How do young people come to a relationship with Jesus? The research is clear: the vast majority of people (young, as well as old) come to faith as a result of a relationship with a Christian friend or relative. Jesus often modeled the process. To the demon-possessed man he said, "go home to your friends and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you …" (Mark 5:19). When Zacchaeus believed, Christ told him that salvation had also come to his friends and family (Luke 19:9). After Jesus healed the son of a royal official we learn that the Centurion, and all of his family and friends, believed (Mark 2:14-15). Jesus knew that the way the Gospel would travel around the world would be through relationships.

So, the foundation for any outreach initiative begins with relationships. How do relationships start? C.S. Lewis gives us a wonderful insight in The Four Loves: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You, too? I thought I was the only one.'" ...