gregstier.org

Were you at the Atlanta Survive Conference?

Posted on Sunday 9 March 2008 by Greg @ 8:34 pm
Filed under: Conferences

Almost 6,000 teenagers gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center this weekend and were equipped to know, live, share and own their faith. Lincoln Brewster was awesome and Hawk Nelson rocked the house again. And, of course, Zane, Derwin and the res of the D2S team did a phenomenal job.

I would say somewhere between 80-90 percent of the attending teenagers took the Double Dare. Were you one of them? If so please tell me your 48 hour challenge story (and don’t forget to go to www.doubledare.org to sign up to officially take the Double Dare!)

65 Comments

65 Comments for 'Were you at the Atlanta Survive Conference?'

On March 9, 2008 @ 9:08 pm Justin B. Clark said:

Greg:

Let me start by thinking you for Dare 2 Share. This was my 5th year attending D2S and it never gets old…it holds a special place in my heart and I am eternally grateful for it!!

I’m talking to my friend Alexa tomorrow…she’s on a “quest for religon”, a “journey for meaning” and i’ve been putting off talking to her always saying that there was always tomorrow. After this weekend I am more aware of the timeliness of sharing the Gospel, and living it. Please pray for me in the coming days while I talk to her and others…let Him be glorified!

Dumnezeu este Dragoste,

Justin

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On March 10, 2008 @ 5:56 am Eddie said:

Greg,

The conference was awesome. I’ve been working on someone who is almost violently against anything hinting Jesus in it. However, I’ve worn him down some this past year and I’m going to give him the Venti Jesus book and see what happens.

Everything was great, enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing old friends. Can’t wait till the luncheon!

Eddie

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On March 10, 2008 @ 6:52 am Dawn said:

hi greg,
I was at the Atlanta Conference and I thought you did an awsome job! You really hit me hard with the play about what if! So i went ant talked to a couple of my Gothic friends and they tottal didn’t care except 1. he asked me later on “what are you doing.” and i asked him “what do you mean?” he just kinda went silent and said “you know we don’t talk about religion and junk here. you know some of us hate it. are you tring to get them to think your some Jesus freak?” I nodded and he just gave me a bewildering look. I smiled and explained the gospel to him and asked him to join me this weekend at church. he said he would think about it. I hope he comes and I wanna thank God and you for helping be able to talk to him about it.

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On March 10, 2008 @ 7:03 am Becky said:

Hey Greg have you read my poem about the drama yet??

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On March 10, 2008 @ 7:56 am johnna said:

hey i love the d2s it was rly good and i learned tht i can grow more closer to god..Im gonna go and tell alla my friends about good and….it was just a rly good expericence for me and i rly liked tht

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On March 10, 2008 @ 8:06 am johnna said:

hey
i was in alanta last week and the hole expericec hit me hard..the play wat if hit me tht worse..i was always scard to tlk to my friends about god..i was afraid tht they would laugh at me and call me a juseus freak but now i dont care if they do and one of my friends.. she never been to church and i was tlken to her last night and she keep tryingto change the subject..and when i asked her where she was going when she dies and she kinda froze and said i dont know and she saked mw and i told her heaven…she said i wanna go to heaven and i tryed to tlk her her befor and she would not listen but now tht i started to tlk about god she was more like ok i wanna learn more so i told her about gosple and let her read my book tht i got and she went to church with me and she exceppted god in her heart and she went back to her house and burnt all the stuff tht she was in to and it made me feel good.to know tht i made a chang in her life

love,
johnna

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On March 10, 2008 @ 8:32 am cathie4jesus said:

when i was in atlanta friday and saturay it was the most fun i have ever had!the experince really changed the way i see things now and made me want to change some of the things i do in my life.i read the book venti jesus please and thought it was amazing!! my youth leader helped me through my decision to follow jesus while i was there. i started to think that if i hadn’t gone to atlanta that weekend that i wouldn’t have relized that the way i was living was not the best.i hope that i can carry out the double dare and keep pursuing the real christian life.thanks.
love,
cathie

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On March 10, 2008 @ 9:20 am shane said:

overall the weekend was great. Had one student rededicate his life. All of our students took the double dare. Your topics for the weekend were right on. This is my fifth year coming to Dare2Share and will continue to do so. However, I was not in agreement with using Hawk Nelson. I am fighting a battle in our minstry with the secular music and then of all things they sing a Cindy Lauper song “Girls Just want to have fun”. During our leader time you constanly stressed the importance of not being an entertainment youth ministry. I know that students love Hawk Nelson and having them in concert will sell tickets. Is this what we do to get the attendance?

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On March 10, 2008 @ 10:17 am Rebekah K. said:

Dare2Share:

I wasn’t able to go last year to D2S with my church but, I remember when 20 or so last year went. I remember this students so much coming back and talkning about Jesus all the time. They have never been the same. I have been waiting a year to go to D2S. I have been pumped for months to go. So this weekend I attended the conference in Atlanta and I just loved it. I have been on fire for God since I was 14 but what you guys talked about and the dramas just heated my fire for God. I want to be a very “passionate” follower of God. I wanted people to get saved not because I have to talk but becauase they see Jesus over flowing in my life and they want to know what it is. I have been praying for people lately but I have actually said something to them. So on the way home I called 4 people and I had a 40min. conversation with the first guy i got on the phone with. The rest are being a little hard headed, but its okay i am still talking to them and praying for them. I want everyone I know to not perish but to spent forever with Jesus our father and savior. I also called 6 or 8 people on my way to work after church on Sunday. I got one of them to come to church and I am very excited to see what God does for me and them [the ppl I am talking to and praying for]in the future. I thank God that he died on the cross for me, we didn’t derserve it but he loves us that much. “Thats alot of love”. Thank you for also talking about the gameplan which is the bible, that opened my eyes. I realize if I read my bible more I might be better at showing folks the right way…I mean it wouldn’t hurt it would only strenghten my testamony and such.

Thank you and God Bless,
Rebekah

*I took the double dare, did you?

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On March 10, 2008 @ 10:21 am David said:

I first want to say that this past weekend was awesome and Greg, you are one of the best speakers I have heard in a long time. So, I took the double dare. I finished High School early so I am 17 and already in college, so today I talked with the two guys I hang out with between classes (45 min.). They asked me what I did over spring break, so I told them. I also added on the fact that I went to an awesome youth conference and told them about the double dare. One of them is a catholic and the other ones a Muslim, neither one practices their “Religion” and they haven’t for several years now. They seem very closed to religion but like the fact that I have high moral standards. I haven’t shared to much yet, but They agreed to let me lay out my beliefs and let them decide for themselves. I will start going over the Gospel Journey with them on Wednesday (next time I see them). This is something I had been thinking about for several weeks, but have not had the courage to do so. I thank you and Dare2Share for what you do. You have (with God’s help of course) empowered me to quit playing around and to share my faith with anyone who will listen.

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On March 10, 2008 @ 10:21 am David A. Crescenzi said:

Hey

I went to dare2share last week and it was great it really helped me know how to talk to my friends about how god has worked in my life and tell them that he will do some alwsome thing in thier life too. I took the double dare and when i was at work sunday morning i brought my Dare 2 Share book (i bought at the convention) and three of my co-workers started to read about lust and was talking about how everyone did it. So i explained how that we can’t control to look for the first time but it is their choose to take a second look or stare longer. Then one of them ask if smoking weed was a sin beacause it is not said in the bible. so i told them that it said in the bible that wee are not to harm our holy temple(our human body). SO we got in a conversation about different question about christ and church. They didn’t accept christ but they were really intersted in jesus so i have been praying for them. and hope they accpet christ

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On March 10, 2008 @ 12:16 pm haley blakely said:

Dear Greg,
I really wanted to e-mail you, but this was the only way I found to get in touch with you.
I don’t expect you to remember me by name, & I really wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t remember me at all. The little piece of metal I put in your hand might have had no significance to you, but at one point a piece of metal similar to that literally defined me & my life.
You don’t realize it, but you are connected to me now, whether you want to be or not. Because when i handed you that blade, I handed God my addiction. Thirteen months and i finally decided I was done with it. And now everytime I get the urge, and everytime I almost break, I’m going to remember putting that metal in your hand and that moment in my life when i looked at Marleigh [the girl standing behind us bawling] & said “I don’t think I need this anymore.” D2S this year was a huge turning point in my life, and you were a very personal part of it even though that might seem hard to believe. My dream in life is to work with an organization like D2S or To Write Love On Her Arms. My passion has always been compassion & helping people. And with the new joy I’ve found in Jesus I think I can for sure help so many more people in much bigger ways. Thank you for listening. And most of all, thank you for taking the blade out of my hand.

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On March 10, 2008 @ 12:36 pm Aimee Crotts said:

Greg,
I took the Double Dare at the Survive Conference on Saturday night. I have to confess that I have had the jitters the past 2 days… I’ve always had a hard time getting the words of the gospel out of my mouth, and I was terrified that I was going to be unable to fulfill my promise to God.
God laid a girl in my biology class on my heart… we are not very close friends, but our relationship has been growing. I was able to relay my faith to her this afternoon, and it was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. She seems receptive to the gospel, and I am praying that this will be the start of a deeper friendship with her. Hopefully I will be able to show her that God is so much more than she has been told He is!

I also wanted to let you know that getting to meet you on Saturday night was the icing on my weekend!

Keep preaching the Word in Christ, bro! God moves powerfully through you!

God Bless!!!

-Aimee

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On March 10, 2008 @ 1:36 pm Jessica said:

Hey Greg.
i just wanted to say that i took that double dare challenge you gave out this weekend in atlanta. we stopped on our way back to florida at ruby tuesdays and we were talking to the waitress about her personal beliefs and she said she had went to church but she really didn’t know what it was. so we talked with her for a while and she said she was going to start going to church alot more. she said that its so good that teenagers have a place to go like dare to share to strenghten their realitionship with god. i have learned alot and i made a desicion to go with God the full 100% and bascially stop living the double life. God used you in such a powerful way this weekend and im thankful i got this oppurtunity

god bless

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On March 10, 2008 @ 2:38 pm Brittany said:

Hey Greg!
I was one of those 6,000 teens who took the double dare challenge this weekend in ATL. I have to say.. it hasn’t been easy.. but the 48 hours will be ended here soon enough. I’m one of those kinda gals who enjoys telling everyone I DON’T know all about the Lord. In fact, street ministry is what I really enjoy and plan on doing throughout my life. However, telling my friends and schoolmates about it.. not so much. In fact, it’s one of my least favorite things to do. So when you told us to take out our cell phones, I panicked. I did make the call though. But it didn’t do much but make my best friend laugh at me a little then hang up saying he’d call me back. [which he never did] But last night I was on the phone with another one of my good friends. He asked me what was going on and why I was asking people if they thought they were going to heaven. I tried to explain it to him but I swear my friends all think they’re too smart for God. [even though they are complete geniuses and my redhair sometimes is taken for blonde] He finally asked me what I thought Christianity was about. Luckily, I had just got done reading a couple of the little insiders on how to talk to people on the site and had a couple of verses in mind to tell him about. When I was finished with my one hours spill [I know, I can't believe he stayed on the phone] he congratulated me on actually knowing something because he thought I was just blowing steam out of my butt, he told me not to take offense to that. I just laughed at him. He didn’t accept Christ… but I did get him thinking. He had been taught all his life of a super strict structured religion of Christianity. I told him Christianity wasn’t about being held down but being FREE in Christ. He was glad to know that someone knew what they were talking about and he said we should talk about it again sometime. So I guess that’s my testimony from the 48 hours. But I also want to thank you for encouraging me to take the challenge! I encouraged my church and it encouraged me and who I was in the process!! Thank you, thank you!! You were all amazing and I can’t wait to come back next year. Keep an eye out for Big Red.

~brittany

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On March 10, 2008 @ 3:03 pm Macey said:

Heyy Greg,

My story hasnt quite ended yet. Ya see i sent my friend this email telling her about dare 2 share and how i was going to pray for her because her and her family are having a hard time getting along. I also told her that jesus loved her and wantedher to go to heaven. she hasn`t replied yet though.

Macey â™¥

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On March 10, 2008 @ 3:05 pm Jessica Tapia said:

Greg-

The person I decided to use for my double is a challenge. His name is Drew and he is an Atheist. And we were friends for a while but now he has stopped talking to me because I am a christan. I have been praying for him but I don’t think it is getting any better. Do you have any ideas of how I could get him to talk to me???

–Jessica–

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On March 10, 2008 @ 3:26 pm Victoria said:

Greg,
I was at the SURVIVE tour this weekend in Atlanta. At first when you said we were going to call one of our friends rights there I wasn’t so sure. I have been friends with this one girl for a few years now and she is a complete athiest. I was always scared of what she would think of me if I just went up to her and started talking about God. At the cell phone challenge I was too scared to call her so I called another friend of mine and she called me back later that night and we talked about the GOSPEL journey and she said she was already a christian but that what I told her was a huge wake up call for her and she thanked me. So, Sunday after church I saw my other friend who is the athiest and I started telling her what I had done this weekend and how it changed my life. I was still to scared to tell her about God and pray with her. But that night was a turning point for me and I told her all about how God loves her and I told her that after this weekend I was no longer scared of what people thought about me if went around telling people about God. She said she was not ready to accept Jesus into her heart yet and honestly was a little bit dissapointed but I couldn’t let her know that. I just told her that I would always be there for her if she ever wanted to talk about it again. I am just going to keep praying for her and she will come to realize that Jesus is the only way and to accept Jesus. Today at school I wore the “ZANE” T-shirt and everyone asked me what it was from and whoever asked I immediatley started telling them about Christ because I was no longer afraid to and I honestly am so much better off this way.In total I told 4 people about Christ within the 48 hours and I am so happy. Thank you so much Greg for giving me this huge wake up call this weekend because I am truly a changed person. I will continue to tell people the wonderful news about the Gospel and just pray that I can lead as many people as possible to Christ. I hope to see you next year Greg!!!!!!!!!

Victoria

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On March 10, 2008 @ 3:58 pm Wendy Williams said:

Hey Greg,
Interpreting at D2S this weekend was amazing! Ironically enough, my spring break plans originally started out with me planning to go on a week long mission trip to Mexico. Well, 5 hours before I left for the airport I received a phone call from the founder of the ministry telling me a lot of things had happened and it was no longer a good time for me to come. I was devastated, but I prayed to God and just told Him I didn’t understand what was going on, but that I trusted that He had the best plan in mind for me, even though it wasn’t what I originally thought it to be.
That’s when I remembered that D2S was this past weekend and that I had given up interpreting for it to go to Mexico. So, on the way to my mom’s in Atlanta, I called Mr. Jeff with Hands In Motion and told him that I would be able to do it, he said great but he really hadn’t worked out a place for me to stay. Well, God had that covered too. One of the youth groups I had met last year at D2S told me I could crash in one of their rooms. It was so a God thing!
So, I get to D2S with the mentality that I am there to minister, but you know how it is, when we go with our hearts and lives set on God and His renown we always come away with Him teaching us new things as well. God certainly did that this weekend and for the Double Dare Challenge I texted one of my deaf friends, John, and laid out the gospel message to him. He comes to church with one of my other deaf friends Michael, but keeps putting off accepting Christ. I never received a response, but I know God’s at work. However, the more impactful thing that is happening is that I ran across one of my old high school friends on facebook and began talking to him again and we are now in a conversation about truth and how to define truth and that I say truth is not relative it’s absolute. We are talking through a lot of different theological debates and that’s when it dawned on me. If I had gone to Mexico, I would not be sharing God, my Daddy, with my friend who desperately needs Him. Please pray as I continue to talk to my friend, Adam. Prayer that God continues to give me the words to use so that Adam’s eyes are opened to God’s amazing love and power, grace and salvation. Thanks again for impacting not only teens, but those in college and the leaders as well!

~Wendy
Ps. 27:10

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On March 10, 2008 @ 4:05 pm Juan said:

Dear Greg.
i wanna thank you for coming to atl for the conference, you did a great job. hopefully i’ll see you again next year.this was my first year and i loved it, it was awesome. Well today my double dare was awesome, i talked to two of my friends, and they both agreed on what i said, and one of them is going to come to my church. i’m really happy because god gave the strength i needed to do it. well take care and god bless. e-mail me to juannovember@hotmail.com.
Juan C.

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On March 10, 2008 @ 4:55 pm Greg Stier said:

Hey Haley,

Yes, I remember you and the piece of metal you placed in my hand. Wow. What an awesome experience. My prayer is that God will give you the continued strength that you need to walk in victory and that you continue to tap into his limitless strength. I am so proud of you. God has already given you the victory over Satan’s lies. Continue to walk in it!

greg

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On March 10, 2008 @ 5:38 pm Megan Blanton said:

Greg,
Hey! I went to the D2S confrence in Atlanta and im taking the double dare… and today i talked to one of my friends who is unshure and also very insecure about her faith and she is slowly begining to grasp who God is and i can see that God is slowly revailing himself to her through me!

1 Thes.5:17,

~Meg~

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On March 10, 2008 @ 5:56 pm r.baek4380 said:

hello.
i thought dare2share was totally awesome and sweet. i love lincoln brrewsterâ€™s voice and playing (giutar). thanks for sharing all the stories zane. youve been a great impact on my life. and thanks greg and derwin. i loved everything that u did at atlanta. this was my first year and i thought it was so awesome and i knew it couldve been better but thats the way that god wanted it to be so im fine. although i still wish we still had more time for getting autographs from u, derwin. zane. and lincoln. you guys are just so amazing. haha. i have the same bible as you.
ive taken the double dare and the calling thing. i called my best friend cathy cuz she was the only one i could think of at that time becuz i knew she was a christian well that what she said but i never knew if she really understood god. cuz im not sure if she goes to church becuz she stopped after the death of her father. her dad pasted away wen she was a little kid and she kinda faded out of going to church during elementary. and that was the time that i didnt really know about christ too. but ever since i was part of the youth group. i went to moslty all of the retreats and they were alive but this one and world changers just moved me into a passionate relationship with god. so i called her becuz i wanted to make sure that she as my best friend was believing and understanding god. i wanted to see her in heaven and not in hell going through the hard stuff in hell and not just going there. so i called her for the first time talking about jesus and GOSPEL. i was really nervouse becuz i hadnt talked to a schools friend about GOSPEL yet and i wasnt familiar with it. my voice was studdering but she said yes to all the things i told her and asked her. then i was relieved and just glad to listen to her say yes. then i hung up. and thank you again for making us call that one person on our mind. it was a great expirience.

then wen i headed back to my home. i was thing about the double dare and i said i was going to do it but i never thought of who i was going to tell. then i unpacked my stuff and slept becuz i was really tired and out of breath after dare2share. so after service on sunday. i started going through the internet and going to gospeljourney.com and doubledare.org. i was kinda confused with all the websites but that okayy. i signed up for the doubledare but i still havent made the list of friends. im kindda having a hard time with that. i mean i already told my other friend that i wasnt sure about and she said yes. becuz i wanted to keep the promise aobut the 48 hour thing. and bak on the friends list. im thinking of going through my phonebook and myspace and facebook and stuff. but about all the friends i have are either christian or catholic. and i noe that they are but im trying to find people that rnt christians for sure. then i want to rededicate their lives to become real christians as u and zane call. christians are the ones who spread the word and actually follow gods commands. so im still thinking of my friends. and the ones that i noe rnt christians are either muslim and aeitheist and i really dont noe them. i only noe them by saying hi and bi at skool. so wat should i do to make an actual list of friends who rnt christians? (my email is r.baek4380@gmail.com) it wuld be great and helpful if u email me bak.

and the worship was fantastic. it was bassically my favorite part. i never knew who lincoln was untill i saw himat d2s. i never realized how great he was at singing and the guitar. i wish i could get his autograph and zanes but they said they didnt have time. so it started. and i and they had to go bak on stage and in the audience. although i noe that god says dont have idols and praise him with all our hearts and minds and souls. but i keep having troubles with people. like u and zane and lincoln and derwin. so it wuld like it if u prayed for me.:) it would mean a lot. i also cant wait to go to d2s next year. invincible. is zane and derwin gonna be there next year??? i noe the fee and some other band is coming and not lincoln but thats okayy. i was soo excieted and i got tickets already on sunday the day after d2s was over. im hoping to take atleast one of my friends next year and im thinking of my friend sydney becuz i want her to be a realy christian and be more godly. shes always had a bad side of herself where she cussed. went on dates (when were only 12 rite now). backstabbed people. ditched peolle. and done some things. but i dont want to make u think shes bad. cuz she also has a great side of herself. but i just want u to take in her heart next year and just make her want to rededicate her heart and her life to god, the one who deserves it. and she was the friend to tell the GOSPEL in 48 hours. anyways i also have a problem that i tend to put school studies first and not god. someimtes. i get kinda loosen during my years. but i always come back to god from like retreats and conferences. but i still dont like putting somehitng above christ. well i dont but i tend to study that more that i study about god or jesus. so if u wuld help me by telling me suggestions. then thank you very much.:)

i cant wait till next year invincible!<3
â€”-Rachel Baek<333

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On March 10, 2008 @ 6:10 pm Sandy said:

hi greg. my names Sandy and i signed up 4 the double dare challenge but the only thing is that im not quite sure how to bring up the subject with my friends. i no God has a will and purpose for me to do the double dare but im just scared of what my freinds are goin to think of me and what might happen.

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On March 10, 2008 @ 6:26 pm Kelsey said:

Ok, so I already mentioned my testimony in the cell phone challenge, but today I completed the double dare. I talked to a kid that is mormon and I asked him why he believes in both the Book of Mormon and The bible, then I told him about revalation 22 and how no one should take from or add onto the bible. He said he didn’t want to talk about it, but I will see him tomorrow and he said he will answer my question then. Nothing big, but I planted the seed. I hope to share with a lot of people tomorrow because it is my first day back to school and I have so much to tell about my weekend!

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On March 10, 2008 @ 9:02 pm Brian said:

Greg,

First of all, like everyone else has said, thanks for Dare2Share. I’ve been searching for a while for something to push me out of my comfort zone, and when God brought me to Atlanta, He knew that this was where I’d find it.

It used to be that I couldn’t talk in public, I wasn’t exactly a brilliant conversationalist. But, that’s all changed, and I can only say that with confidence because of 2 Corinthians 10:17. It’s funny how some studies will say that your entire personality is formed by the age of two, it just has to be shaped and expressed according to your environment. Whether that’s true or not, I know that nothing changed about my ability to speak to people, the only new entry into my life was Jesus. Instead of trying to talk, I could sit back and let Him handle it through my lips. Now, only about a year ago, I felt God call me into the ministry, and I can remember that epic night where I fell at the foot of my bed and finally gave my future to God. I counted one by one all the plans that i had made and accepted that those weren’t the plans anymore. A few months later, I sat in the sound booth of First Baptist Church, looking at the service outline, staring at the center heading that said “Message: Brian Goodwin.” I gave my first message that morning to over 500 people, and it was right afterwards when a teacher at my school came up to me and stopped me before Sunday School. She told me she just had to thank me, because God really spoke to her that morning through me, and she was convicted in a way she’d been needing for a long time. That firmed it up for me. I don’t really know why I’m rambling on about this, but it feels good to tell somebody my story.

To jump to the present, there’s not much that intimidates me anymore thanks to the Spirit of God that strengthens me. Unfortunately, the prospect of sharing the Gospel with my close friends, especially the ones who really need it, does intimidate me. So this weekend, when I took on that cell phone challenge, I have to be honest and say that I was litterally shaking with anxiety. But as I dialed the number for my friend, I prayed. I got through to one friend, who apparently is already a Christian, and I felt God leading me to call more. So I kept calling. I called six more people that morning, and mostly left messages, but I am still hearing back from them. I got a call back Saturday night, and I got another call back Sunday night from one of my closest friends, who also happens to be an agnostic. I truly did NOT expect her to call me back when I left a message saying I wanted to talk to her a little about God, but she didn’t. We talked for just under an hour. I shared the Gospel Journey with her, and she asked some good questions. She hasn’t made a decision yet, but she is truly searching, and if you happen to get this far in this rambling novel I ended up writing, I wanted to ask you to take a second to pray for her, just like I am. Jesus said that wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I will be there. I don’t believe that rule is separated by distance or even time, after all, God isn’t limited by any of those things. So please just pray that she will truly search for Jesus. I know that if she does that, she will most definitely find Him. Jesus says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” All I can try to do is tap her on the shoulder, point at that door, and tell her “Hey, it’s for you!”

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On March 11, 2008 @ 7:30 am chris6ken2 said:

Hey Greg,

I was one of the Youth Leader at the D2S conference in Atlanta. This was the very first time that myself, the other Youth Leaders and our Youth attended a conference of any kind. I am sooo glad we chose the D2S. I am African-American and although I know that does not matter in the eyes of God, I wanted to say that your conference allowed our children to see children of other cultures Praising God! Some of them were really shocked!! and I think they may still be in shock!!LOL I think it is great that you are bringing children together of different backgrounds and different ethnicities, all in the name of the Lord! One way that this conference impacted me was when D.Grey, Zane and yourself had the rock, paper, scissors talk with the kids. I have been divorced for a few years and I don’t date. Mainly because, I know that if I get involved, the relationship will not honor God. But Zanes’ analogy of the flower, giving all your petals away and how if you have gone too far, God can give you a new flower. Wow! What a beautiful way to look at how God honors the marriage. I spoke with my kids on the van ride to envangelize. They enjoyed the talk as well. When I was growing up sex was bad, bad, bad. I know if it had been presented to me in that way when I was young, I would have looked at it totally different. Nevertheless, it is something that I can still use even now because I am single, and I now have the hope that it is not to late to honor God through my abstinence! My prayer is that it impacted those kids in the same way. Thank you for a great weekend!!!

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On March 11, 2008 @ 2:49 pm Taylor Ewing said:

Greg,

I was at the Atlanta Conferance, i was one of the girls that shared me testamonie about what happened when we were doing our outreach. I just wanted to thank you and all the Dare 2 Share people you all have changed my life forever. Last year was my first time to come and after that i rededicated me life to God and i also realized what i wanted to do with my life. What i found was that i really want to open a teen center and be a youth minster, Dare 2 share helped me to discover that. I also took the 48 hour challange, Along with shareing the Gospel with one of the houses we did out reach to i also took the phone challange, i talked to one of my friends but she still doesn’t want to ecept Christ but i am still tring, i also went back to my youth group ( which i was the only one that attended D2S) and i told them all about the Gospel. I am still going on shareing my faith and i thank you and everyone at D2S for all of your hard work and i hope that i can someday make a diffrence with my teen center that you all have made in my life!!!

God loves you and I love you,
Taylor Ewing

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On March 11, 2008 @ 2:49 pm William said:

Hey Greg,

This was my very first D2S conference with my youth group and as a youth who also has to take on the role of youth leader within that same youth group I would like to tell you that the conference was awesome and the teens in my youth group were so excited about going to church on Sunday and school on Monday and share what they learned as well as their experiences with God in their lives. This conference allow the teens in my youth group to see that it doesn’t matter what race you are when your are praising God and it taught them to give different styles of music and worship a chance and that different doesn’t mean that is is bad. The words of Zane, Derwin and you really touched my heart and opened my eyes to see that if I’m going to lead the youth in my church to Christ and get them as passionate as I am then I’m gonna need to fully devote myself to being a full-time Christian and follower of Christ this was an experience that I will never forget and that not only myself but the teens in my youth group look forward to each and every year. We Love You and Thanks for an Awesome and Inspiring Weekend!!!!!

P.S Hey I have taken the double dare and I am talking to a friend of mine who is not really confident in the power of God. But in God’s timing and with His help it is my prayer that he will come to realize the power that God has.

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On March 11, 2008 @ 5:13 pm Christy Hare said:

Greg, I attended the Atlanta conference for the first time last weekend. I am a youth leader and we brought 11 youth. I really feel that I must tell you how touched I was by certain topics.. When you guys talked about Sex and referred to the flower illustration, I was totally overcome with chill bumps. What a great way to reach our youth!! Oh how I wish I had heard that when I was a teen!!! I enjoyed all the music and Zane and Derwin were great!! Most of all, I enjoyed your stories. I wish you guys all the success with Dare 2 Share. Our youth need to be encouraged and supported and you guys help do that!! May God continue to bless you on your journey through this life!

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On March 11, 2008 @ 8:08 pm Connie said:

Dear Greg,
Let me start off by saying that dare2share has permenantly and honestly changed my life. Before going to Atlanta with my church, I was so confused about life. I constantly thought about suicide, and was disrespectful to my family. I acted one way around my Christian friends who I go to school with, but acted a different way with my friends at different schools. I listened to a lot of depressing music. After going to the conference and hearing the testimonies, I was honestly touched. It brought tears to my eyes when our youth pastors prayed over us, and seeing what Christ went through in the crucifixion. Yeah, I had heard the Sunday School teachers talk about the crucifixion, but never was it more real to me then it was in that moment. Hearing the testimonies made me want to go out and share my faith! I was excited! I was eccastic! (does that mean happy?)
But here’s the bad news. Greg, I failed you. I didn’t share with my friends because I was too scared. Too scared about what my friends would say about me. Even though this world has nothing at all for me. I chickened out. I’m so sorry.
As for the cell phone challenge, I called my friend who had had major struggles in the past, with his family, and some suicidal thoughts along the way. I wanted to let him know that I cared! I love him so much Greg, and I don’t want him to leave this world without knowing Christ. He says that he is a believer, but there is no passion. No emotion…no Christ like character. I’m determined to be the one who shows him the way to God…to feel the way I do now! The 48 hours has long since gone, but it is my goal to share Christ with him.
Greg, thank you so, so much for sharing with me the wonderful works of Jesus. I’ll never be the same again.
Hopefully I’ll see you next year! (:

Thankfully yours,
Connie

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On March 12, 2008 @ 6:10 am Jasmyn said:

Hey Greg!

I was so excited to go to the Survive Conference in Atlanta! We didn’t get to stay for the very last session and hear about the Double Dare, or stay to see Hawk Nelson… I was bummed( not seeing the Hawk boys, and the DD), but I read about it in the hand book…
Anyways though, what really hit me this past conference was the simplicity of God’s love. It should affect EVERY area of my life, but I put Him in compartments. I want to be sold out for Him, and my worsihp through everything in my life to be real! Everything I learned was relevant, real, and crack-up funny! I also loved hearing Zane and Derwin.. I loved what Lincoln Brewster kept saying baout our worship being a sanctified time! Thanks Greg! You are so awesome.. You have such a genuine heart, I could feel it radiating off the stage!! I’m praying for you and your family!I hope I can meet you one day!!

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On March 12, 2008 @ 3:07 pm Elisa P Lindsey said:

I was at the Dare to Share and it was my frist year going. And it was alsome. Before I went there i would have be to afraid to witness to anyone. But after d2s and I went home i was more alive. and at our food pantry monday I just started to witness to this one lady. And it felted great. and ever since d2s i have felt more happy and clam. Thank you for opening the dare 2 share for everyone and may God bless you and your family in many ways.

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On March 12, 2008 @ 7:59 pm Tiffany said:

Greg,
I just wanted to say thank you for doing what God called you to do. I think that you’re one of the reasons one of my friends came to Christ. He was so excited about sharing his faith at the dare 2 share Alanta I wanted to run over and hug him I was so proud of him. And because of what you and the dare 2 share cast said I’m trying much harder to put my faith and trust in God in case the day comes where I have to die for I want to say I’m for Jesus.
So keep doing what you do, When we get to hevean I’ll be One of the millions applauding for you.

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On March 12, 2008 @ 8:23 pm Rachael_H said:

Greg!!
Awesome, fantastic, wonderful, and a spiffed-up job with D2S this year!! You and all the crew!! this was my second year going and it was so different!! Lincoln Brewster did and awesome job with worship! And Hawk Nelson! Let em tell you was AMAZING!!! I will never forget that weekend. Especially for it most likely being the last time I’ll get to go which is kinda sad! See in a few months me and my parents are moving to Italy for missions! Unfortunately I don’t think I will be coming back on the time y’all do D2S in Atlanta. But I hope that one this will get so big it will be able to cross the ocean! Which would be AMAZING! Or maybe I’ll just start one in Italy! hehe! Thank you so much for this awesome last D2S!
Much Love!
~Rachael =D

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On March 12, 2008 @ 9:44 pm Bear15 said:

Hey Greg, You propbly don’t recall me I was the one who fell agienst the wall as you pasted by while have the computer going. I took the 48 hour challenge. I winest to a friend who had been lost in his (own world) as he call it,but he shortly relized after he got a sertain answer he didn’t like after asked him a question. Then allof a sudden he started asking me these questions like right out of the blue it is like God filled his head with all these questions, though I didn’t have all the answers. I asked him If he would he come and see me at lunch. So, he came and he started asking questions again then I just told him to hold up and let me get something out. When I brought out The Bible he like what is this and I said the answers to your questions about God. He went back to eatting with his friends.Then today he came up to me and asked “How can I be a follower of God?” I told it was very simple if you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and you know he is in your hart then you will be saved. So, he like really its that simple? So, during lunch we prayed for him to repent from his sins and become a believer. I know it was longer than 48 hours,but at lest I winest to someone.

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On March 13, 2008 @ 11:16 am jennifer said:

hey i had a blast @ dare2share it was my first time ever going. me and my friend grew closer to God. i thank everyone involved with dare2share ministries. Zane ur the best!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL
JENNIFER (AKA OJ)

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On March 13, 2008 @ 11:24 am jennifer said:

omg one more thing i was sooo amazed abt all the ppl that shpwed up. im really glad GOD showed up and showed out. my dad called me the other night. (he’s in jail) and i was telling him about the conference and he busted out in tears. and then i told him abt the Double Dare and the Gospel and he answered yes to all the questions so i was really happy. well i gotta go b/c im in school right now so i got to get back to work>
love you all
OJ

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On March 13, 2008 @ 3:26 pm Shurinai said:

Dear Greg,

Hey man whats up! Hey I went to D2S Atlanta and Saturday night i was like 3 feet from you lol. I dont know if you remember but while Derwin, Zane, and the Amish guy were during their skit you were sitting down and a guy offered you gum i guess. I was like two seats to the right of him lol. Im very thankful for you and Dare2Share. Last year after I went to D2S I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. You were one of the people God used to speak to me.. That desicion to start Dare2Share however many years ago affected my life and God used it to change me and my family. I wanna thank you on here but next year I want to thank you face to face. You are an incredible blessing to me and my family. God bless you

Love,
Shurinai

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On March 13, 2008 @ 4:51 pm Matt said:

Hey Greg I was there this past weekend in Atl. That was the first I have ever experienced true conviction of my not so distant past. I am one of the many youth leaders that have tremendous regrets, because of the message of the entire conference, I now believe not only can I share the Gospel but be an example of it.

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On March 13, 2008 @ 4:55 pm Rose said:

Hey Greg,
I was at the Atlanta conference last weekend and I LOVED IT!!!! It got me thinking on a lot of subjects I had never thought of before this. The skit on Friday night really hit me. I started wondering a lot about would I be willing to die for Christ. This was the main subject on my mind all weekend and I couldn’t barely think of anything else. Then on Sunday morning, my youth group had combined Sunday School and we got to share about our experience this weekend if we wanted to. So I got up there and started talking about the skit and I ended by saying, ” I realize that I am not scared to die for Christ”. This weekend really moved me and I’m so glad I went. I thank you and Zane and Derwin for all you all have done this weekend.

Rose

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On March 13, 2008 @ 5:33 pm Madisen said:

When I came to the conference to be truthful I didn’t expect much I just thought it’d be fun to hang out, but when the did the drama the first night whoo call it crysville I decided I wasn’t playing around anymore that I was going to live and die for Christ! I also figured out how much God loves me and how he planned for my life to be the way it is… also it showed me how lost people can actually be! So thankyou soo much!!

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On March 13, 2008 @ 6:21 pm Heather said:

Thanks so much for doing dare 2 share!!!! When I came, I didnt come expecting much. Even though my church does all that great stuff and we have our own band and everything and I was like it probably doesn’t get much better than that!! Before I wanted 2 be a vet and now God has put another choice in my head….like speaking to teens all over the country about Jesus and now Ive been praying and letting God decided what he wants for me so thank you soooooooo much!!! Also I learned about the Washinton Projects and ever since I bought their cd at the ATL confrence I can’t stop listening to it!!!

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On March 13, 2008 @ 7:15 pm Ginny said:

Hey Greg,

Thanks so much for D2S. It was something I’ve been looking forward since before I even moved to SC (I moved in October. ;] ). It was crazy exciting, fun, and inspiring. I do have a question though. I have a couple of friends who are completely anti-”religion” (I know, I know – Christianity is NOT a religion, but a relationship with our creator) and if the topic of God ever comes up, they immediately shoot it down. I wear my Christian t-shirts (:P People loved the Jesus Recycles, by the way) and try to act like I should. I know this isn’t a straight forward witness, but is silent witnessing just as good?

Oh, and one of my friends came to Christ! Of course, this has been a long term thing (before Survive, but after I went to Game plan). :] She struggled with things at home and every time she talked to me about it, I told her I’d pray for her. She took it to heart. ;3

Love y’all at Dare to Share! You really have NO IDEA what you do to us teens (you have an idea, sure, but you don’t have the full picture). <3

x__Love your sister in Christ.

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On March 13, 2008 @ 8:06 pm Elizabeth T. said:

Hey, my name is Elizabeth and I just wanted to tell you how much God has changed my life through your book. I never actually went to the conference but three of my friends that i go to school with did. And anyway, i’ve just resently met them (like this week really!) and before ( let me give you alittle background info.) I had been praying to God in like desperatio for some good influence and better freinds that i could trust and felowship with and no later than 2 or 3 weeks later, He gave me three! these girls are amazing and really challengin my faith and witnessing to other people. Anyway, this is how it happened: I just moved to Venice, FL this year and left a great set of friends (and i was trying to bring them to Christ, still trying!) in Virginia. Well, I find that i have a really hard time with letting things go,like dealing with change, u know? and i was trying to trust God, but each day it seemed like His voice was getting smaller and smaller until the world around me so loud that it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to hear Him. Well, It was that way from about Oct.- last week, and I had been praying to God to give me good friends that were encouraging and loved his word and would help me follow him. I do have friends but i hate like hanging out with thwm b/c i feel like i’m substituting myself for them…and i can feel myself like IGNORING God when I’m around them. Or atleast I could before this week!:) Track started this week and a couple of weeks before i was talking to a group of girls who go to my school (nice poeple that i was scared of talkng to b/c i was afraid of something..no idea what! Satan no doubt was spitting lies at me..) and they were all talking about track and i really wanted to join b/c i’ve done it all throughout middle school and now that i’m in 8th grade i didn’t want that to change, but my mom told me no b/c she worked so far away from the school that she wouldn’t be able to pick me up from practices. Well, I jsut decided to blurt that out and one of the girls that went to your conference (Amanda:) just said, oh, I can take you home, my mom wouldn’t mind! omg, i was so relieevd, i knew that she was a christian b/c she always wore like shirts that had bible verses on them and saif stuff about conferences and Jesus, and i knew that she was the kind of person that i wanted to be hanging out with! so, this monday (10th) we went to track practice together and i still hadn’t really ever talked to her that much, so i started walking with her around track and just making conversation (she’s a really amazingly easy and nice person to talk to) and anyway we just went from there and she was really funny and alot of fun. Well, when we got in the locker room and were like about to leave, she asked me is i wanted to pray at the pole with her everymorning with the two other girls plus a couple that i already new, and i said “yeah, definetly! Tomorrow morning?” and she told me all about it with a smile on her face:) So, anyway, I wondered how she knew that i was a christian or if she just wanted to ask me to try to show me Jesus, but i asked her later on and she told me that on see you at the pole day (it’s sept.26th where christians go to their schools’ flag pole int he morning and join together in fellowship and prayer.)she saw me with like two other people plus my mom and the school’s detective and secretary praying around the pole for our school, families, country, etc. but, she told me that since that day she never forgot that i was a christian and that she wanted to talk to me about it since then! and i was really excited b/c now i knew that everything really did happen for a reason, and even if it took the whole year for her to become my friend, it was all in God’s timeing, and this is when i’m really ready for a seriouse relationship with God, all of my stupid worldly pride aside… And anyway, we net at the flagpole for the first time on Tuesday and the principal was ok with it but the nurse and the vice principle were alittle against is b/c the flag pole is across the bus loop street and they were “afraid that we would be hit by oncoming traffic.” And i can understand that. but i’ll caome back to that later (sorry this is so long!:) and anyway, tuesday whe she drove me home for the first time, our whole ride home was talking about knowing that we’re saved and making sure our friends are going to heaven and not HELL and we were all talking about when and how we found Jesus(There were three of us Amanda me and Nazereith who also went to the conference). and then she gave me your book Dare2Share and by the way it’s changed my life and gives me more confidence in sharing my faith with my lost friends, who are consumed by drugs and sex and depression and just emptiness… i want to show them the light,Jesus of course. Your book as well as God’s book has shown me that he IS the only way and that if i’m going to preach that to my friends that i need to know for sure for myself. And you know, i feel like i do, and i feel God in my heart and the joy that comes with it and i know that Jesus died for me, but i don’t know if i trsut and know it inm yheart (please pray). and anyway, God id definetly working with that one b/c the Bible says that God will never deny a broken and humble spirit or something like that and i know that he knows that i want to love and know him at greater heights and that he cares about me enough to put these girls in my life and you (thank you so much for the book!) I know that he can do anything and i want to be someone that he can do anything through, that’s the kind of follower i want to be, someone who actually follows and LISTENS AND REACTS…u know? well, i guess you would know:)
Well,anyway, I was talking to one of my friends on wednsday who i’ve taken to church with me but has since then not been able to came back with me.. well, she asked me how my day was and i just started telling her about Amanda and the pole and everything God’s been doing in my life (we were passing notes) and she just started askng me more and sort of changing the subject and i kept bringing it back to what God was doing in my life and everything and just kept telling her everything that i felt i needed to tell her. Well, those same notes went on for two class periods (alittle over two hours!) and eventually she just told me that i was a great person and that she wished that she could be “good” and that God could except her but she had done so many “bad things” and it did seem alittle clichÃ© to me, you know, it’s the kind of responce you here in movies and stuff in examples, but i was surprised to see it in a real conersation, and i realized that it was a natural thought and that she didn’t know the real TRUTH about Jesus even though she had heard the story. Well, seeing a perfect opertunity to share Jesus with her (an opertunity that God had thrown right in front of my face to see if i was really seriouse about folowing him and saveing the world) and i shared the Gospel with her in a note. and the note i got back said that she “Already knew that story, and that she just couldn’t believe that all that she had done could be erased with just an apology and the commitment to live her life for him and in truth and life. She said that she didn’t deserve it and that it couldn’t be that simple.” Well, i told her more about what God said about just how simple it was to do jsut that and that i could prove it to her (knowing that i was going to go hoem and pray to God to give me the verses and the wisdom to share Christ with her.) and she gave me her number and said that she wanted me to call her. I was supposed to go to my youth group that night and so i knew that i couldn’t call her b/c i would get home from track and go right to youth. i figured i would do it later. But, the girl that was going to take me to church and that goes to my youth group couldn’t pick me up and had to leave early (before i even came home!) and so i called Cassy (the girl who i’m trying to witness to)and asked her what she was foing and she invited me over to her house for dinner and so hey picked me up about 30 min. later. This all seemed to be wrong b/c i wanted to go to youth so much b/c it was fun, but now i see what i was really there for, i know that God put me there so that i wouldn’t have to put it off b/c there is no secure time for when he’s scoming back and there is no safety in “putting it off” and so i went to her house and we had a BBQ and well, they all knew that i was a baptist christian and i had already invited them to my church and her and her mom had come, but i started seeing how her family treated eachother, and Cassy just really didn’t LISTEN to what anyone was sying! like she would talk right over her mom and her grandma etc. and i was just really agrivated b/c i strongly believ in listening to people especially like older people b/c the Bible says so and b/c they are human beings and they’ve go something to day too! well, i took a stand for that and payed attention to them and went right back to my converation with her grandma after she interupted and later at school she told me that her grandma usually doesn’t like anyone b/c they don’t listen to her (she’s like close to 90) and that she liked me because i actually talked and listened to her and was interested in her, and yeah, now i’m invited over ANYTIME! which means more chances to not only share Jesus with Cassy, but her whole family who i don’t see at shool! Anyway, that’s still building:) I’ve actually been reading the part of your book where it tells the 4 types of Sharing styles and mine was a Buddy:) And it really does give me confidence to eliminate my weaknesses and improve my strengths:) But also to trust God’s strength. and i felt God telling me to call her today after track practice and she was at the beach with her family and she started asking me about this thng that we did in Language Arts today. It was like a question and answer that our teachr put up on the board for us to do in reflection to a movie we’re watching. And the question was “What teacher can you honestly say changed your life and made and impact on you? And what was it?” I just told her the truth. I never answered that question b/c i ran out of time and so i told her that i would have told about my youth pastor who’s been teaching me God’s word and just walking by faith and being a good example. And i need good examples in my life to drown out all of the evil in this world, and she was lik,”oh, that’s cool.” but i know her i think well enough to know that she’ll think about it later:) I know that this is really long, but PLEASE hang in there, it’s almost over, i promise:)
Ok, well, back to the flag pole thing. Well, this morning, only me and Amanda showed up and we thought that we should get permission before we go to the pole this time b/c we knew that we didn’t want to cause troub;e and that they were only looking out for our safety, so we went to the nurse and she sugested that we go in the BACK OF HE SCHOOL AND FIND AN AREA! well, we told her that we had an efficient place right infront of the school that was no where in trafic, so she said “ok” and we went byu the front door and prayed, and talked about what we were learning nad like we went inside after the bell was about to ring and the nurse caught up with us and told us to right our names down and that the vice principal wanted to talk to us in his oddice later. So, we kind of looked at eachother and wrote our names down and went to class. Well, later on i was in my guitar class and my teacher comes up to me and tells me that the vice principal wanted to talk to me in his office. Well, I went down to the office praying the whole time that God would give me the courage to stand up for my rights of assembly and such and just to show him that we were flexible but not impressionable or about to compramise our purpouse.So, when i got in his office, I saw Amanda sitting there and she was like practicly throwing the Constitution in his face! So, knowing that Jesus wouldn’t want us to do that, i interupted her and started teling him how we had found a perfectlt good spot infront of the school and that we would be fine and i thanked him for worrying about our saftey (b/c that’s really all it was about) and he aksed me why we needed a flagpole and i told him that it didn’t really matter if it was a flagpole, it was just what we did for see you at the pole day, so we just went with it and it seemed like an easy place to meet. Well, he was very nice about it and everything, but still really curiouse and he switched the subject to like the state test that we just tok and asked us how we thought we did and we laughed and stuff and that was it. Me and Amanda walked out feeling pretty good, and i like so thankful that God had come through and handled that situation (b/c i really get nervouse talkng to like important people) and me and Amanda talked in the hall for a while and then just went back to class. Throughout today, and this week, i’ve seen and felt God working in my life. I know that he’s caling me to witnes to people i dont even know online. like this Wicca girl. and He’s using your book to give me the info. i need to share Jesus with her effectively, i’ll give you a follow up:) One again, thnx for the book:) and please pray for me and especially my sister, she’s not the same person that she used to be. she’s 17 and all into the world. she’s lost her site of God, pray that God would use me to somehow help her find her way back and to live my life as christ did so she can see that i really have changed:) If you read this far, thnx for listening and caring:) O’m still reading that book! in school and out:) thnx a bunch:)

-Liz

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On March 14, 2008 @ 7:07 am Bubelaiken said:

hi greg.
my name is leyanet.
I went to Dare 2 share In Atlanta. it was awesome!! it was my first time. Being in there was life-chaning. it has brought me a lots closer. What the most strange thing is that Zane and i are sooo much alike. When he talk about drugs, beers and everything and I had done that. I had done Drugs, Smoking, beers and Huffing. I done all that and you name it. I met new peoples. I met peoples like me Who is hearing impairment and deaf kids. I used my sign language. My whole life i been teased for the way i am. I wear hearing aids and i know sign language. Lots of peoples think im retard and stupid and it made me sooo mad of myself. I used to believe that god hate me because he delieve a disabilities that i hate. i met Zane. I told him about my life and he has told me that god create me and everything eles and for once i agree with him. He is very sweet, kinda and loving person. I had saw him again while you did compassion however i did sponsor a child from compassion. he saw me and he smile at me and said hi to me and i said hi back. I like the part where you, Zane, and derwin talk about the living of sacrfic of jesus christ. it had made me think a lots. The most awaraked conversation is when you, zane and derwin talk about sex in front of us and we don’t wanna hear it at all. We went up to peoples and sharing our knowledge of jesus christ. Some peoples were meant to us because they have issue with god and some peoples were nice to us. I had been Depressed lately and i has been thinking about killing myself lately. I don’t have lots of freinds. I do have freinds but they were not acting like true freinds. I wish i can have freinds that are true to me. however there is nothing you can do for my Depression of death and killing myself.

but thank you for the COnference of Dare 2 share. it was life-chaning. i am going to try of all the example that could kill me.
Well i gotta go. Have fun at D2S.

Tell Zane hi from Me. tell him it is leyanet from Atlanta. he might remember me.

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On March 15, 2008 @ 4:26 pm WillieG13 said:

First off, VENTI JESUS IS AMAZING! i just finished reading it 10 minutes ago and was in tears! Its one of those books that make you take a few steps back to look deep into yourself and your morals. I was at Dare2Share in Atlanta with our youth group. In the past we had a youth director that didn’t take us to conferences like D2S. He was one of those “blind leading the blind” kind of people. He never really got anyone fired up about God or the GOSPEL. He recently left our church, deserting the youth group and not saying a farewell at all. But by the grace of God, the SINGLE MOST AMAZING HUMAN BEING EVER filled his shoes. He keeps us alive and on fire, not just any old fire i’m talking HOTTT FIRE! D2S was our first experience with witnessing as well. Being one of the leaders of the group is hard, everyone looks up to you and all you can do is lead them. So, another youth and myself jumped out of the van first. It had to be the best feeling in mt entire life, just seeing people: KIDS! who before D2S had NEVER done anything like that before, pile out of the van and tell people about their experiences at D2S and their Father i Heaven! Your program is amazing and it changed my life! Hope to see it for many years to come! In his Name. your friend:)

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On March 15, 2008 @ 8:10 pm Paige said:

Dear Greg,

Hey! My name is Paige Couch and I’m from Mancheser, Georiga. I’m a senior in high school and I’ve been going to Dare2Share in Atlanta ever since I was in the 8th grade. But this year, for some reason, my youth group did not get the chance to go. It really upset me because D2S is one of the events that I look forward to most in the year. Since I probably won’t be able to attend anymore D2S events because I’m starting college in the Fall, I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate all that you do for teens around this country. Because of D2S, I have grown closer to God and I have learned to share my faith and to stand up for what I believe. I will take everything that I learned from the conference and apply it to my every day life. Let your team know that they, as well as you, are amazing, and I will truly miss being in your audience!
Sincerely,
Paige Couch

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On March 17, 2008 @ 8:49 am cphillips said:

Greg,

I am so thankful that there are people like you out there teaching teens (and adults) how to communicate the gospel “clearly.” Over the last few years my eyes have been opened, not only to the amount of unclear gospel presentations that are presented week after week, but also the plethora of ideas of what it takes to be declared righteous by God, even from the pulpit of “Christian” churches.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the 48 hour challenge. At the conference I called a friend who (at the time) was out looking at houses with his girlfriend; so I told him to call me back when he had time. Monday came and I hadn’t heard back from him yet, and because he works nights I was going to wait until 3pm to give him a call.

I wasn’t working on Monday so I was using the time to study for my quiz in “Hebrews” that night at “Free Grace Seminary” (by the way FGS has been around for 4 years and many of the men who started the school are “youth ranchers” if you want to take a look the site is http://www.freegraceseminary.com). Well about 1:45 I decided to take a nap and set my alarm for 3:00, so I wouldn’t miss the chance to call my friend before he went to work. When my alarm sounded, before I could turn it off my phone rang and it was him!

I started off (after a little small talk) by explaining the circumstances behind the call on Saturday, and then asked if I could ask him a few questions. He agreed and so I started with the question of “Do you know for sure that you will go to heaven?” His answer was yes I believe in “God,” followed by statements such as I’m a good person and things of that nature. I then proceeded to explain the gospel to him using the G.O.S.P.E.L. as a guide. Following the conversation he thanked me for calling him and sharing the “good-news” with him.

I think it’s important that we realize that just because someone has been a church attenders (to some degree) throughout their lives, they haven’t necessarily heard the “good-news.” Many are being assault with bad terminology, as well as, bad theology. I say this because within our own youth group, as well as, in the previous post in this blog people are saying that they don’t really know anyone who isn’t a christian. Well I believe that everyone you know should be “all” inclusive even those who would identify themselves as Christians. I think you will find that if you ask the right questions they may be trusting in something other than “faith alone in Christ alone.” My friend is a great example of that.

In Christ,
chris

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On March 17, 2008 @ 1:04 pm Taylor Ewing said:

Greg,
I posted a message on here right after the Atlanta Conferance, about how much i enjoyed it and how much Dare 2 Share has meant to me. But after that i went back to my church where my mother is the youth minsiter, my mom felt so strongly about d2s and that it would make a diffrence in our other youths lives that she bout tickets for next year. After talking to the youth and telling them all about it my mom wanted to see if she could get rembursed since she used her money to bye the tickets and the Deep and Wide. When our preacher found out he was very upset he questioned me and my mom about our beliefs and told us pretty much that your program may be right for us but it was not right for our church and our youth, he also was going on about how he didn’t believe that we save peoples lives by leading them to christ. The night that this happend i cried my self to sleep. After much concetration and tears me and my mom have desided to quit going to that church. I hope that you read this because i want some advise what are you supposed to do and how are you supposed to share your faith when the people persucuteing you are not the ones your tring to tell about god but your church and the ones that know God and what he has done in their lives?
Thanks,
Taylor

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On March 18, 2008 @ 6:58 am Eddie said:

Taylor,

Reading your comments about what you and your mother are going through was rough. Sad to say but there are many “Christians” who completely ignore the commandments of Christ to preach the gospel. The Bible is pretty blatant that we are to witness to others about our faith and it’s not just for some people, but ALL of us.

I know many churches throughout the south-east who are very focused on speading the message of Christ. If you want to email me a general location area that you are in, I can give you a list of local churches for you who have a love for the gospel message. This might help in your search.

You can email me through this contact page. http://aliveinthezone.org/?page_id=11

I’ll be praying for you.

Eddie

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On March 20, 2008 @ 6:56 am Steven Hurst said:

Hey Greg,
I just wanted to share a little of how God has worked in our students’ lives since the Atlanta “Survive” conference. This past Sunday our church did a neighborhood blitz, inviting our community to church for Easter Sunday. Since we are local to the Atlanta area, our students were able to go back into the same neighborhood for the blitz where we were collecting cans a week earlier. I think that kind of follow-up will really have an impact on the community. The students were excited too since they would have another chance to explain the Gospel to these folks. We were given about 400 flyers to distribute in the neighborhood. After about an hour we were completely out of flyers. My wife and I handed out all of the tracts we had with us from the church and sent the students on to continue going door to door . . . only now we were handing out Gospel tracts instead of Easter service flyers. The students got pretty excited about that. They were going to make sure they shared Jesus with these people. While they were continuing in the neighborhood, I went and got 200 more flyers and came back. In another hour they had gone through those as well. Several of the students then wanted to switch back to the tracts and keep going . . . It’s amazing to see how God has worked in these students’ lives. During the evangelism experience time, I remember watching several of the students interact . . . one was complaining about how cold it was and wanting to skip houses. One of the other students turned to her and said, “Look, this is the point of the whole weekend. This is why we’re here.” I’m so thankful that this attitude didn’t just last the weekend for this student. She is really on fire to share the Gospel with people.

We are so thankful for a conference like Dare 2 Share. Every year we’ve come our students’ lives have been radically impacted. This year was no exception.

Steven Hurst
Rehoboth Baptist Church
Tucker, GA

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On March 20, 2008 @ 11:02 am ben said:

D2S in Atl was awesome this year! I am a youth pastor in central GA and I am blown away by what God is doing in our group. Last night a student invited a friend. Of course, I gave an invitation, but the student didn’t let it stop there. While giving his friend a ride home, he asked him where he would go if he died. He then shared with him the GOSPEL. How exciting is that? I’m praying that God will save this young man and continue to work in the lives of our teens.
I also have teens asking about going door to door in the neighborhoods surrounding our church. We are definitely going to do that! I am beginning to organize a D2S type event with our local association. To God be the glory!
Thanks D2S for your faithfulness to help guys like me train and equip teens to carry out the Great Commision! God Bless, we’ll see you next year.

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On March 20, 2008 @ 2:06 pm Greer said:

Never before have I witnessed so many teenagers EXCITED about their embracing Jesus. Up until my presence at the Atlanta tour, my passion for youth ministry was driven … yet absent that unique quality addictive to the average heart desiring productive … growth. My daughter knows & loves Christ. Yet the need for substance, meat instead of milk, produced a spirit wandering in … “what grown ups talk about” … never understanding what’s reallyy going on. …Just going the the motions… Now, I, as parent…and yes-youth leader, have some foundation from which to stand when gathering the hearts and minds of a community’s youth — that they may be the driving force behind a better tomorrow. Selah.

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On March 20, 2008 @ 10:41 pm Jeremy Payne said:

sup man!? hey i had a blast with my youth group at dare2share in atl!!! i had the opportunity to experience PU! it was my first time actually getting around to sharing my faith with someone and the guy just told me no!… he said that he wanted to just stick to the food stuff and gave us a few can goods…anyways i love dare to share! its an awesome way for me to renew myself every year no matter where i’m at in my life! it makes me look at my life and realize what i’m doing that i need to chance and all that i am doing that is right… last year at dare to share 2006 is when i actually came to know the Lord. i’ve grown up in church my whole life but i mean i really looked at my life after the drama last year and i have to say taht i wasnt living a Christian life that would be honorable and glorifying to God. i said woa wait a minute i need to make things right and i did and then i went on to share my fait and i’ve been different ever since then… i dont worry about things as i used to and God has helped me thorugh tough situations that i really would not have been able to make it through without him…
last but not least i just want to thank you for all the work you and the crew put into dare to share ministries and to say that i cant wait to come back next year if i can come… my senior class was on a mission trip on the date of survive so i might end up going on that instead of getting to attend the dare to share conference but whatever be the Lord’s will then it will happen! well once again thanks Greg for all the hard work you and your crew have done over the past years with dare to share and putting these conferences together!!! they mean a lot and a lot of teenagers come to know you because of the these conferences!!!
peace out!
jeremy Payne athens ga!

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On March 21, 2008 @ 12:21 pm Jonathan Moore said:

I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’M SPEECHLES

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On March 21, 2008 @ 12:26 pm Jonathan Moore said:

That was kinda short, but I really did fire me up. My youth group leader gave me the book, DARE2SHARE and it is extremely helpful. I bring it to school everday and I never leave the hosue without it. The conference was deep, challenging and the book was enligtening and great to. The book helped me by telling me about all the different religions and preparing me to share Jesus. It’s a great book and I read it everyday. Thanks a bunch.

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On March 21, 2008 @ 6:09 pm Taylor said:

I was there! It was absolutely wondeful! I loved the music and all the preaching. I especially loved that line that Derwin used: “They hung Jesus up like he was in a poster. But three days later, he popped back up like he was in a toaster!” Man, I laughed so hard at that! It was fuuny but true at the same time! I love you Greg, Derwin, and Zane!

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On March 23, 2008 @ 4:35 pm anna.thornton said:

This was the second conference my daughter and I attended (we were at the Game Day one in Nashville last year), but this time we brought the girls in the bible study I lead at her non-christian private school. Everyone was very moved. One of the girls in our group actually wrote me after the conference saying that during the conference God showed her what a Christian-pretender she was. She said she was getting to the point where she was ready to really ask Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. Thank you so much for changing my life as well as the lives of everyone else there that night!

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On April 14, 2008 @ 3:09 pm Chelsea said:

Greg,
I know this is kinda of late…well actually a month and a week since the conference but i have to say that ya’ll did such a great job-God has blessed you and your ministry so much! I took the DoubleDare on that Monday, March 9th. My friend came up to me in the hall that morning and asked me had i taken it and i said no but God will open up an oppourtunity and that i was going to do it today, well i was skeptical that God would open up an opportunity and throughout the day i watched and waited for an opportunity but none came…well at least not until the end of the day. In the last 5 minutes before the bell rang my friend whom God has layed on my heart asked me “How did your little church thing go?” and i knew that was God saying GO GO GO!! my heart was beating in my throat and i was so nervous but i did it!! She claims to be saved, but i know that in God’s timing she’ll come to know Him, just got to keep being a witness and show her his love. The book “Venti Jesus Please” has also been a wonderful witnessing tool to an agnostic friend…it definetly made her think and right there that was another God thing!!Thanks for making this year a great year. In Christ
Chelsea

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On April 15, 2008 @ 8:45 pm Luke Davis said:

I loved Dare2share it really helped me get closer with god. I will come next year. Thanks

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On May 27, 2008 @ 9:19 am Josh Stephenson said:

Hey! Myself and a 8th grader named Daniel witnessed to a 12 kid when we were collecting cans and he actually aceepted Christ. It was awesome. Daniel wants to be a youth minister one day and this is the first person he has ever help lead to Christ. He and I will never forget it.

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On June 30, 2008 @ 11:00 pm andres said:

hey i went to dare2share in ATL in 2008 n i love all the music u guys play.
can u please send me the names of all the songs play in that conference i been looking for them so bad but i cant find them!!
thanks n god bless you guys!!!!

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On January 23, 2009 @ 8:18 am Jonathan said:

Thank you for the conference… I really enjoyed it and it was the first time in quite a while where I felt like I could freely worship Jesus without having people mock me. (And I go to a Christian school!)

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Greg Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:50 am
I went to a Christian school too and got mocked. Persecution University…bring it!

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Were you at the Atlanta Survive Conference?

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Posted on Sunday 9 March 2008 by Greg @ 8:34 pm
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