently sharing Christ wherever God takes them.
Unexpected blessing in Evangelism Class. I was demonstrating the use of gospel tracts, and also stressing the importance of following Proverbs 15:1 and Romans 12:21 when dealing with someone hostile. Basically those verses teach us to overcome evil with good, and be respectful and kind no matter what. One of the students said, 'Mr. Sohmer, that's how you are on Facebook when people are mean to you for your posts. You're calm and kind in response.' What a blessing! I praise God for allowing me to practice what I preach and that the Teens notice. If God can use me as an example for good, He can use anybody! Hallelujah!
On our subway train ride into the city.
I love that the Teens got to see for themselves that strangers were listening to me share Jesus in the open air.
A gave a gospel tract to this man and he asked her what it was about. That started a conversation.
This woman took a tract from J.
E was soooo happy giving out gospel tracts. She literally had a huge smile on her face. One gentleman actually said to E, 'I typically don't take these, but I'll take one of these from you because you look so happy about it.'
More evidence that sharing Christ in the Open Air still works today. Chris did a great job!
Chris is talking with Chris, who is trying to be an MMA Fighter, and a Musician. After talking about the Lord, Chris admitted that he has a Christian Mom who has been praying for him. A 'Divine Appointment.'
K sharing a gospel tract.
A man taking a tract from E.
This woman took a tract from A.
These Teens did AMAZING! The final class of the month-long Evangelism Class ended with us going down into the subway to put into practice what we learned and see that it's really not that hard to talk to strangers about Jesus. Sadly 2 of the students weren't able to make it. :( But these terrific Teens gave out over 600 gospel booklets (in different languages), we had a handful of fruitful one-on-one discussions, and presented a half dozen or so open-air messages. I get SOOOOOO excited by this!
Teens from New Hampshire aren't used to finding a Walgreens with a Frozen Yogurt bar in it. So on a FREEZING day, they get Frozen Yogurt. Crazy Teens. :)
The dangers of having your own daughter (who is an artist) take your class: she draws a caricature of you and the students on the white board. :)
I praise God for this opportunity to partner with the Christian School to spend time teaching these young people how to make Evangelism part of their life. Hallelujah!
If anyone wants me to provide similar training for your group, please contact me so we can chat about it.
That’s it for this update. We love you and thank Jesus for you!
Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support, and notes of encouragement, without which we would not be able to reach the Lost for Jesus Christ!
Please contact us anytime and let us know how we can pray for you!
And please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be blessed by it!
For Christ and His gospel,
Mark, Shelby, Vivienne, Juliana, Caleb, and Gabriella
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