Share your faith. Spread the good news. Tell the world about Jesus. It’s all part of the great commission given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28 when he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Today, we call that evangelism.
And it scares most of us to death.
Why is evangelism important? Why the push to share your faith when you know it won’t always be well-received and might even cause others to despise you?
Let me share with you how two titles from mainstream YA fiction opened my eyes to the stark reality of why it’s so important for young Christians to share the hope of eternity with their peers.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
A Lost World
In recent years, two secular YA novels made waves on the market with their dive-right-in approach to terminal illness and death: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippinicott. (FYI, due to the frequency of profanity and sexual content in both, neither the novels nor their corresponding movies qualify as clean fiction.) Despite the beautiful stories of human love portrayed in each, in the end, something was missing from both:
In books where the characters are forced to face their own mortality, the fact that God was never mentioned left me feeling hopeless.
The hope of eternity.
In books where characters are forced to face their own mortality, the fact that God was never mentioned (unless you count using his name in vain) left me feeling hopeless. Yes, the issue of what happens after life on earth was brought up in both books, but I got the feeling the characters were just shooting darts at a blank dartboard in their search for the answer.
One character referred to death as “the big sleep,” while another believed there was “something,” though he couldn’t pin it down exactly. The closest any of them came was to consider death as the next life. But what happens in that next life?
What Happens After Life on Earth?
Young children are usually lucky enough to dodge the question for a while. They go about their merry way, playing hopscotch and skinning their knees climbing trees. Then Grandpa dies or a beloved aunt is diagnosed with terminal cancer. A brother falls to his death while hiking or a friend is killed in a head-on collision, and suddenly we have to face it: Death might be only an inch away.
So what comes next? Is the graveyard the end?
As a Christian, You Have the Answer.
You and I both know there truly is life after death, an even greater one than before death.
You and I both know there truly is life after death, an even greater one than before death. (See my post The Best is Yet to Come.) We know about the paradise that awaits us, and the assurance we have in reaching it.
We know there will be more than just peace. There will be elation, the thrill of victory. No more pain or sin or death. You’ve probably even heard about the almost mystical qualities that make up heaven—mystical because we’ve never seen anything like it on Earth. (See Revelation 21:10-27)
You also know how to get there.
The One & Only Way
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Jesus isn’t being arrogant here. He’s telling us like it is: There’s only ONE way to heaven, and he is it. For him to withhold this information from us—or for you to withhold this information from an unbelieving friend—is like knowing the only way out of a burning building and not telling anyone else who’s inside.
Put that way, you might start to see why evangelism is not only loving but critical.
Read a story that contains hope in the midst of earthly death! Check out my short story Gwendolyn Grace And All The Other Chicks.
For you to withhold this information from an unbelieving friend is like knowing the only way out of a burning building and not telling anyone else who’s inside.
Why is Evangelism Important? It’s All About Loving Others!
Don’t be afraid to share what you know. You may be one inch away from someone who’s one inch away from eternal death, and you’ve been entrusted with the most victorious message of all time. Share the hope of eternity and make a difference for that person.
This world has a lot of answers. We know the square root of -1 is an imaginary number, that potassium and water mixed together will create an explosion, and that junk food increases the occurrence of acne (go figure). But two questions cannot be answered by science, math, and all the reasoning in the world:
Is there life after death, and how do I get there?
Raise your hand and say, “Yes, and I know how.”
Encouraging Bible Verses About Sharing Your Faith
- Mark 16:15-16: He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
- Philemon 1:6-7: I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
- Matthew 4:19: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
- 1 Corinthians 9:16: For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
- Psalm 96:2-3: Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
- Mark 13:10: And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
Powerful Bible Verses to Share the Gospel
- Romans 3:10-11: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
- Romans 3:23-24: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
- Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 10:9: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
- Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
John 11:25-26
Further Evangelism Encouragement for Teens
You don’t have to have all the answers.
But, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.