Pray

Our battle takes place in the heavenly realm. Through prayer we seek God's heart, wisdom and direction. Jon Paul has run Youth Alpha at Free Christian Church in Andover, Mass., for four years. He acknowledges that, "Success of Youth Alpha courses hinges on prayer and inviting, one fueling the other. We spend a lot of time praying with our student leaders. When students prayerfully invite their non-Christian friends to the course, we know we are in good shape. A lack of prayer-fueled inviting can lead to a tough course (and we've been there)."

At Union Chapel Ministries in Muncie, Ind., the youth group prayed for 40 days over lists of the top 10 people they wanted to see come to know Christ. At the end of their course last spring, half of the 35 baptisms were teenagers.

Build Relationships

Be intentional about going into the community and building authentic relationships with young people. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you." Our job is to bring Jesus' love into teenagers' lives. Having socials, playing sports, simply doing life and showing interest in others is an important step to allowing God's Spirit to work through us.

Share Jesus

Our aim is to introduce young people to Jesus. In Youth Alpha, each session has a live talk peppered with video illustrations, object lessons and personal stories to highlight biblical truths of what Jesus did and taught. Topics include, "Is there more to life than this?" "Who is Jesus?" and "Why did Jesus die?" As we share with care, we are confident of Jesus' promise in John 12:32: "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to Myself."

Ask Questions

Discover people's opinions and show interest. Jesus was an expert at asking questions during His ministry as He probed people's hearts. We ask questions and facilitate discussion in Youth Alpha. "What did you think of the talk this evening?" "That's an interesting point, Johnny. What do the others think?" At times, this can feel like we are not in control, which is true—we're not! God is, and we're simply letting His Spirit work.

Listen

We have been asked to be "all things to all men" so God may save some by grace through faith and the work of His Holy Spirit. Listening and respecting opinions of the guests at Youth Alpha is important, even if we disagree. Our job is not to judge but to love. Let God It has been said that the job of Youth Alpha leaders is to light fires, not fill buckets. Perhaps this can be applied to youth workers in general. Only God knows what is truly going on in people's hearts, and part of our job is to spark interest. There are times when we need great patience. While exercising the first characteristic of love, we believe God's Spirit will convict of sin and guide guests into "all truth" (John 16: 8, 13).

Being a witness of God's love through our work with teenagers is a lifestyle. It requires building a close relationship with God so His Spirit can work through us and draw people to Jesus, who is living and active within us. It's not about one course, camp, style or approach but about sharing Christ's love by building relationships and creating opportunities for God's Spirit to work in hearts.

Alpha works through the local church to introduce people to Jesus Christ. Alpha has been translated into more than 100 languages, and more than 13 million people in 163 countries have attended a course. The Barna Group found that 50 percent of course attendees make a first-time or recommitment to Jesus Christ. In addition to Youth Alpha, courses are run in churches, homes, workplaces, military bases, universities, prisons and for ESOL. Alpha is endorsed by all major Christian denominations. A past guest and Alpha advocate is Bear Grylls (host of "Man vs. Wild," The Discovery Channel). Thankfully we don't serve his menu during Alpha!!

Photo by Ryan Stewart. Used with permission from Adventures in Missions.