The Strategy of JesusThere is no person in history who has impacted all of mankind more

than Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus was deeply concerned for the continuation of his redemptive work after the close of his earthly existence, and his chosen method was the formation of a small band of committed friends.  He did not form an army, establish a headquarters, or even write a book.  What he did was collect a few very common men and women, inspire them

with the sense of his spirit and vision, and build their lives into an intensive fellowship of affection, worship and work.

One of the truly shocking passages of the gospel is that in which Jesus indicates that there is absolutely no substitute for the tiny, loving, caring, reconciling society.  If this fails, he suggests, all is

failure; there is no other way.  He told the little bedraggled fellowship that they were actually the salt of the earth and that if this salt

should fail there would be no adequate preservative at all.  He was staking all on one throw.

What we need is not intellectual theorizing or even preaching, but a demonstration.  One of the most powerful ways of turning people's loyalty to Christ is by loving others with the great love of God.  We

cannot revive faith by argument, but we might catch the imagination of puzzled men and women by an exhibition of a fellowship so intensely alive that every thoughtful person would be forced to

respect it.  If there would emerge in our day such a fellowship, wholly without artificiality and free from the dead hand of the past, it would be an exciting even of momentous importance.  A society of genuine

loving friends, set free from the self-seeking struggle for personal prestige and from all unreality would be something unutterably

priceless and powerful.  A wise person would travel any distance to join it.�

- Excerpts from Elton Trueblood

1 Peter 3:18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to

God.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and

punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly

need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in

which everything would be brought together and summed up in him,

everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

Ephesians 1:7-10 Translation The Message

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up,

he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose

he is working out in everything and everyone.

It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy

Spirit.Ephesians 1:11-13 Translation The Message

Colossians 1:28-29We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching

everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy,

which so powerfully works in me.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am

sending you.”

John 20:21

 19-23Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!

1 Corinthians 9:19-25Translation The Message

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll

still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than

words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an

indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.

Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each

other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:13-18 Translation The Message

L Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

C Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may present everyone perfect in Christ. Joshua 1:8

L We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. Colossians 1:28

ALL Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

L Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

C Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

L But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15

C You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5b-6a

L Our message to you is true, our motives are pure, our conduct is absolutely above board. We speak under the solemn sense of being entrusted by God with the Gospel. 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4

C We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors. As though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

L And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10

C In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made…The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and

Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14

L Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

C All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:15-16

Jim Rayburn’s Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Give us the teenagers that we may lead them to Thee. Our hearts ache for the nine million young people who remain

untouched by the Gospel and for the tragically large proportion of those who have dropped by the wayside and find themselves without spiritual guidance. Help us to give them a chance oh Father-a chance to become aware of the

Son’s beauty and healing power in the might of the Holy Sprit. Oh Lord Jesus, give us the teenagers, each one at

least long enough for a meaningful confrontation with Thee. We are at best unprofitable servants, but thy grace is

sufficient. Oh thou Holy Spirit, give us the teenagers. For we love them and know them to be awfully lonely. Dear

Lord, give us the teenagers.

4 Young Life Statements1. Earn the right to be heard2. It is a sin to bore a kid with the Gospel3. Assuming our audience knows nothing

about Christian faith, we always take the attitude and posture of a teacher.

4. Walk in wisdom among those without Jesus.

Colossians 4:2-6Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and

thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may

proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I

should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how

to answer everyone.

The following passage was quoted by David Roy, a former Young Life area director and former skating coach for the NHL Philadelphia

Flyers hockey team:

"Most people spend from age 20 through 50 working 24/7 at some occupation hoping to achieve financial security, acquire all the toys, and — ultimately — to become successful. By the time they reach 50, they realize there is no security in life, that the toys and success only bring a shallow sense of fulfillment. Then they spend the rest of their years trying to lead lives of significance, using what time and good health they have left to do something meaningful, to have an impact.

"As a young person, if you love teenagers and believe God has called you to serve in the Young Life mission, you have the opportunity to live an entire life of significance. After spending years as a trial lawyer and now as a skating coach with an NHL team, the years of my life that hold the greatest meaning and significance are those years that my wife and I spent as leaders and area directors in Young Life.”

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in

him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be

saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of

whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can

they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:10-15

1 Thessalonians 2:6-12We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or

anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone

while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and

blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives

worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

“It is also a sin to bore a kid with a Campaigner lesson.”

The following passage was quoted by David Roy, a former Young Life area director and former skating coach for the NHL Philadelphia

Flyers hockey team:

"Most people spend from age 20 through 50 working 24/7 at some occupation hoping to achieve financial security, acquire all the toys, and — ultimately — to become successful. By the time they reach 50, they realize there is no security in life, that the toys and success only bring a shallow sense of fulfillment. Then they spend the rest of their years trying to lead lives of significance, using what time and good health they have left to do something meaningful, to have an impact.

"As a young person, if you love teenagers and believe God has called you to serve in the Young Life mission, you have the opportunity to live an entire life of significance. After spending years as a trial lawyer and now as a skating coach with an NHL team, the years of my life that hold the greatest meaning and significance are those years that my wife and I spent as leaders and area directors in Young Life.”

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in

him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be

saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of

whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can

they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:10-15