A rocket screams across the sky exploding in a cataract of gold, silver, blue and green. "Oooh" sigh the crowd with one voice. A giant display of Catherine Wheels spins into motion almost before the glare from the rocket has died away. "Aaaah" groan the people. My personal experience of lighting fireworks is sparklers that take longer to light than to fizzle out and rockets so badly aimed that the explosion happens in someone's garden, three doors down, and I have to avoid that neighbour for weeks. Sometimes it is more economical to go to a display put on by real experts.
This month's topic is quite unrelated to fireworks, but your approach may be similar to your experience with them. How do you involve your youth group in evangelism? Is it best left to the experts? Do your efforts go off like damp squibs? Is it a case of light the blue touch paper and retire? Christmas with all its opportunities is approaching fast. Now is the time to make some plans with your young people.
As you plan try using the 'target' method. The centre of the target is the bull's-eye; this is the moment of opportunity to ask for a response to the gospel, actually popping the question. The closest ring to the bull's-eye is getting the friends along to the meeting at which the gospel is presented. Outer rings concern preparing the ground for a gospel encounter, dealing with the issues that the friends have before they can listen to the gospel and hear its message. There may be several such rings involving different problems. The outside ring is bringing that friend into the sphere of the youth group's activities for the first time.
