He was a sophomore in high school, blonde, with a ton of friends— mostly girls. He was known around school as a musical genius whose bedroom was crammed with keyboards and sound gear. When I wanted to start a band for our youth ministry, somebody invited him to come play with us. He showed up with a couple of synths, and you could sense the buzz of excitement around him.
Scott Kaser became an important part of that band. He could write, arrange, and play music like no other 15-year-old I’d met. His demeanor was usually cheerful, smiling, and happy. He and I became friends, and I soon figured out that he hadn’t yet met Jesus.
One sunny afternoon, on the freeway back home from a shopping trip to a pro sound store in The Cities, Scott and I were chatting— and he let an “expletive” slip out. Immediately realizing that he was with the youth pastor, Scott looked over at me with an embarrassed expression.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Don’t worry, Scott. You’re not a Christian yet, so I don’t expect you to behave like one.”
“What do you mean, ‘I’m not a Christian?’ I go to church! Why aren’t I a Christian?”
“Well, I could explain it to you, but this is really important and I can’t do it while driving. We’d have to pull over.”
“Pull over! I wanna know!”
I pulled to the side of the freeway. There, beside I-94, somewhere between Monticello and St. Cloud, I explained the Gospel. 15 minutes later, in my car, beside the freeway, Scott Kaser became more than a friend—he became my brother, and a friend for eternity.
Scott. Ron. Pat. Loren. Larry. Rob. Steve. Jim. Kevin. Darleen. Mike. David. Joy. Mark. They are just some of my musician friends who met Jesus when they were teenagers. They’re all still my friends—although some of them are now adults with teenagers of their own. The cool part is that we get to be friends forever.
To me, “evangelism” means “making friends for eternity.” It’s not just sharing information, as some would have us believe. Oh, sure—the information we share needs to be accurate, clear, and true. But, evangelism is far more important than communicating the right information. Evangelism is also more involved than just getting people to respond to the information we share. Although a response is necessary, you and I both know how easily we can manipulate a situation to get a desired response. No, evangelism is more important, more intricate, and more involved than just sharing information and calling for a response. Evangelism is making friends for eternity.
I guess that’s what makes this issue of Youth Leaders Only so significant. Evangelism is the only activity of a Christian that has a time limit. All the other activities that Christians do—worship, fellowship, learning, and so on—we will do in Heaven. Forever. But, evangelism can only take place here and now. In eternity, everything changes.
This evangelism issue of YLO is crammed with insights, resources, and materials that you’ll find indispensable in your ministry with teenagers. There are a dozen articles that cover a wide range of evangelism topics. The music-based Bible studies all have “salvation segues” that have been developed by Dare 2 Share.
The coolest resource might be the included compilation DVD. Evangelism: How To Bring It Up Without Throwing Up, contains a ton of videos from the best evangelism organizations we know. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Dare 2 Share; The Fellowship of Christian Athletes; Luis Palau Evangelistic Association; The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Church; Reach Out Ministries; Venture Media / Campus Alliance; Youth For Christ—what a lineup! The DVD is a phenomenal resource for you to use to train your young friends to make friends
for eternity.
My hope, and my prayer, is that you will use these resources wisely,and that you and your young friends will have plenty of company in eternity!
Godspeed,
Ken McCoy
YLO Editor
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