Helping Teens Learn, Live, and Share the Gospel

Have you ever been in a situation where you really wanted to talk to you friends about Jesus, but you weren’t sure what to say or how to say it? Have you ever felt like you needed to understand the gospel better first? Many of us feel this way when it comes to sharing our faith. Now think back to what it was like for you as a teen wanting to share the gospel. The thought of having these conversations can be very intimidating.

The gospel is the most powerful message in the world—it’s God’s dynamite to change hearts and lives. In Gospel 101 for Teens: Learning, Living, and Sharing the Gospel, Jeff Dodge communicates the good news of Jesus in a clear, thoughtful, and compelling way, inviting students to grow in gospel familiarity, community, and action.

In this interview, we talk to Jeff more about his study for teens.

Q: You start off Gospel 101 for Teens by acknowledging that evangelism is a scary word. How do you encourage teens to view evangelism instead?

Evangelism is a scary word with a bad reputation. It might make some people think of a preacher yelling. Others might imagine someone handing out pamphlets on the street corner. Still others might think of a friend nervously fumbling over words like “sin” and “repent” while secretly looking around to make sure not too many people are listening in.

Teens today are immersed in a culture marked by pronounced relativism. It is a “You be you” day. To hold to and proclaim a gospel message that carries an objective truth claim can be threatening and offensive.

But what if evangelism just meant having a conversation in which we share the beautiful story of God’s love in the gospel in a humble and simple way? How can we help teens understand the truth of the gospel and then be prepared to share it with boldness and clarity? That is a challenge—and my prayer is that this resource will help Christian teens talk more comfortably and naturally about the good news of Jesus.

Q: What are some of the challenges teens face when sharing the gospel with their friends? Are their hesitations any different than those of adults?

I don’t believe that teens face an entirely “new” experience in sharing the gospel than their predecessors did. In fact, the New Testament shows that the gospel has always been resisted. But we can see a new level of pluralism in today’s culture that goes beyond disparate groups coexisting together in tolerance and peace. This culture is increasingly hostile to objective truth claims—perhaps especially exclusive religious truth claims.

Q: What are your three goals for Gospel 101 for Teens?

Gospel Familiarity. You will get to know the language of the gospel. We will all spend a lifetime exploring the many dimensions of the good news of Christ, but this book’s focus will be on the “big picture” of the gospel—the heart of the message.

Gospel Community. Working through this book with others will enrich your study and remind you that you are not alone. It is amazing what your fellow students will teach you!

Gospel Action. The gospel message is not just to be studied; it is to be shared. This book will help you learn to have good gospel conversations with your unbelieving friends and family.

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Q: Please tell us a little bit about your story and why ministry to teens and college students is important to you.

I did not hear a clear presentation of the gospel until I was a university student. Looking back, there were likely believers in my high school, but either they weren’t very confident about sharing the gospel or in their minds I wasn’t a good candidate to share it with.

I want young men and women to hear and understand the gospel! Helping ground Christians well in the truths of Jesus and then giving them practice in engaging their peers with this life-changing message is a great way to raise the temperature of evangelism—a fire I hope stays with them for a lifetime!

Q: At the end of most lessons, you challenge readers to conduct surveys with two or three people that they know. What are some of the questions you encourage teens to ask? What is the purpose behind the surveys and how do they prepare teens to talk to their friends about the gospel?

Questions include: Have you ever read the Bible? What would you say is the main message of the Bible? Do you believe in God? If yes, describe God as best you can. If no, why not? These are all used to familiarize the Christian with what their peers actually believe rather than presumptuously assuming they know what they believe.

These questions also give teens the opportunity to realize that people are often not reticent to talk about spiritual things (as we often imagine they are). In fact, quite the opposite is often true. Helping teens ease into conversations about God will take the fear factor away and encourage them to be bold with the gospel.

Q: Why is it important to understand ourselves and our humanity in order to understand who God is and what the gospel is?

Humans are proud by nature. We think more highly of ourselves than we should. When it comes to spiritual matters, we often want to think that our version of religion or spirituality is just fine because it passes the “me” test.

Before we are ready to consider the good news of the gospel, we have to be clear about the bad news of who we are before the Creator God—spiritually bankrupt. Then the good news of Jesus becomes incredibly GOOD.

Q: Justification is an important part of Christianity but is an aspect of the gospel a lot of people don’t understand. Could you share how you explain justification in the book to make it simple for teens?

The word justification hardly ever comes up in conversation. When it does, it’s often negative: “What possible justification can they give for that terrible behavior?” When we say we’re trying to justify our actions, there’s a good chance we’re just trying to get out of trouble: “He came up with every excuse in the book to justify all the rude things he said.”

In contrast, the justification we find in the Bible is rich and true and life-giving. It means no longer being guilty in God’s eyes and no longer deserving punishment. It means being made righteous and receiving new life. It means we are made right in God’s eyes. We are justified, declared righteous. Our sin has been dealt with, and instead having a failing record of sin, we have Jesus’s perfect record of righteousness.

Justification is of paramount importance to the gospel. It sets Christianity apart from all other religions. We anchor the section on justification in Romans chapters 3 and 4. Then we use a simple diagram that I first encountered under the teaching of R. C. Sproul. Then we tell a beautiful story to illustrate this spiritual reality.

We use all these layers of instruction because without a proper understanding of justification, we don’t understand the heart of the gospel and therefore we cannot rightly explain it to others.

Q: Sanctification is another one of the big Christian words. What does the process of being sanctified look like after we respond to the gospel?

Once we hear and understand the true gospel, we know that it calls for a response. We can’t be neutral. We must turn one way or another upon recognizing the truth of our need for a Savior. When a person turns and believes the good news, the work of the Holy Spirit starts happening in their life—they begin to change!

This metamorphosis can happen quickly or it can unfold slowly and falteringly, but make no mistake, the gospel, when embraced, changes the believer for the good.

One of the most glorious truths we consider as we explore the new life of the believer is adoption. This is one of the most profound and beautiful gifts the new believer discovers: We become sons and daughters of the God of the universe. That changes everything!

Q: Gospel 101 for Teens was written to help students gain knowledge and build confidence to talk with their friends about Jesus in a group setting. What final piece of encouragement would you give teens about doing the study with friends?

Studying the Bible in community with others is important. Why? One reason is that if you only study your Bible alone, it will be easy for you to go in the wrong direction. We often need others to help us stay on track and avoid misinterpretation or misapplication. God has connected us to each other through the Spirit to bring balance and help to our understanding of his Word.

So grab your Bible (it’s going to be your main textbook!), join your small group of friends and fellow students, and use this study as a guide to understanding the gospel better. This book won’t give you and the others in your small group a magic formula for sharing with your friends, but it will give you new language and new angles you can use to talk naturally about the gospel in everyday conversations.

My hope is that your time with your group will help you want to share this good news with the waiting world!


Gospel 101 Teens Frontcover

gospel 101 for teens

The gospel is the most powerful message in the world—it’s God’s dynamite to change hearts, lives, and communities. In Gospel 101 for Teens, Jeff Dodge communicates the good news of Jesus in a clear, understanding, and compelling way, inviting students to grow in gospel fluency, community, and action.

About the author

Jeff Dodge

Jeff Dodge, MDiv, DMin, PhD, is the teaching pastor at Veritas Church in Iowa City, the director of the Veritas School of Theology and is an assistant professor of theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jeff also serves the Hope Center in rural Zambia. Jeff and his wife, Teresa, have four children and several grandchildren. He is the author of Gospel 101: Learning, Living, and Sharing the Gospel, Gospel 101 for Teens, and Titus: Life-Changing Truth in a World of Lies.

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