Share some of these stories with your young people – there are videos and country profiles on the Open Doors youth website. Ask:
- How does their suffering make you feel?
- If you were in their position, how would you respond? How would it make you feel about God?
Discuss some of the ways your youth group could help persecuted Christians. Perhaps use the youth leader resources on Open Doors youth website. Read Matthew 25:35- 40 and discuss:
- Are there any practical ways we can help persecuted Christians? How can we raise awareness?
- How can we pray for them?
Read Mark 8:34-35 and ask:
- Does Jesus mean this literally? Did he expect people to die for their faith? • If we were to take Jesus’ words metaphorically, what ways could / should we deny ourselves?
- What did Jesus mean by ‘the gospel’?
Read 1 Peter 3:18: ‘Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.’
- Does ‘the gospel’ make any difference in your life?
- Is the gospel worth denying some of your greatest desires for?
- Is the gospel worth physically dying for?
Discuss the people who are most important to your group as well as their priorities in life. Ask:
- How important is your faith to you?
- Would you admit to being a Christian if you knew you would be killed for it?
- Do you think we are living too comfortably?
Ask your young people to think of some ‘radical’ Christians then discuss:
- How can you live out your faith more radically?
- If you thought you only had one week left to live, what would you do? What would your priorities be?
- What one thing can you do this week to share your faith?
Take some time to pray for the persecuted church and try to put into practice some of the young people’s suggestions about how your youth group could practically help suffering Christians abroad. Pray for your young people to be more radical and bold in their own faith.
