Home Youth Leaders Articles for Youth Leaders 5 Roadblocks to Advancing the Gospel in Your Ministry

5 Roadblocks to Advancing the Gospel in Your Ministry

When you seek to build a youth ministry that advances the gospel deeply into the heart of your community (and in the process, deeply into the heart of your teenagers) you will face roadblocks. Anticipating these obstacles will enable you to be better prepared to overcome them in the power of Christ.

Here are five potential roadblocks you may face:

1. Fear

When it comes to sharing the gospel, fear is one of the biggest obstacle we face. Why? Because sharing the gospel can be a scary prospect! I’ve been sharing the gospel for almost 40 years and I still get nervous before I bring it up to someone. So if “the Dare 2 Share guy” gets nervous, it shouldn’t surprise you if you or your teenagers do as well.

How do we overcome our fears when it comes to sharing the gospel and help our teenagers overcome them as well? We pray! That’s how the Apostle Paul pinned down his knee-knocking nervousness, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel … .” (Ephesians 6:19)

2. Lack of know how

One reason more teenagers (and youth leaders for that matter) don’t share their faith more often is that they don’t exactly know how. Unfortunately, evangelism training courses are not usually well-attended when and if they are offered as an elective in youth groups or churches. But effective evangelism training is necessary if teenagers are going to know how to bring it up naturally, explain it clearly and follow up naturally.

That’s why I believe evangelism training should not be an elective. I am convinced every teenager (and adult) needs to be equipped on how to share the good news in their circle of influence. If you are struggling to find effective faith-sharing curriculum, check out the Dare 2 Share store. Teenagers can also download our free Dare 2 Share evangelism training app onto their smart phones.

3. Teen apathy

This is a tough one. Sometimes it’s hard to get teenagers motivated to share their faith because they just aren’t motivated to do it. How do you combat this? A combination of prayer, inspiration and focus!

Start praying for your teenagers to be more motivated in the area of evangelism. Ask God to move their hearts to action! Combine this with inspiring talks on the urgency of evangelism. Remind them about what’s at stake for their friends who don’t know Jesus (both now and for eternity.) Seek to break their hearts with what breaks the heart of God. And, finally, focus on the teenagers who show even a glimmer of interest in faith sharing. Like a little ember that gets lit with a flint in a small pile of kindling, gently blow on it until it flares up and starts to consume the kindling (aka “other teens”) around it. It only takes a spark to get a … (you know the rest of the song).