{"id":262658,"date":"2025-03-11T16:26:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T22:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dare2share.org\/?p=262658"},"modified":"2025-03-11T16:26:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T22:26:51","slug":"embracing-the-vision-to-reach-every-teen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dare2share.org\/gospel-advancing-ministry\/embracing-the-vision-to-reach-every-teen\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the Vision to Reach Every Teen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The reason I\u2019m so passionate about the ministry of Dare 2 Share is because of the profound impact it had on me 20 years ago when I was a youth leader. At the time, I was a full-time youth pastor, but I wasn\u2019t seeing the transformation in students\u2019 lives that I\u2019d always dreamed of. I knew something was missing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, through a series of God moments, I found myself connected to Dare 2 Share. As I began to apply what I learned from that ministry, my own ministry radically changed. Young people began coming to faith, and they started reaching their friends with the Gospel<\/a>. The vision I had for youth ministry came to life because of how Dare 2 Share helped me reshape my approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most foundational shifts in my thinking was expanding my vision<\/a> to include the teenagers in my community who weren\u2019t connected to any youth group. God began to grow my heart for the lost students in my area. The words of Matthew 9:36<\/a> become more personal as I considered the teenagers who were part of my mission field:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them,\u00a0because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At Dare 2 Share, we identify \u201cthe crowds\u201d in our vision statement: Every teen, everywhere, hearing the Gospel from a friend. <\/em>The crowds are the 1 billion teenagers on the planet. We want to see youth leaders from all over the world raised up to mobilize their student to reach \u201cthe crowds\u201d in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vision for every community<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

So what does every teen, everywhere, hearing the Gospel from a friend <\/em>look like in your community? Simply put, how many teenagers are there in your community who don\u2019t yet know Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, I was having a conversation about this very topic with the youth pastor at my local church in Arvada, Colorado. Together, we identified that there are 14,000 teenagers in our community who need to be reached with the Gospel. Here\u2019s how we arrived at that number:<\/p>\n\n\n\n