The best youth ministry academics I’ve met are Biblically grounded, Gospel-advancing, Jesus-loving practitioners. They are not theorists who just write papers. They are disciple-makers who personally invest in teenagers. They are not progressive in their theology. They are theologically conservative on the fundamentals of the faith. Instead of letting culture craft their philosophy of #YouthMinistry, they seek to craft culture by training and mobilizing teenagers to advance the Gospel and make disciples. Only take seriously those academics who view God’s Word (especially the Gospels and the book of Acts) as the ultimate youth ministry manual.

It’s taken me almost 18 years to get to 20k followers on X. My account is the opposite of a viral sensation. But it does reflect gritty perseverance. 😀 Also, I’m ever grateful to @JoshuaBarzon for helping me get my X account back after it was hacked!

Where George Whitefield preached one of his first sermons…

I would rather be called “Gospel advancing” than “Gospel centered.” One term sounds like we are taking spiritual territory. The other sounds like we are in a classroom. We are called to EXECUTE God’s mission and not just EXEGETE God’s Word. And, yes, we can/should do/be both.

It was such a blessing to be a guest on The Way UK. This is a Christian podcast by and for young people that has massive reach across 🇬🇧. Also, they challenged all their listeners to participate in #DayOfGlobalYouthEvangelism and are going to do so themselves! Pray for these young and bold Gospel Advancers. Thanks to Aaron Routledge from The Charge for setting it all up.

Dream Team London

We did a revival tour with @RememberLondon today and it was powerful! We visited where John Wesley preached, where one of my heroes, George Whitefield, preached and learned all sorts of facts surrounding revival in and around London over the last 500+ years. We ended up at the church where John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, pastored. It was the thrill of a lifetime to sing Amazing Grace where John Newton preached for so many years. It was from his preaching and promptings that William Wilberforce got a vision to use politics to advance the cause of Christ and, eventually, abolish the slave trade. Ben Virgo did an outstanding job of unpacking the history of revival in this particular part of London. All of us were deeply moved by his outstanding storytelling, his understanding of revival, his knowledge of history and his passion for the simple gospel of Grace unleashed through ordinary people. If you are ever in London, you should definitely book a tour. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Rating

What are you willing to risk for Jesus? Sharing the Gospel causes you to risk losing your relationships. Loved ones and friends could reject you if you share the Gospel with them. It’s happened to me before. It hurts. But if we’re not willing to risk these relationships then how closely are we really following Jesus? “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

Here’s my daughter’s pro-life song. Listen to the words and let the message sink in…

When you walk outside a train station in London and meet two young men boldly sharing the gospel. Way to go, Jaden and Gideon!

It was great to conspire with @DrRachelJ today in London about evangelism in the UK. She is a research expert as well as a passionate evangelist herself. God is up to some big things in England!

What happens when passionate, Jesus-loving leaders unite to reach an entire generation with the Gospel? I got a glimpse of it today in Manchester, England! I had the privilege of meeting Andy Hawthorne , the founder of @messagetrust. God has used Andy to help birth a movement of passionate, Jesus-loving, neighbor-serving, Gospel-proclaiming revolutionaries across the United Kingdom and around the world! What an amazing man! I also had the honor of preaching to the entire staff, and it didn’t take long to realize that these were my kind of people: like-minded, Gospel Advancing servants of the King! Please pray for The Message Trust as they continue advancing the gospel around the world by mobilizing the next generation to live and proclaim the good news of Jesus. The movement is real. The mission is urgent. And the next generation is ready! #GospelAdvancing #YouthMinistry #Evangelism #NextGeneration

IS IT WRONG TO USE PROPS OR SHOW MOVIE CLIPS WHILE PREACHING? When we used to do the big Dare 2 Share conferences in arenas across the country, we used movie clips, sketches, props, humor, and all kinds of object lessons. But we also taught sound doctrine. Every conference tour revolved around a key passage of Scripture that we unpacked throughout the weekend. The illustrations weren't the message. They served the message. For example, on the Blaze Tour, we built the entire event around Isaiah 6:1-8. On Friday night, we preached on the glory of God and how the seraphim, literally the "burning ones," were ablaze because they lived in the presence of His holiness. In a similar way, we too are set ablaze when we spend time in the presence of our glorious God. Then on Saturday, we taught three sessions built around a simple phrase: STOP. DROP. ROLL. STOP! 
When you encounter Christ in all His glory, you must stop and recognize the depth of your sin before a holy God. We spent nearly 45 minutes unpacking our utter sinfulness before a perfectly righteous God. DROP! 
Once students saw their sin, they were ready to drop to their knees and receive God's forgiveness, just as Isaiah experienced cleansing when the seraph touched his lips with the atoning coal. In this session, we unpacked the finished work of Christ on the cross and how His grace transforms our lives. ROLL! 
Then we challenged teenagers to “roll up their sleeves” and join God's mission, just as Isaiah did when he responded, "Here am I. Send me!" During these sessions, we dug deep into Scripture. We explored biblical and historical background, and sometimes even insights into the original languages. But about every eight minutes, we'd use a prop, show a movie clip, tell a story, or perform an original sketch, often with humor, to reinforce the truth being taught. Was that watering down theology? Not even close. Thousands of teenagers stayed engaged from beginning to end of the weekend. They listened. They learned. They wrestled with God's Word. Then we trained them to clearly share the Gospel and mobilized them to go out and do it. We worked hard to keep thousands of distracted teenagers focused on the stage and locked into the message. By God's grace, it worked. I call it teaching sound truth in soundbites. Talk to almost anyone who attended a Dare 2 Share event as a teenager, and they'll tell you how deeply the teaching impacted them. Not because of a sketch. Not because of a movie clip. Not because of a prop. Because those tools helped drive biblical truth deep into their hearts. There are preachers today taking heat for using props, ladders, movie clips, or other creative teaching methods. Honestly, I have no problem with any of that. My question is this: Are you preaching the Word? I don't care if your sermon has a little sizzle as long as it has a lot of steak. Use your props. Show your clips. Tell your stories. Make people laugh. Help them lean in. Just make sure that when it's all said and done, you've faithfully preached the Word of God. "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: **Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

It’s interesting to me that, so far, 3 of the top 5 countries participating in the Day of Global Youth Evangelism are restricted countries (150). These are places where Christians could get martyred for sharing their faith but youth leaders are signing up by the thousands. The boldness of the persecuted church is unparalleled, humbling and amazing. DGYE.org

Off to Manchester then London to conspire with @messagetrust and the one and only @GalactusJack! Getting ready to learn, laugh, preach, train, mind the gap and start some holy kingdom trouble with my friends across the pond. Prayers appreciated!

I am grateful for my pastor @jt_english. He loves Jesus, preaches the Word and prioritizes the Gospel. Grateful to sit under his amazing preaching and leadership (when I’m not preaching on the road somewhere 😀). Who is the pastor you’re grateful for? #PastorAppreciationMonth