Partnering in Evangelism with Our Young People

In our weekly devotionals at World Bible School, we’ve been reviewing… (Wait, have we mentioned before that we have weekly devotionals at WBS?). Yes, WBS staff from eight states and three countries meet daily for prayer time to start our workday together. We petition God for and strive to act with His blessing each and every day. Each Monday, we spend time in the Word together. In our devotionals, we’ve been reviewing the themes and content of our Mathetis Originals video-based Bible lessons. Mathetis.org is an immersive tool for studying interactive Bible courses together in groups online. It’s no accident that every Mathetis lesson addresses head-on the challenges facing younger generations in formulating, growing in and sharing their faith. Mathetis was designed to do just that. Consider these titles:

• Who Is God?
• Is There a Right and Wrong?
• Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?
• How Can I Be Born Again?
• What Is the Church?

These and every other Mathetis title remind us that we must do all we can to equip our youth to remain true to Christ in a sinful world and to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone, young and old alike. (After reading this, please go to Mathetis.org and view a couple of the short videos.)

Mathetis has been one of our constant focus points as we’ve been pursuing our lofty goal of 10,000,000 for Christ since last year. It represents the relevance, reach and effectiveness of all of WBS’ evangelistic tools. Each one reaches lost souls seeking answers, and provides solutions with Bible teaching and the personal involvement of WBS Study Helpers.

Speaking of youth, involvement, seekers and answers, Brian and Sondra always look forward to the annual summer WBS campaign to Zambia with a large crew of WBS Study Helpers, both young and old. This year we had campaigners from four states. Seeing our young Study Helpers sharing Jesus alongside our older Study Helpers, we know that there is hope for America’s youth in the Lord’s church!  This year’s group was particularly eager, prepared and proactive in teaching many young Zambians the Good News of the Bible. Their lessons came from the WBS Bible curriculum course, Covenant Promises, an in-depth look at God’s way of re-establishing His relationship with a world lost in sin. To be sure, the trip provided much cross-cultural fellowship, but the crux of the trip was spiritual birth and renewal, with 55 souls baptized into Christ.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul encouraged Timothy, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (ESV). At World Bible School, we are often witnesses of young people within the Lord’s church who heed the challenge Paul gave to Timothy. Not only are these young people great examples for God’s people, but they also serve as faithful ambassadors for Christ.

We shared how young people from churches from four states traveled to Zambia this summer to teach Covenant Promises, from WBS’ Bible curriculum, to their peers at the villages they visited. In a similar way, the youth group at the Concord Road church of Christ in Brentwood, Tennessee come together on a regular basis to grade Master Series courses and correspond with WBS Students through Ocean Bridge, an improved system for teaching international Printed Lesson Students.

In mid-January, over 1,000 young people arrived in Savannah, Tennessee to attend Evangelism University. EU is an annual weekend event designed to train youth group leaders on evangelism. This past year, the attendees studied from Mathetis’ The Reaching Series during their elective classes to learn how to respond to difficult questions that come up during a Bible study.

During the COVID pandemic, approximately 70 youth groups ordered copies of the WBS Study Bible for their young people to pass out to their friends in need of Christ. This challenge was also led by the board of Evangelism University.

During the 2023 Challenge Youth Conference in Dallas, Texas and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 12,000 young people gave a total of $15,000 to further the work of Mathetis. At the same time, over 500 attendees registered on Mathetis to begin studying and teaching the Gospel.

Our young people see the importance of evangelism.

Whether they are studying to share their faith with others, using their financial blessings to spread the Gospel or actively using WBS tools to grow the Kingdom of God, they understand the importance of telling the world about Jesus. Will you partner with these precious souls to use your God-given talents and blessings to further the Gospel to those in need of Christ? By doing so, you too can not only help someone come to know Christ, but also “set the believers an example” to go and do likewise.

Will you join us with your gift to fulfill the goals of 10,000,000 for Christ? Help us equip the next generation to reach the next generation—and beyond—with Jesus.  Click here to give.