Fall Kickoff- 9 Month Mission Trip

9 Month Mission Trip

How to Make This the School Year You’ll Never Forget

INTRO

Tonight I want to invite you to go on a mission trip. How many of you have

been on a mission trip before? Mission trips can be life-changing! Usually,

when you go on a mission trip you have to raise a good bit of money,

arrange transportation to get there, learn a new language, and a new

culture, and probably eat strange food. What if I told you there is a mission

trip that is already paid for (by the taxpayers of our state), there’s already

transportation provided (a big yellow bus will come to pick you up), you

already know the culture and the language, but the food is still weird. That’s

right, I'm talking about your school.

When you think about school, what comes to mind? Tests? Drama?

Sports? Friendships? Upgrading the boyfriend or girlfriend? What about

this - some of you think of the school year as a prison sentence, don’t you?

I hope that’s not the case, but either way, we want to help you think of your

school in a new way.

What if your school was not just a place where you have to be - well, you

do have to be there - but what if it was a place where God is sending you?

What if you are there because God wants to use you to make a difference

in the lives of students there? What if your school is a 9 month mission trip?

Think about this - how many of you have friends who are struggling?

I mean, they have issues?

Okay. Now how many of you are messed up and have issues? Just kidding, don’t answer

that. But think about your friends who are struggling with things. Whatever

it is that they are dealing with - family issues, school issues, emotional

issues - they all boil down to the same spiritual problem. We all have this

tendency inside of us to sin, to do the opposite of what God says is the best

for us. And because of that, we’re separated from God. And on top of all

that, we live in a sinful world and we are affected by other people’s sin in

ways that hurt us and cause so much pain. Jesus died for all of that - for

our forgiveness and for the healing of our broken hearts so that we can

have a friendship with God. A friendship with God doesn’t take away our

problems, but we have Someone to go through our problems with us.

This is an amazing message we have to share - and Jesus cares about the

students in your school who have never heard this message. Jesus

commands us, those of us who are his followers, to be his witness and

share this message with everyone we can while we are here on earth.

Where Do I Begin?

Where You Are.

Acts 1:8 says,

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on

you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

” (NIV)

Jesus says we are to be His

witnesses in three places - Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, AND the ends

of the earth. Who knows, you may go to the ends of the earth someday.

That would be great, but Jesus says to start in Jerusalem. Where is that?

Where is your Jerusalem? Your Jerusalem is where you are right now and

right now you are in school - your school is your Jerusalem! More than that,

your school is a mission field because it's full of people who need to hear

that message that God loves them, that Jesus died for them, and that they

can have a friendship with God. And it’s an urgent mission field because

the majority of people who come to know Christ, do so before the age of

18. So, if your school is a mission field, then the new school year is... a 9

month mission trip! But who’s going to reach this mission field? The truth is

no one can reach students in your school better than you and that makes

you a missionary.

The good news is you don't have to do this alone and it can be fun. There

was a law passed back in 1984 called the Equal Access Act. That law

allows religious students to meet with other religious students in your

school as long as it's student-initiated, student-led, and you have a teacher

sponsor. The Christians in your school can encourage each other, inspire

each other but also do creative things to reach students in your school

together. Imagine if your school had a group of students who loved God,

loved each other, and they showed God's love to every student in your

school? Could that make a difference? You bet it would.

What Do I Do?

So what does a 9 Month Mission Trip look like? More than anything it’s just

letting your light shine! What kind of place needs light? Dark places! Dark

places need light! So what does a 9 Month Mission Trip to your school look

like? It involves three things.

1) PRAYER

Pray for the students in your school on your own and with other believers!

The important thing is to pray intentionally, regularly, and passionately -

God cares about your school and you should too! And prayer will open

doors that you never thought could be opened. You’ll see things happen

that you never thought you’d see happen when you pray. Students that you

never thought would be interested in Jesus could suddenly want to hear

more. We encourage you to actually ask students in your school,

“How can I pray for you?” Do it and see what happens!

Another great prayer idea is toform a prayer triplet - meet with two other Christian friends at least once a

week and each of you prays for three friends who need Jesus. However

you choose to pray, prayer can make a big difference in your school.

2) CARE

When you pray for people you suddenly find yourself caring about them.

God gives you a supernatural love and concern for people, especially for

their eternal destiny. We need to tell people about God’s love, but as

someone has said,

“People don’t care how much you know until they know

how much you care.

” We need to SHOW people God’s love as well as

TELL them about God’s love. So on your own and with other believers at

school, find ways to show God’s love to your fellow students.

For example, you can do things like throw a pizza party for the basketball

team, make a spaghetti dinner for the football team, do an after-concert

party for the band or chorus, prepare a meal for the cast and crew of the

musical, show a movie after school, take Gatorade to the track team, throw

a party for the soccer team, make care packages for the volleyball team,

host an arm-wrestling match for the bowling team, take oranges and drinks

to the baseball team, or throw a Christmas party and invite the whole

school. A good outreach involves finding some way to creatively serve a

group of students and includes some way for them to also hear the Gospel

message.

Why would I recommend you do these kinds of things.

Look at Matthew5:16. It says,

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your

good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (NIV)

Shining ourlight means doing good works that people can see! Most people have an

invisible barrier when it comes to talking about God, especially Jesus. You

bring up Jesus and it’s like a brick wall suddenly appears. But serving your

fellow students by doing creative outreaches puts a crack in that wall that

lets the light in. Students are far more willing to hear about God’s love when

they have seen it and experienced it.

3) SHARE

Here’s the thing - eventually we’ve got to tell people about Jesus. But that

usually scares us to death. The good news is, telling people about Jesus

can be fun! If you worked with other Christians at school to plan one of the

outreaches we talked about earlier, those provide a great opportunity to

share your faith. After your pizza party or whatever you do, have someone

stand up and share their testimony, or give out Gospels of John to

everyone, or have someone in your group give a concise Gospel

presentation.

Look at what 1 John 1:1-4 says.

“1 That which was from the beginning,

which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have

looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the

Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we

proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has

appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so

that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the

Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

” (NIV)

The first followers of Jesus felt compelled to tell others about Jesus! And if

we have experienced Jesus change our lives, we must do the same! Of

course, you can also share the Gospel message effectively one-on-one

with a friend at school, and we encourage you to do that.

The Life in 6 Words app [by Dare 2 Share ministries] is a great way to have a gospel

conversation.

Another way is to draw the Bridge illustration on a sheet of

paper or even a napkin if you need to. Perhaps the most important thing

you can do is learn how to share your testimony - learn how to tell the story

of how Jesus changed your life!While you are doing these things at school, be sure to invite students that

you’ve been praying for to visit our church or our student ministry. As you

pray for people, God will give you opportunities to have conversations with

them and one of those conversations hopefully will be

“Hey, why don’t youcome to Amplify Youth with me?”

And when you show God’s love to students through outreaches, you suddenly create an

opportunity to invite people to our ministry that you may never have talked

to before or would never talk with otherwise.

CONCLUSION

So, don't let this just be another normal school year. Ask God to use you

this school year to make an impact that lasts for eternity! My hope is that, if

you make this school year a 9 month mission trip, you’ll get to the end of

the year and look back and say "I can't believe the great things that God

did in my school this year!"

This morning at 21 Days of Prayer, there were around 100 people praying for YOUR Generation.

That God would move in your midst, that you would make a difference in the world around you and lead the people in your sphere of influence to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This church is behind you, believes in you and is here for you.

More importantly God will empower you and encourage you through His Holy Spirit to do exactly what He is calling you to do.

You just have to be willing to go and do what He is calling you to.

He’s calling you to reach the people around you with the Gospel- not through just words, but by living a holy life:

2 Timothy 1:9–10 NIV

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Issue challenge for everyone to come up front & Pray for those who come & for their schools

What’s Next?

Don’t Do It Alone!

Find a few friends to pray with

Begin Praying for your top ten

Get the resources you need

9 Month Mission Trip Handout to Leaders