I used to be pretty radical, to the point of earning the nickname “Turner Burn”. I was loud be not very successful in winning other to Christ. I didi take much pride in my loudness though. I defined the “win” in evangelism as “you prayed a prayer with me and now are saved.” Anything short of that was #fail for me. That was one of the problems, evangelism was about me, not about the person I was sharing with getting the win by knowing Christ.
I am still pretty loud, but “the win” has changed, as far as evangelism goes. Here is my old win and knew win comparison
Old Win New Win
I was loud about what I believe I am clear about what I believe
I argued with sinners I listen to sinners and share where I can
It’s all or nothing This moment is part of your journey to faith
The old win, written out, seems even less like a win now. Young people deserve a passionate, reasonable, declaration of the gospel where, prompted by the Holy Spirit, can engage with what we are saying, ask questions, and respond (think Nicodemus)
Too many kids have no idea what is being asked of them when it comes the the Gospel. They respond emotionally over and over again without any common sense. Why are we shocked when kids respond over and over again to an altar only to get up from it unchanged?
Let’s be honest, the altar is how we define win, not how God defines win. Numbers at the altar is a game metric we use to validate our own faith and why we should have a job. but it’s a false metric that only looks like we are winning. I would rather have kids sit in their chairs, quietly and humbly receive Christ and decide to follow him, than come to altar only to leave it confused as to why they came up in the first place.
If a kid asks questions after (or even during) my message that’s a #win
If a kid says, “Thanks for explaining that” that’s a #win (that happed
If a kid makes a decision for Christ, emotionally or not, that’s a #win
Let’s get away from the old ways of “winning”, because in essence, it’s not #winning, it’s #losing
How do you define winning when it come to youth evangelism?
Want to read the rest of the posts in this series on gaming and youth ministry? Start HERE