We’ve all heard youth workers say they want to teach their kids the gospel message. What do they mean? How do they define that message? The answer varies widely from one youth group to another.

To address youth workers’ possible confusion about which Christian doctrines should be part of our core evangelistic proclamation, I have prepared this summary that spans from Genesis to Revelation.

Sidebar
1. Started good (Genesis 1–Genesis 2).
2. Turned bad (Genesis 3; Romans 6:23).
3. Being restored (Ephesians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
4. Being Sent (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)

The heart of the gospel is unchanging. The old rugged cross always will be the old rugged cross. Jesus Christ always will be Savior and Lord. The path to salvation by grace through faith remains the same, but the methods must change depending on the audience. The message needs to be simple and clear, but where do we start today?

In generations past, human sin often was the starting point for evangelism efforts. Verses such as Romans 3:23 (“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”) and Romans 6:23 (“for the wages of sin is death”) were used to set the scene. These verses continue to teach a powerful truth, but I suggest we might choose a different starting position when sharing the gospel with the next generation of adolescents.

Instead of starting with the bad news of sin, why don’t we start with some good news? My experience with the next generation is they are all too aware of the bad news of the sin and brokenness of our world. They have grown up amid news of terrorist attacks, school shootings, wars, tsunamis and earthquakes. They know about divorces that tear families apart, drunkenness that causes people to wake up in strange places and sexual experimentation that leaves you feeling empty. Today’s young people don’t need to hear more bad news—or at least they don’t need to start there. They already know that part of the story.

Good Instead of Bad
I’d suggest the beginning point of our message should be the beginning point of the whole Bible. “In the beginning, God brought this world into existence (Genesis 1:1). Notice the Bible never argues for the existence of God—His existence is a given. God spoke, and this world came out of nothing. I have found that many adolescents don’t know the creation story—or they’ve stuffed it away somewhere and assumed it’s not very important. We need to return to the beginning.

The next generation is deeply aware of the bad news of this world. They urgently need to know it has not always been this way. It started out good. Everything God created was good (Genesis 1:10-25). The culmination of God’s extravagant creation was the human being. When that final day of creation was complete, God declared it all to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Adolescents need to be reminded the God of the universe—who does not make mistakes—created them to be very special (identity).

Adam and Eve were placed in a beautiful garden and had full fellowship with God. God loved them, and they loved God. There was complete and total harmony. This is God’s starting point.

Sin Makes Its Entrance
This harmony did not last. Temptation led to sin, which separated Adam and Eve from God. Their relationship with God and each other was broken—and this struggle with sin shapes individuals and communities throughout Scripture.

After humans gave in to sin, the first words flowing from God’s heart were, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). From that point on, the Bible is the story of God’s passionate pursuit to restore His created people to Himself. Human sin disrupts the relationship, but God draws us back with compassion and love. The prophet Nehemiah offers this beautiful summary of the God found at the center of the Old Testament: “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them” (Nehemiah 9:17).

Ultimately, God’s great love for His people leads to Christ on the cross. God provided the solution to our separation from Him by sending His Son into the world as a servant (Philippians 2:1-11; John 3:16; John 13). Jesus’ death on the cross is the sacrifice that provides a way for adolescents (and all people) to be saved from eternal separation from God. It was for the glory of God that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the world. In explaining His journey, Jesus connected His own suffering and death with the sacrifice of a lamb during the Jewish Passover celebration. His actions did away with the necessity of ongoing sacrifices. Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all. In Jesus, the bad news of individual and worldwide sin would gain a solution. He is the “way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) that allows us to have overflowing life today and forever (Luke 10:10).

The next generation needs robust and passionate teaching about the cross of Jesus Christ. It needs disciples who can echo Paul’s words: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The cross is the only solution to the sinfulness of adolescents (and the world).

Restored and Sent
As a result of the cross and God’s free gift of grace, we are restored to full relationship with God and empowered to live a new life in alignment with God’s teachings (Ephesians 2:8). When an adolescent is drawn to God through the power of the Holy Spirit and surrenders his or her life to God, he or she becomes a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). In faith, we become part of the family of God (John 1:12). Sin is still present in every believer’s life; but through God’s Holy Spirit, we are being restored to be like Him daily. This is a “getting ready for heaven,” if you will, where we will be fully in the presence of God and enjoy Him forever.

Youth workers need to teach adolescents that accepting Christ as Savior is only the beginning of the journey. Having been restored to full fellowship with our Creator, we are then set apart to grow in holiness for the glory of God. This is a goal to be pursued throughout our entire lives. Adolescents need to develop the same kind of passion and singleness of purpose reflected in these words of the apostle Paul: “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Believers in Jesus are on a journey to grow in grace that is progressive in nature. The power of the Holy Spirit is the driving force that changes us. This is a pursuit that we must pass on to the next generation.

So, we have read about a great start of good news that turned to bad news because of sin, the receiving of God’s grace through the cross of Jesus, and now a restoration to be more like Him today and in the future. Finally, we are sent back out into the world to share Christ’s love. Sadly, many evangelistic forms do not include this final push. Just as our shortened versions of the gospel message begin after the start—with the problem of sin instead of the goodness of God’s creation—we also stop before the end: Jesus died on the cross, so now you are saved. This is not where Jesus leaves it. Instead, He sends out His disciples to share this great news with the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

When adolescents (and all people) come to understand and embrace through experience God’s plan for their lives, they become part of the mission to share God’s rescue mission with the whole world—starting with their friends and family. To be a follower of Jesus Christ means you are passionate about the Passion. You want those around you to experience God’s love and forgiveness for their sins. Youth workers, other caring adults and parents cannot underestimate and under teach the significance of Jesus’ commission for us today. Together, all generations are sent out to share this life-changing story of grace.

Telling the Whole Story
We need to help adolescents understand the whole of the biblical story. By starting with Genesis and the creation account of good news and moving all the way through to Jesus’ return to set up His kingdom as described in Revelation, we help students understand the full sweep of God’s saving actions. We help adolescents see not just the story, but the way they connect to it. Their purpose on the planet then becomes clear—to glorify God with their lives in the context of the local church. The way we often present the gospel is like a child who opens a storybook in the middle and reads only a single chapter about how the prince arrives on the scene, rescues a princess in distress, makes her his bride, then leaves. Then the child closes the book. Later, here are some questions the child is left to answer:

Who is the princess?
Why did she need rescuing?
Why does the prince love her enough to risk his life to save her?
What will she do now that she’s been saved?
Will they stay faithful to each other?
Will the prince ever come back?
What actor will play the prince in the movie version? (OK, maybe not.)

The abbreviated way in which we present the gospel leaves kids with the same kinds of questions. They hear that Jesus can save them, but they often don’t understand why they need saving, what they are being saved from or what they are supposed to do once they accept God’s gift of salvation. I hope you are catching the importance of sharing the gospel in new forms by using the whole biblical record with the next generation. We cannot compromise the message by failing to tell the whole story.

During one of his missionary journeys, Paul declared his passion for sharing the whole story, wanting his listeners to know the “whole will of God” (Acts 20:27). How much more should the next generation understand, during this critical time of their lives, the whole counsel of God so they own their faith? We should stay faithful to the whole of Scripture, knowing that we should not be ashamed of the gospel because it holds the power for salvation (Romans 1:16). Let us be faithful in sharing the whole biblical story, not a truncated version.

Adapted from Dr. Jeff Baxter’s book, Together: Adults and Teenagers Transforming the Church. Jeff can be found sipping coffee while blogging at SacredOutfitter.blogspot.com and pastoring at Foothills Bible Church with his beautiful bride and three fantastic kids (all at the same time, sometimes).