MIDDLE SCHOOL RESOURCE The God Who Sends: Session 13 ...
MIDDLE SCHOOL RESOURCE The God Who Sends: Session 13 Practical Evangelism Key Statement: In sharing the gospel, point people to 1) the character of God, 2) the condition of man, 3) the cross of Christ, and 4) the confession of God’s people. ::CONNECT:: Option 1: Wrong Way, Right Way • Make a list, with your students, of people with whom they might share the good news of Jesus. Your list might look like: o A neighbor o A teammate o A classmate o A sibling o Someone next to them on the bus • Split your students into four groups. Each group should pick one of the people from the list (it’s okay if two or more groups pick the same person). • Assign each group one of the four points from the lesson. • Now, each group is to prepare a short skit depicting an evangelical conversation between one or more Christians and one or more of the people from the list. Particularly, their skit is to show an evangelical conversation that focuses on the specific area they’ve been assigned (the character of God, the condition of man, etc.). • They’re to show the same scene twice: the first time, they’re to do it wrong. Either they don’t present the relevant material, or they present it in a meanspirited way, or they present it inaccurately. Be sure, after they show this skit, they point out what they did wrong so it’s clear they know how they got it wrong. Then, they’re to replay the scene, but this time correcting whatever they goofed on the first one. • Debrief by talking about which skit was easier to do. Point out that we can slip into the mindset of witnessing to people “because we’re supposed to” and being more concerned about checking off a to-do list (either checking off that we tried to witness, or making a checklist of things we’re sure to cover) than actually listening to, interacting with, and loving the person in front of us. Finally, assure the students of the Holy Spirit’s power to convict, rebuke, and call. No matter how bad a job we do witnessing, no matter how much we mess up, the Spirit will use our bumbling efforts to draw people to Himself and to magnify Jesus. Option 2: Cue Cards
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Split your students into four groups. Assign each group one of the four sections discussed in the lesson. Give them several sheets of paper. Their job is to create “cue cards” to help people remember their section. They should be like giant flash cards that, in theory, could be help to a Christian who is sharing the good news of Jesus in order to help them remember what to say to a non-believer. The idea is that the cards will help people remember the kind of approach to use. The cards should be pictorial; they should be vivid, simple images that, with a quick glance, can remind us of the kinds of things we should be sure to include in our conversation. For the first and fourth groups, I suggest you have them make cue cards based on the bold-print suggestions on pages 144 and 147 of the leader’s guide, respectively. Suggestions for ideas for the cue cards (only if the kids need help getting started): o 1st group (character of God): ❧ Us as a reflection of God’s character (perhaps they could draw a mirror) ❧ showing that we care for people (perhaps a heart) ❧ showing people we believe what we are talking about (perhaps a thumbs up of endorsement) ❧ showing people the hand of God is on our life (perhaps the Real dairy symbol to remind us to be real) o 2nd group (the condition of man) ❧ Maybe a thermometer to cue us to talk about sickness ❧ An emergency alert sign or the radioactive symbol to talk about how the world is breaking down ❧ An inverted cone to remind us to move from general to specific o 3rd group (the cross of Christ) ❧ Maybe a cross or an empty tomb ❧ maybe a courtroom to remind us of judgment ❧ Maybe a cloud with sunshine coming through it to remind us of the second coming o 4th group (the confession of God’s people) ❧ Maybe a multiple choice question to show people need to choose a response ❧ Maybe a checkbox for yes and one for no to remind us to call people to make a choice ❧ Maybe a sneer to remind us that some people may mock ❧ Maybe a question mark to remind us that some people will want to know more Have students share the cue cards. Discuss what was particularly insightful or helpful. If the students have any further ideas during the debrief, let them share them. End by praying. Ask the Holy Spirit to help the important cue cards to “stick” in our heads so we can know how to respond to and love people with whom we share the gospel.
::CONVEY:: If you are pressed for time this week, consider covering points two and three to save time.
Remember, this is merely a suggested outline adaptation for a middle school group. If you decide to incorporate one or more option into your group time, you will likely have to be very selective on the material you decide to teach through. Keep in mind that each class is different, and as the leader guide suggests, personalize the lesson content for your class by determining what elements are most applicable. Don’t feel pressured to teach through all of the content in a single meeting, but instead help middle school students to see the main overall point and big picture the lesson is conveying. ::COLLIDE:: See Leader Guide
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Split your students into four groups. Assign each group one of the four sections discussed in the lesson. Give them several sheets of paper. Their job is to create “cue cards” to help people remember their section. They should be like giant flash cards that, in theory, could be help to a Christian who is sharing the good news of Jesus in order to help them remember what to say to a non-believer. The idea is that the cards will help people remember the kind of approach to use. The cards should be pictorial; they should be vivid, simple images that, with a quick glance, can remind us of the kinds of things we should be sure to include in our conversation. For the first and fourth groups, I suggest you have them make cue cards based on the bold-print suggestions on pages 144 and 147 of the leader’s guide, respectively. Suggestions for ideas for the cue cards (only if the kids need help getting started): o 1st group (character of God): ❧ Us as a reflection of God’s character (perhaps they could draw a mirror) ❧ showing that we care for people (perhaps a heart) ❧ showing people we believe what we are talking about (perhaps a thumbs up of endorsement) ❧ showing people the hand of God is on our life (perhaps the Real dairy symbol to remind us to be real) o 2nd group (the condition of man) ❧ Maybe a thermometer to cue us to talk about sickness ❧ An emergency alert sign or the radioactive symbol to talk about how the world is breaking down ❧ An inverted cone to remind us to move from general to specific o 3rd group (the cross of Christ) ❧ Maybe a cross or an empty tomb ❧ maybe a courtroom to remind us of judgment ❧ Maybe a cloud with sunshine coming through it to remind us of the second coming o 4th group (the confession of God’s people) ❧ Maybe a multiple choice question to show people need to choose a response ❧ Maybe a checkbox for yes and one for no to remind us to call people to make a choice ❧ Maybe a sneer to remind us that some people may mock ❧ Maybe a question mark to remind us that some people will want to know more Have students share the cue cards. Discuss what was particularly insightful or helpful. If the students have any further ideas during the debrief, let them share them. End by praying. Ask the Holy Spirit to help the important cue cards to “stick” in our heads so we can know how to respond to and love people with whom we share the gospel.
::CONVEY:: If you are pressed for time this week, consider covering points two and three to save time.
Remember, this is merely a suggested outline adaptation for a middle school group. If you decide to incorporate one or more option into your group time, you will likely have to be very selective on the material you decide to teach through. Keep in mind that each class is different, and as the leader guide suggests, personalize the lesson content for your class by determining what elements are most applicable. Don’t feel pressured to teach through all of the content in a single meeting, but instead help middle school students to see the main overall point and big picture the lesson is conveying. ::COLLIDE:: See Leader Guide
