Greg Stier

The power is in the message, not the messenger. This is why the apostle Paul described the Gospel as “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes….” (Romans 1:16).

It’s important to take time to help young people sort through their thoughts and feelings about tragic events. Whenever news of a school shooting spreads, our young people are impacted. Innocence ebbs away, and students—many who already struggle with anxiety—can spiral into confusion, fear, and even depression.

For believers in Jesus—and for everyone on the planet, actually—the answers we search for reside in one place. It’s not in our own minds, in the opinions of others, or in a search engine, but in the timeless truth of God’s Word.

It started when they upwardly held the name of Jesus “in high honor” and continued when they inwardly rid themselves of their secret sins and outwardly spread the gospel to everyone around them.

As exciting as being in the chapel at Asbury University is right now, imagine what it would be like to be in the room when the hand of God literally shook the building in response to the early believers’ prayers.

Soulwinning isn’t the only key to staying strong in ministry, of course. We must also learn to rest, recharge, and renew. We must take our Sabbaths seriously and keep our bodies, souls, and minds in biblical balance.

To move teenagers to action, we must break their hearts for the lost, just as Jesus did with His disciples. We must help paint a picture of the hell their friends are living through and the Hell they’re headed to. We must paint a picture of the Great Commission as the greatest cause, that will transform their friends’ lives both now and forever.

Wherever two or more are gathered in Christ’s name, there’s bound to be conflict. Sometimes it’s a clash of personalities. Other times it’s unholy tension cloaked as competitiveness. But often it’s theological differences.