3. Equip Your Teenagers To Share the Gospel, and Give Them Opportunities To Do It That Week!
So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
I’ll never forget my camp experience with 2,000 other teenagers in Florida that summer 40 years ago. We were equipped to share the Gospel in the morning sessions and then unleashed to the beach in the afternoon. Because Florida Bible College Camp was held at the old Hollywood Beach Hotel, right on the beach, anyone could walk through our beachfront on the boardwalk. This meant that 2,000 fully equipped teenagers were given an opportunity every afternoon to share the Gospel while we hung out on the beach.
We were equipped to evangelize in the morning, took opportunities to share Jesus in the afternoon, and shared testimonies about those experiences at night. Again, all this formed the basis for what I do today at Dare 2 Share. We incorporate all these elements at our weeklong summer event for teens called Lead THE Cause. I encourage you to bring your teens sometime! But, even if you don’t attend our event, you can incorporate some of these same elements into yours and make your camp that more effective.
Teenagers can share the Gospel from camp. They can send texts to friends that ask questions like: How can I pray for you? or Would you mind if I shared with you some of the things that have changed my life here at camp this week? You can have them download Dare 2 Share’s free and fabulous Life in 6 Words app and send a QuickStarter social media Gospel-conversation prompt.
However you do it, do it. It’s a simple way to turn a typical camp experience into a camp with a cause—the cause of Christ!
4. Go for the All-in Decision, but Answer the Question: “All in for What?”
Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).
Often we challenge teenagers to go all in to serve Jesus, but they have no idea what that actually means. Using Matthew 28:18-20 as our guide, let’s see what all in meant to Jesus and his disciples.
All in for Jesus as their KING: Jesus said: “All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to me.” When a teenager commits, as a believer, to go all in for Christ, he or she is committing to follow his kingship in every area of their lives. This means forsaking areas that dishonor him and embracing habits that honor him. This means following the King’s decrees as articulated in Scripture. This means that he is their new numero uno!
All in for making disciples as their CAUSE: “Therefore go and make disciples....” When teens commit at camp to follow Jesus as their King, they’re committing to follow their King’s prime directive of advancing the Gospel to everyone they can!
All in for a group of like-minded friends to be their CREW: Jesus spoke to a group of similarly-aged disciples and sent them out as a crew. He reminded them that, even after he was physically gone, he would be with them “always, to the very end of the age.” It’s important that we call teenagers to get the kinds of friends who will serve their King and advance his cause alongside them when they get back home.
5. Share the Gospel Along the Way as You Come Back Home From Camp.
“Those who had been scattered preached the Word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4).
