Page 12 - Youth Discipleship Student Textbook

Evangelism – the first aspect of youth ministry.

This commission is a command to not only the disciples, but to every believer. It essentially outlines
what Jesus expected his followers to do in His absence. It is interesting that, in the original Greek, the
only direct command in Matthew 28:19–20 is “make disciples.” The Great Commission instructs us to
make disciples while we are going throughout the world. The instructions to “go,” “baptize,” and
“teach” are indirect commands—participles in the original. How are we to make disciples? By baptizing
them and teaching them all that Jesus commanded. “Make disciples” is the primary command of the
Great Commission. “Going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are the means by which we fulfill the command
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to “make disciples.”

To become a disciple of Christ, a person must first come to Christ in repentance and incorporate the
death and resurrection of Christ into his life. He must believe and be willing to follow the teachings of
Christ. He must be a Holy Spirit filled person who desires to follow Christ’s example. To make a disciple
means the disciple must be a follower of Christ. We would say he must be “born again” or “saved.” So
an integral aspect of making disciples is to first evangelize those who are lost, so they can become
disciples of the Lord. We fully understand that God desires all men to be saved and come to a
knowledge of the truth (I timothy 2:4). The Great Commission compels us to share the Gospel with all
lost people so that they can begin their discipleship journey. The first great component of a youth
ministry is evangelism.

How to share your faith with the lost.

There are a variety of ways and a host of Scriptures that you can use to share the Gospel with a lost
person. You will find that each approach will have to be tailored to the needs or questions of the person
to whom you are presenting. However, for the event next Saturday, we want to share with you a basic
outline which can be followed which will explain to the recipients of our food boxes why we have
prepared these boxes for them and our motivation for giving them to them.

Basic Ingredients of the Gospel
For a person to become born again, there are some very basic facts they must understand in order to
accept Christ as their Savior and Lord. 1) A lost person must understand he is a lost sinner whose sin is
an offense to the Creator. 2) He must understand that a blood sacrifice was essential for sin to be
atoned for. 3) He must understand that God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ offered Himself up as
a permanent sacrifice and payment for all men’s sins. 4) Finally, he must be willing, by faith, to turn
from his sin and surrender his heart and life to Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He must be willing to
receive God’s gift of salvation packaged in love.

Think of your presentation as flowing like this:

Sin  Sacrifice  Savior  Surrender

Begin by introducing yourself and tell them you are thrilled to be able to give them a special gift from
God. “You will be receiving a box of food and supplies, but soon that box will be empty and the

14 https://www.gotquestions.org/great-commission.html (used with permission)

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