For readers who are not yet familiar with Youth EE, we use a term called “OJT”. It means “on-the-job training” and is, in fact, what distinguishes Youth EE from other evangelism training methods. Rather than simply train young people in a classroom, we believe that it’s far more effective to actually take them out in real-life situations and SHOW them how it’s done. We call this, OJT.

The following article is for active Youth EE ministries who are trying to come up with more creative ways to train students through OJT.

CREATIVE OJT’S

Though many people view OJT as an “end” in itself, Youth EE actually considers OJT as a “means to an end”; the “end” being, equipping students for the rest of their life to be able to witness as a way of life, and also to train others.

Some youth groups have cancelled their Youth EE ministries simply because they didn’t know any new or more creative ways to do OJT. This list is not complete by any means. Our hope is that it will help people with the OJT part of Youth EE training. We would like people to contact us with ideas they have, so we can add to the list in the future.

Some People Are Unsuccessful With Questionnaires Simply Because They Haven't Learned To Approach People Correctly. Here Are Some Tips:

Keep the questionnaire in your pocket, rather than approaching a person with it in your hand. It’s low key and less threatening that way.

Start by SMILING and asking them for help. “Hi, I was wondering if you could help me?” This puts you in a “servant” position. They will likely reply simply, “How?” “I’m taking a questionnaire, asking people about their thoughts on some issues about life and wonder if you could answer a few questions for us?”

If they say “Ok”, then introduce yourself and your Trainees and tell them the name of the Youth Group and/or church you represent.

Your demeanor and body language counts a lot; your initial impression. Many have lost the possible contact simply because they didn’t appear warm and friendly.

Ideas On Where To Do Questionnaire OJT’s

It’s important to keep creating new ways to find On-The-Job-Training experiences. Over the past few years we've tried to collect a list of places where people have told us they have found fertile ground for questionnaires. Below is the list.

Shopping malls

Strip malls (outdoor string of stores but not a mall)

Recreational areas. For us that means beach, but for other parts of the country it can mean skate parks, video arcades, etc. Places where kids hang out. Depending on the town, it may just be a street or a small park. Kids have their own places. Regarding video arcades. Kids love to hang out there and unless playing, are often open to chatting.

Laundromats. Lot’s of waiting time.

Places where high volume stores are close together. We have many places where they build a food store and a pharmacy next to each other. Not only are people approachable out front, but in the car park as well. You’d be surprised at how many people walking to or from their cars are willing to stop and chat.

Door to door. This I see working only in some parts of the country. Probably neighborhoods that are crowded and many people come and go, as compared to quiet suburban areas.

If there are any carnivals or festivals that are regularly or even annually held, we try to find out about them and schedule our OJT to correspond with them.

Retirement homes. EE has a ministry called “Seniors EE” which is directed right at this group. People in retirement homes have time and are almost always open to conversation. Many are simply lonely, and love a visit from some young people. Some have called this a “target rich environment”!

If there is a Christian school or one where the administration would be open to Youth EE students talking with their students, you can arrange for teams to visit the school.

If a Youth program has any sort of social event, they can create an information card, getting the contact details from those who participate. I know of a few churches that run an overnight lock-in for that very purpose. They then follow up with house visits, basically going to the home and saying that they are following up on people who came to the (lock-in or whatever) to give them a schedule of future events. As they chat, they move through the conversational introduction, and if appropriate, move into sharing the Gospel. Some Youth groups have made up a schedule of events for this very purpose.

Another good lead in, when following up on someone who came to a youth event would be to ask, “Can we share with you the basic beliefs of our youth group?” People tend to respond positively to this type of approach.

Creating Situations Where OJT Can Be Done

Here is one of the most creative ideas we've seen. A few churches set up a booth close by to where a lot of students come and go, in one case I know about it was across the street from a local school. They offer free soft drinks to anyone who fills out a questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed along the lines of our normal one, with the two diagnostic questions near the end. The last question is: “Would you be interested in speaking to another student about these issues?” It includes a place for contact information. They only use the ones that have checked off the last question. Out of maybe 100 cards, even if they only get half or a quarter of the them interested, those are usually pretty good contacts, and they follow up with house visits.

Another church set up a free barbeque. This probably wouldn’t work in an affluent neighborhood, although it could be done at a public place (with permission, if required) such as a skate park or a set of basketball courts, etc. You could invite and hope to interest and recruit people who want to somehow be involved in evangelism, but may not be ready to join Youth EE yet. They can feel part of an evangelism team this way by preparing and serving food. At the barbeque, have your Youth EE teams ready to meet people and sit down with them and go through S.C.O.T.T and try to move towards sharing the Gospel.

Mentioned earlier was the idea of attending fairs or carnivals. You can take that a step further. Many fairs have booths that can be set up for games, to sell items, etc. Rent a booth and creatively advertise something like “Secrets of Living” or “The Key to Life”. Inside the booth, or tent, or in an area behind the booth, have chairs set out in small groups and have your teams ready to speak with people. This may sound unrealistic, but we’ve been amazed at how many people will come in, if for no other reason than simple curiosity.

Stage an event, such as a Christian concert. Make sure the band knows the reason you’re doing this: to create witnessing situations. Have the band play several songs, then tell the crowd that they are going to take a short break and during that time people will be circulating and would like to speak with them about Christianity.

Have an event at your church or youth facility that will draw people, such as a lock in, or an athletic event (bowling, softball, etc.) Depending on the event, plan time for teams to circulate and try to engage people in conversation that may lead to sharing the Gospel.

Make use of “hero worship”. For students in Youth EE there is a natural admiration for younger students who look up to older students. This is something you can use in order to get a younger student to sit down and talk with you. A senior might get a freshman to want to talk simply because you are older and therefore more respected. This would work also with a junior higher, being asked by a high schooler.

Coffee house Set up. With this idea, there would be no “event” per se, but rather a “Starbucks” kind of atmosphere where casual conversation takes place. Again have your teams prepared to “hang out” and look for conversations that would lead to sharing the Gospel.

A twist on the above, have one of your Trainees invite a friend for a free Starbucks (or similar place). The “sell”. I’m learning how to tell about our youth group’s goals and purpose with two friends. If you can come by and listen, we’ll treat.”

Some churches have work out facilities. Some also invite people in the community to use these facilities. There are ways to obtain contact information and follow up with house visits, stopping by, first, to get feedback on their use of the facilities, then to ask, “May we share with you a bit more about the goals and beliefs of our church?” Another approach, if done with sensitivity, could be to approach people at the facility before or after their workout.

Check if your town has English classes for international students. Depending on the situation, you may be able to set up “interviews” with students. As they are learning English, many are interested in meeting with Americans, if only for an opportunity to converse in English.

This can be done in conjunction with a Kids EE ministry, or simply with Youth EE. Hold a kids carnival at your church. Distribute free passes (for entrance, or for rides, etc) to as many people in your community as possible. Ask local businesses for prizes to give away. Have a drawing for as many prizes as you can obtain. To enter a draw, have people fill out an information card with their contact details. But instead of passing out the prizes, have it set up to announce that each prize will be personally delivered to their homes. Have EE teams deliver those prizes and once the prize is handed over, ask tactfully if you can “explain a bit about the basis for your churches beliefs”.

Giveaways: There is a book called, “Conspiracy of Kindness” by Steve Sjogren. His basic approach to evangelism is doing acts of kindness. I get the sense that he is not in favor of direct witnessing at such events. His stories are usually about people who receive the benefit of these giveaways, and who later come to their church, where the Gospel is presented. So although the author may not be overjoyed that we would use his process for direct evangelism, his book is filled with ideas that we could use. Examples of giveaways are:

Free car washes
Charge for the car wash but give free sodas and hot dogs
Offering to rake leaves at homes, or yard clean up
Coffee giveaways at public places
Soft drink giveaways (mentioned earlier in return for answering a questionnaire)
Free shoe shine (places like train or bus stations)
Polaroid picture giveaways at places like public parks
Free Gatorade at places like little league parks and athletic events
Collect Christmas trees for disposal after Christmas

Unlike the previously listed suggestions, these are untried by anyone we know, to date. You would have to come up with the best way to approach people in an unpressured way. For example, at a free car wash, you could recruit people just to do the washing, like in the example with the barbeque. Have your Youth EE teams in the waiting area and try approaching people as they wait for their cars to be washed. Frankly, we do not know if these ideas will work, but they’re worth trying in an effort to be creative.

If you have any OJT ideas to share, please pass them along and we will post them here!

Email us at rbond@eeinternational.org

Caution: Because of the large number of spam emails, please put "EE" or "Youth EE" in subject line of your email. That will get it past our spam blocker. Thank you.

For more OJT ideas on the EE International web site, go to:

http://www.eeinternational.org/ojt

(6/06)