The Way of the Master Youth Evangelism Curriculum DVD Series
Living Waters, 6-Week Study
The highly popular and greatly effective The Way of the Master Series has dominated and empowered Christian witnessing since its inception. Living Waters Ministry has created a 6-part Bible study that prepares youth not only for sharing the gospel one-on-one or as general outreach with a weekly challenge to begin the journey of witnessing without initial fear or reservation.
While canvassing Europe on a 13-day, 13-country mission, Founder Ray Comfort and the Living Waters team encourages viewers to share the gospel in a genuine, down-to-earth, practical fashion. Often engaging the crowds with questions regarding the Ten Commandments, the team also shows how to respond effectively and not react to those who oppose the gospel.
Actor Kirk Cameron (“Growing Pains,” Left Behind Series, Fireproof) interjects with points to help youth give thought to what they believe, how they believe and how to share the necessity of salvation.
This series is a great way to encourage your youth to begin to witness or strengthen their witnessing skills.
—Rev. Regina Foster is a professional freelance writer, ordained minister and has ministered to urban preteen, teen and college/entry-level females for more than 20 years. She is founder of The Queen Esther Movement websites geared toward reaching urban teen females of all ethnicities, facilitates the “Girl, whatcha’ gonna be—a concubine or a queen? seminar and is a trained advocate for dating violence awareness.
Roots is a 6-week video driven study from The Way of the Master ministry. It stars most notably Kurt Cameron, of “Growing Pains” fame and the recent Christian movies Left Behind and Fireproof. The three-DVD set includes youth ministry and homeschool printable resources.
The premise of the curriculum is to demonstrate the global human need of salvation and how students can share their own faith. Instead of demonstrating how to evangelize through watching Americans sharing with other Americans, it is shown through a team of Americans making short, one-day stops throughout Europe. In the introduction, Kurt Cameron explains the need to seek to be culturally sensitive. He then clarifies his belief that there is no real need to spend the time learning a culture as missionaries do in order to share faith effectively. The episodes that follow are of a culturally and spiritually insensitive team doing everything from street preaching on a box, to street performing, to walking up to people to start arguments.
Out of date and out of touch, I find this resource to be of little use in modern youth ministries that are seeking relational evangelism and long-term disciple making.
—Dan Istvanik is a middle school/junior high youth pastor in Ohio and has been in youth ministry for about 18 years. He shares his resources and “ran-dumb” thoughts on his MS/JH blog, The JH Uth Guy.
Roots is an engaging and exciting series teaching teens how to share their faith in Christ in bold ways. The videos, based on Season 4 of “The Way of the Master,” chronicle a team of open-air evangelists as they travel to 13 countries in 13 days with the purpose of proclaiming Christ. This has the engaging feel of reality TV shows susch as “The Amazing Race.” Ray Comfort and his team show in strategic ways how the gospel message is relevant to people everywhere. They demonstrate a variety of biblical styles and approaches to engaging people with God and His Word. The team is obviously very gifted, but what the members present is accessible and applicable in our daily lives.
Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron take regular breaks to explain and share practical and tactical tips for effectively preaching the Good News. Their approach is positive, encouraging and uplifting; dispelling the sometimes dutiful feel of evangelism. Each week, we’re left with a very doable assignment to help us work through our fears and barriers to sharing Christ with those in need.
This series is a great evangelism training tool for youth ministries and small groups. Each segment is about 30 minutes, providing time for discussion. The weekly assignments, discussion guide and quizzes move students to put into practice what they’re learning. This will be next in our evangelism training rotation.
—Dan Adams is a husband, father of three and has been in full-time youth ministry in the Cleveland area for 10 years.
This video-driven youth curriculum is full of “a-ha” moments when Christianity gets the proper respect, as well as tough moments from those with obvious hard-hearts toward God who bring their questions before the hosts. It’s a great resource for youth groups or families looking to address the one-liners that leave most believers feeling speechless, including what it means to live by conviction in their own neck of the world.
—Tony Myles, author, ministry coach, volunteer youth worker and lead pastor of Connection Church, Medina, Ohio.
