ELICOP ALL YOUTH WORKERS NON-RESIDENTIAL TRAINING SEMINAR, [FGT,12/03/05] TOPIC : LEADING TODAY’S GENERATION TO CHRIST Speaker: Elder Ben Debrah

OVERVIEW Making a decision for Christ: the elements, dynamics, and hindrances; Definitions; Characteristics of today’s generation How to lead them to Christ (discuss)

(A) MAKING A DECISION FOR CHRIST Elements involved: 1.Repentance and conversion (Acts 2:27-38;3:19) 2.Faith in the Lord Jesus (Eph 2:8-9) 3.Confession (Rom 10:9-10; Rev 3:20) 4.Regeneration (the miracle of the new birth makes one become a child of God and receives a new nature in Christ; the only means for entry into the kingdom of God. John 1:12;3:3-5; Titus 3:5; 2Cor 5:17) 5.Christian living (conscious effort, desiring to live to please God, drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word. Rom 12:1-2)

MAKING A DECISION FOR CHRIST - contd Processes/Dynamics: A number of processes take place. We need to make opportunistic impact at any stage. Ref 1Cor 3:5-8 (… I planted …Apollos watered …but God gave the increase …) Engel has proposed a scale for the spiritual decision-making process:

MAKING A DECISION FOR CHRIST - contd Engel Scale Spiritual reproduction  Incorporation into church  Re-evaluation  Challenge of allegiance  problem recognition  Positive attitude toward becoming a christian  understanding of gospel implications  Knowledge of gospel basics  No awareness

MAKING A DECISION FOR CHRIST - contd Hindrances to the gospel: 1.Worldview; 2.Previous entanglements and rigidity; 3.Suspicious, fearful and reserved disposition; 4.Deep involvement in various vices and sins; 5.Marital/domestic problems; 6.Sensitivity consciousness; 7.Occultic and demonic harassment; 8.Cultural bias; 9.Critical tendencies; 10.Social & other commitments; 11.Class consciousness

(B) DEFINITIONS YOUTH: 1.Being young; 2.The period between childhood and maturity; the rigours or lack of experience, etc; characteristics of this; 3.A young man; 4.Young people collectively LEAD: 1.Cause to go with oneself, guide especially by going in front; 2.Influence the actions or opinions of; 3.Be a route or means of access

DEFINITIONS - contd GENERATION: 1.All people born about the same time and therefore of the same age; 2.The average period (regarded as about 30 years) in which children grow up and take the former place of their parents. GENERATION GAP: The lack of understanding between people of different generations NB: Different generations in church (1John 2:12-14; Joel 2:28) NB: Gen 6:9 onwards. How Noah attempted to reach out to his generation by building new structures and adopting new strategies in the midst of a sea of change in his days)

(C) CHARACTERISTICS OF TODAY’S GENERATION “A christian home, a good youth group, church involvement, a degree from a christian college, and a christian marriage will not shield people from the problems and questions of modern life” …Robert Duffett “For my great-grandparents, change was slow. They invented the car. For my grandparents, change was a little faster. They invented the television. For my parents, change has been rapid. They invented the computer. But for my generation, change is constant. We don’t have time to think about it. Who knows what we are going to invent? We are operating without a manual and we do not know where we are going. It is scary” …A 19-year old American In this post-modern world, the young generation is typically referred to as “GENERATION X”

CHARACTERISTICS OF TODAY’S GENERATION - contd Features/ characteristics: 1.Relationships matter most; 2.They will do anything to be loved; 3.Sex is expected; 4.Individualism is valued; 5.They are racially diverse; 6.They are self-sufficient and do not trust; 7.They are skeptical of institutions; 8.They are wary of commitment; 9.They work so that they can have a life; 10.They are pessimistic about the future

CHARACTERISTICS OF TODAY’S GENERATION - contd 11. Their pain and anger are rising; 12. They live with change and embrace it; 13. They are “adrenaline junky” risk takers; 14. Truth and reason don’t matter – pragmatism rules; 15. They are spiritual seekers; 16. There are no boundaries; 17. They want rules from the right authorities; 18. They are stressed out and organised to death; 19. They embrace technology; 20. They have new and unique style of learning and communicating;

CHARACTERISTICS OF TODAY’S GENERATION - contd 21. They are media savvy (can understand & use it); 22. They love stories (especially true stories about people’s lives); 23. Music is huge (it’s an expression of their feelings); 24. They are incredibly ambitious; 25. They are part of a global youth culture.

(D) HOW DO WE LEAD THEM TO CHRIST ? (Discussion) IDEAS: 1.Design appropriate and specific messages to target unbelievers, as well as discipling the saved 2.Involve parents/guardians 3.Take interest in their “world” 4.Provide ‘home/family’ in church 5.Let the Jesus story be real, practical and applicable to them (i.e. communication) 6.Provide hope (in the faithfulness of God) 7.Pray for the miraculous 8.… 9.…..