I have written previously on Four truths you must be teaching your students about the gospel.  Sometimes in ministry we can feel like we are always teaching the gospel, but still find that we see very few come to Jesus.  It can be frustrating and discouraging, and confusing.

I am afraid that it is largely due to the tendency to talk about the gospel a lot, without ever really sharing it with the lost.  There is a HUGE difference in talking about the gospel and sharing the gospel.  Here are several reasons why I think we do this:

1.  Talking about is easier than sharing.

It is easier to tell others to share than actually share ourselves.  It is easier to teach on the gospel than to take it and share it to the lost.

2.  Teaching about often hides real life lived

Too often we play the part of the wizard from the wizard of Oz.  We wow them with our teaching and talking, but behind the curtain it is a very different picture.  It is always easier to look the part than to be the part.

3.  Expected to talk, but afraid to fail

It is expected that we will talk about the gospel.  It is expected that we will teach about the gospel.  The fear of failing is very real, and is often paralyzing.  You may impress people with your talking or teaching, but that does not always carry over to the actually sharing.

4.  Relying on events to draw the crowd

Too often in Youth Ministry we use events to draw the crowd and the “lost.”  Sometimes they work…most of the time they do not.  Many times you just attract other church kids.  There is a real place for events in your ministry…they do not and should not always replace the need to actually share the gospel.

5.  Too easy not to see the lost

Sometimes we can place ourselves in a bubble of Christian influence.  We have no friends or relationships with anyone who is lost.  Other times we can be so busy with our own agenda that we simply go throughout our day and miss the lost that are around us.

Read through the gospel of Mark.  Over and over we see that Jesus was moved with compassion, after “seeing the crowd.”  If you cannot see them, you will not share with them.

5.  Spiritual lives that are bound up in ministry

You will not share the gospel if your spiritual life is suffering.  The challenge in ministry is that we are teaching regularly.  We are studying God’s word a lot (hopefully) for ministry.  Too often this can become the only time you are in the Bible.  The only time you pray is when you are preparing or when you are up in front.

If your spiritual life is bound up in ministry, you will not be sharing the gospel.

There is a real distinction between talking and teaching about the gospel, and actually sharing the gospel.  If you look around and see that your students are sharing the gospel, the reason behind it may lie in mirror.  Teach passionately about the gospel.  Talk about the gospel often.  You must though also be sharing it when you are not on stage or up in front of your class.

What about you?  What keeps you from sharing the gospel?  Leave a comment below and share one thing that you find yourself struggle with when it comes to sharing the gospel.