L1-04 GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS
Competency 4: Confidently share the Gospel one-on-one with clarity and accuracy.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wanted to have a deeper conversation with kids but not been sure how to start it? Did you know that kids are often talking about the themes of the Gospel without even knowing it? In this post on Gospel Conversations, you will learn how to listen for and see the underlying story that is in everyone's life. You will learn language that will help kids connect the story they tell about themselves, especially their deep longings and desires, to the larger story, God’s story, which has been going on from the beginning.
Evidence of staff demonstrating this objective looks like:
- Has a deep understanding of key points of the gospel that need to be communicated in order to give a complete gospel picture to a non-believer
- Demonstrates prayerful openness and sensitivity to the opportunities that arise from these conversations.
- Can point to deepening conversations with students through the questions they ask students.
GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS: OUGHT IS CAN WILL FRAMEWORK
Some theologians and Bible teachers like to frame God’s story into four parts or acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. In Gospel conversations with kids, we may not use the language of, “Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration,” very often. It’s typically not the language they use in describing their own story. However, they still know in their bones the basics of those words because they were created in the image of God. It’s the story they were made for. How can we explain it in terms they understand?
In the following videos, you’ll hear Pat describe What Ought to Be [Creation], What Is [Fall], What Can Be [Redemption], and What Will Be [Restoration]. Watch each of these videos, read the brief description, and then journal in response to the reflection question that follows. You will send your trainer your journal responses in preparation for your next training meeting.
What Ought to Be
Pat describes the reason why everyone senses deep down that this world is not as it should be. Interestingly, if the Fall didn’t actually happen and there was no such thing as sin, no one could claim, “things are not the way they should be.” But people do make that claim. All the time. Regardless of whether they follow Jesus or claim to be atheist. They just know it to be true. Isn’t that interesting? That’s because it is true! The reason is that in creation, all things were created good and fashioned into existence for the purpose of flourishing, joy, and abundance. This is especially true for human beings, the pinnacle of God’s creation. This is how things ought to be. In any Gospel conversation, we can affirm any person who articulates the sense that things are not what they should be.
PAUSE AND JOURNAL:
After watching this video, put into your own words how you would describe “What Ought to Be.” Describe what was ‘good’ about life in the Garden.
What IS
Oftentimes Gospel conversations begin here. Because of that, it’s important to always listen for the ways that kids describe the world, their world, as it is. We might hear, “Things are messed up,” “My family is messed up,” “Why is the world in such bad shape,” “Why am I so messed up?” These are honest questions that we should honor as such and we can engage them in a couple of ways. One is to go back to Creation and What Ought to be to assure them they see things correctly. What is is not the way things ought to be and it’s because of the Fall. When humans chose to turn from God’s ways, we took what ought to be and twisted it into what is. Reminding kids at this point that God still loves the world, and them specifically is very important. He’s the one who always tells the truth.
PAUSE AND JOURNAL:
After watching this video, put into your own words how you would describe “What Is.” Reflect as well on how you’ve described Sin in the past. Has this video helped you? What questions do you still have about describing the effects of sin?
What Can be
This video describes what we might call redemption. It’s what can be as a result of Jesus’ redeeming work on the cross. As we said earlier in the post, the work of Jesus is his announcement of a kingdom, a new way of life, that actually sounded like the original way of life in the Garden. There are two important distinctions to redemption. One is what Christ’s redeeming work on the cross frees us from and the other is what Christ’s redeeming work on the cross frees us to. This is very important. Oftentimes we are better at articulating what it is that Jesus’ work on the cross frees us from. This is probably because we are very familiar with “what is” [the effects of The Fall] and we are less practiced at putting words to describing what life looks like in that freedom. As we said before, in honest moments, all people recognize sin and its effects. They know things are not what they ought to be. The big challenge is for Christians to be able to put words to another longing, “what would my life look like if I was freed from sin and it’s dehumanizing effects?” Is freedom from anger really possible? Can I really forgive those who’ve hurt me? Can I really be forgiven? Can these burdens really be left behind? In order to explain this part well, it might be wise to spend some time going back to creation and What Ought to Be and ask yourself, “what did life in total freedom from sin look like in the Garden? Then reflect on ways Christ’s redeeming work might be recreating that life in us now, today.
PAUSE AND JOURNAL:
After watching this video, put into your own words, because of Jesus’ work on the cross [What Can Be or redemption] how you would describe, “what it is that we are freed from?” Then do the same with “What is it that we are freed to?”
What Will be
The reason that followers of Jesus can live with genuine hope and joy in a world that continues to reel from sin’s enslavement is NOT because of how faithfully we live in the, “freedom to.” If that were the case, we would resort to being very legalistic about our life in Christ. It is true that we are being transformed by the renewing work of the Spirit to live as if What Can Be is our new normal, the life we were made for. There is certainly reason for hope in that. However, our greatest reason for hope is that God has promised to finish the work of making all things new. Scripture is clear. God is ultimately in charge of this restoration. He has the power to bring this about. He deeply longs to finish this work, making every wrong right, and wiping away every tear. He is faithful to do it and, believe it or not, God has invited and actually equipped us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to join Him in this restoration project. This is the ultimate calling of all human beings. You want to know what the Lord’s will for your life is? It’s right here: joining with God in finishing the work of making all things new. What bigger reason for joy could there be, all made possible by our loving, life-giving Father, through the Redeeming Son, and by the empowering Spirit.
PAUSE AND JOURNAL:
After watching this video, put into your own words how you would describe What Will Be. Write out an imaginary conversation between you and a kid you know describing the hope that comes from knowing God will finish the work of Redemption and the joy of being called to join God in making all things new.
Putting it All Together
KNOW-LISTEN-CONNECT
The Ought, Is, Can, Will language frames the Gospel story so that it is memorable, clear, and biblically-based. It lines up with the, “Creation Fall Redemption Restoration,” narrative of God at work in the world as seen in Scripture. It uses the words and phrases that are common to people, and it helps put language around where someone sees themselves in the story [“I’m still stuck in what is.”, “I’m ready for what can be.” etc.].
Know the language. It is the common language of people, their experience, and the longing of their hearts. If this language of the Gospel story is new to you, take some rehearsal time so that each of these categories become your own. It will literally take practice. There’s nothing wrong with that. To be clear, genuine, and true with our words is good stewardship.
Learn to listen to people with the Ought-Is-Can-Will filter. Listen for what they are saying and then ask questions to help them connect with the Gospel story.
One of your assignments to help you practice will be to teach this view of communicating the Gospel to a volunteer leader. If you can teach it to someone, you begin to possess it for yourself. So take the time to reflect on this view and practice speaking the words out loud to yourself. Maybe even practice through a role-play where one person leads the Gospel conversation and the other is the student. Switch it up and take on the other role.
There are some additional resources at the end of this post you might find helpful in growing in your ability to have Gospel Conversations. One that is very similar comes from InterVarsity Fellowship called, “The Big Story.” It uses different terminology but it follows the Creation Fall Redemption Restoration narrative.
In the end, the goal of this post is to help us all grow in Gospel proclamation. We will always strive for excellence in our club talks and in the messages at camp. These will always be hallmarks of what we do in Young Life but those one-on-one Gospel conversations that the Lord brings our way outside of camp or club, should be a natural result of our walks with Christ. Let’s strive, then, for excellence. After all, it’s a sin to bore anyone with the Gospel because we were careless, unthoughtful, or out of touch with Jesus ourselves.
ACCOUNTABILITY
- Does the staff person HAVE an awareness of these themes and listen for them in conversation with students? Does the staff person HAVE questions they can use to deepen conversations with students on these topics?
- Does the staff person ACTIVELY use those questions in conversation or ACTIVELY listen for ways students talk about these themes?
- Is the staff person SHARING how their conversations are going deeper in leader meetings?
- Are the quality of conversation between leaders and students GROWING and deepening?
ACTION STEPS: Prepare your notes on these questions and be prepared to discuss them with your trainer at the next meeting.
- Send your Journal responses to your trainer and be ready to discuss them at your next meeting.
- Spend time praying through your Kids Known by Name list. Pray specifically for kids who you feel you should be going deeper in conversation with.
- Be sure to make some time to do contact work with those students over the next few weeks and pray specifically for your conversations. Prepare in advance a few questions that might help you take the conversation deeper – see the video below from Jim Singleton about how to use questions Jesus asked to deepen conversation.
- Take the step and ask some deeper questions of a few students over the next couple of weeks. Think through and process how your conversation went. What did you hear them say that fits into this Ought-Is-Can-Will be framework? What questions went well? What would you do differently? What would you ask next time?
