Teens need the gospel message, and the GOSPEL Journey can help

The first time I met Greg Stier, I thought he was energetic, full of passion for teenagers, and the type of person I wished I was. The green goblin of envy grew strong in me. If only I could talk like him! If only I had his passion and drive! Then I really listened to him speak, and realized I didn’t need to be Greg Steir. I already had some of what he had: a desire that the teens that I knew would not slip and fall when they went to college, just as I had.

That was in 2003, and I’ve been plugging in to Greg’s Dare2Share organization ever since. Dare2Share is a parachurch group that teaches high school kids how to share their faith and hold on to their faith after they leave home for college or wherever. It’s a beautiful ministry, especially considering that more than 50% of kids “lose” their faith after leaving home. Some never had it, some let it wane, some get snatched by the Evil One, some stay silent while in the lion’s den, and some flourish—just like the Lord Himself describes in Matthew 13.

It’s so critically important for today’s Christian youth to hear the gospel message and learn how to share it—especially considering the sobering reality that many churches today don’t even preach the gospel message! Many churches are more concerned with the moment, more concerned with feeling good in the here and now and forcing Christ to conform to this culture than preaching His good news. It is tragic that some denominations are changing the word of God to fit their comforts on this world instead of preaching Christ crucified for our sins.

And teens, who are been fed moral relativistic garbage from TV, the web, music, school and their peers, don’t need to get ambiguous and watered-down, feel-good gobbledygook from their church, too. They need to hear the gospel, whether they believe yet or not—and they need to hear it repeatedly.

That’s why I love D2S. While we might not agree on everything, I love the fact that Greg and his troupe boldly and consistently preach the gospel and teach teens how to do it as well in a simple, effective way.

Greg presents a fascinating and handy way to present the gospel message in a short time. Using the acronym GOSPEL, you can actually explain the gospel and take someone through the entire Bible in about 2 minutes. The GOSPEL Journey goes like this:

G: God created us to be with Him (Genesis 1-2)

O: Our sin, however, separates us from God. (Genesis 3) (And everyone is a sinner. If you, I, or anyone else were in Adam and Eve’s situation, we would have done the same thing: disobeyed God.)

S: Sin cannot be erased by good deeds. Meaning, you cannot ever get to heaven and be with God by merely being a “good” person. (Genesis 4 – Malachi 4)

P: Paying the price for our sins, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second part of the Holy Trinity, died on a cross. (Matthew 1 – Luke 24)

E: Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will have eternal life; there is no other name given by which humanity can be saved. (John 1 – Jude)

L: Life eternal means everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be with Him forever, for all eternity. (Revelation)

And there you have the gospel message in an easy-to-use format, which can lead to a life-changing conversation.

(Funny story: The GOSPEL journey is more of a conversation piece than anything else. I’ve used it before. Most recently, I was riding the train home and heard what sounded like two Muslim men deep in a loud discussion about faith. You could hardly miss the fact that they were talking. I was actually reviewing Greg’s book Dare 2 Share and I thought, “Perfect opportunity!” I waited for a time to butt in, but was soon glad I kept my trap shut. The men weren’t talking about faith; the noise of the train confused my ears. Instead, the older man was instructing the younger one about electrical power distribution boxes! You can be bold, but use your head…and clean the wax out of your ears.)