Relentlessly pursuing Christ and His Cause
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6,700 teens (a sellout!), hundreds trusted in Christ and at least 80% of the crowd took the challenge to “shred the gnar” with five friends right away!
If you were at the Dare 2 Share conference in Lincoln this weekend please tell me your shreddin’ story. If you weren’t please pray for those who are taking the good news of Jesus to their friends!
hi greg this weekend rocked this weekend i asked the Lord to help me turn my life around and get rid of the demons in my life and i also took the challenge and have already shared my faith with seven people who are really close to me and am trying to help one of my closest friends meet Jesus for the first time
Hey Greg,
All I can really say is WOW! This weekend I can just tell made me a better person. I think about God way more now-like how you said don’t only think about God on Sundays, or for me also Wednesday nights. Think about him every single day and always pray. That’s what I have started doing. I know God is in me, so then when i talk to my 5 close friends about GOSPEL they will become believers also. Thank you so much for coming to Lincoln!
Hi Greg,
This weekend was amazing. I have been to D2S several times and i love it. Everytime it is exciting. This time was special because i actually convinced a friend of mine that’s an athiest to come with me. She excepted God friday night. I was crying my eyes out. I had brought up God to her before but she was always really hard to convince and she had come backs. She finally gave in and she said that she wants to just be with my youth group and with fellow christians all the time. It’s amazing what God can do in peoples lives. And also on Saturday our youth group went to the mall and ended up finding our selves kicked out almost because we asked the security guard what he thought of Jesus. Oh well at least we got kicked out for awesome reason. So thank you so much for helping out with us youth. A lot of people think we are really loud and rude and i don’t think they realize that we are deep people who need Jesus. You understand that. So once again thanks a lot. God bless you and have safe travels to your other destinations. 
This weekend was awesome. I hope you liked the notes we gave you 
. While we were out collecting can goods, I got to have an awesome talk with a guy. We was a christian, and he new the conference was this weekend, and he didn’t go. But he didn’t tell us that he was a christian until later. He had an “August Burns Red” t-shirt on, so we stared talking about music. And he had a violin on his table, so we got into some good convo about music. And then I asked him his opinion on religion. And he made it sound like he was unsure, so that I would have to go in to further detail with him. What a punk right? But it really helped me out alot. And then I asked him about Jesus, and he shared his testimony with us. I was shocked, and then he came out and said that he was proud of the work we were doing to advance gods kingdom. He was an awesome guy. God really worked through our group. One girl brought 2 of her friends to christ over the phone on saturday. Praise god!
Hey Greg, (Greg please read the whole thing and commet back and if you could have Zane commet back too.)
My name is megan and this year was my first time going to Dare 2 Share. Wow! I didn’t expect this to be so awsome. So well the Sheddrin story is kinda about me and still going. Well i thoght i was perfectly fine with god that i would go to heaven and everything i prayed everyday usually more then once and now at this it made me look at everyting diffrent, apperntaly i wasn’t that connected to god before d2s because after d2s i knew that satin had a rap partly around me and now i really belive in god and as you said there is always a war going on between the three of us god,satan, and me after the whole thing d2s when our church group was driving home ever since then after d2s satan has been in my mind trying to fight and make me not belive in god he keeps on asking me questions like: How do you know for sure he is real? Then how did god really create the earth? questions like that and i know that god is so awsome that some of it is hard for our human minds to get it i’ve prayed about 50 times since satan has started doing that with my church group on the way home i started crying because of satan i still have been crying right now i really am crying because i know for that god is real but satan is getting in my way Greg is there anything you can say to help me or any one commet back please thanks so much for dare 2 share else i would of never know’n this much in a way i’m glad that it’s a fight in a way because when the war is over i will be closer to god but Greg if you could commet back on some advice or something please i need more god more help or if any one has advice please sommet back but i’m asking you personally Greg asking you to please commet back with some advice and help please Greg.
Kathi Uhlinger Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Hi Megan,
I love the honesty of your comments. An open and honest heart like yours is such a priceless gift from you to God. satan sure does love to throw stumbling blocks in our road and trip us up with questions. The closer we get to God and the more we are sharing his love, the harder it seems satan tries to stop us (he sure hates it when we draw close to God and start sharing his love! Just always know that God is carrying you through this. Stand firm on the knowledge that God/Jesus has ALREADY won the battle over satan. There is NOTHING-NOTHING satan can do to separate us from God’s incredible love and saving grace unless we choose to turn away. I believe God is going to give you the chance to use your current struggles and questions to help other people through similar struggles down the road. Make sure you set aside time to just kick back in God’s arms and soak up into every cell of your being how very deeply you are loved. Peace! Kathi
Greg Stier Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Hey Megan,
I agree wholeheartedly with Kathi. The only thing else I would add is to tell your youth leader and let him/her encourage you. As for your questions about God/creation/evolution stuff I’d challenge you to take a look at Venti Jesus Please. I’m sure your youth leader will get you a copy. It answers a lot of those questions in an easy to read way. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He will help you guide through all the garbage lies Satan is sending your way.
greg
Megan Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Hi Greg and Kathi
Thanks for the advice and Greg i will read the Venti Jesus I’m pretty sure that my sister still has a copy and i could ask my parents to get me one if my sister dosen’t still have one. Then I will ask any more questions and tell you what I thought of it. Thanks to I’m so glad you re-plied and know I will go through my whole life wondering what would my life be like if I never went to dare 2 share it was amazing thanks. You guy’s rock!
Megan Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Hey Greg,
It megan again yea um I just got done looking through my house for Venti Jesus all we have is Your Next and a few other Gospel books so I was wondering if the book Your Next will work until i get Venti Jesus? Also I was wondering if you could pray for me and ask god to get satan out of my head and life I mean as in the questions that satan keeps throughing at me? also ao one more question how do I know for sure that it really is you I mean i just need you to promise that it is you because I personally want to talk to you Greg and Zane Black I just really want to talk to you both and thanks so far.
Please Reply Greg Stier And maybe Zane Black
Megan Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Hi Greg,
Sorry I keep replying so many times but I really need help like I told you earlyer about satan well I’ve been praying and God has helped me but then I don’t do my own part and I let satan back in I need it to stop so bad because right now if you were to ask where do you think you will go when you die I would say I don’t know.
I need you to pray for me get me advice now I know for sure that satan had a rap around before Dare 2 Share. Anyway when I die I want to go to heaven and I know that saan won’t convince me but satan is getting in my way and know he is asking me question’s that i answer he wont take it and then questions sometimes I can bariley answer.
I’ve told my mom i’ve prayed to God but satan is in my way I need satan gone please help me Greg!! I’m in tears I’ve been in tears all day and right know I am saying half of what I never would say to someone and i don’t care know who reads about this I just need help.
I fell like I’m crushed some how Greg I need to talk to you I don’t know how but I know you can help so this can be Sherddin the Gnar for myself but having huge troubles.
To be honest my very first letter up there I’ve got more here it is: Well this year I made friends with a girl i really shouldn’t have. I acted in ways i shouldn’t have said things and did everything wrong. Greg you were right about guy’s, because this that wrong friend got in a fight over a guy and i’m pretty sure that the girl was just a friend to set me and then crush me down.
That girl and I got in a huge fight it got bad enough i was thinking about killing myself and i told my really good friend that and it got out that i said i was going to kill myself. then it ended up parents calling the school about me planning to kill nyself. then the girl i got in a fight with said i tryed to hang myself and rumors still go on. I keep on getting pulled on to her trap.
I keep thinking that she will be nice it will be fine but no. I also got blammed for writeing that she is a b*tch in the bathroom. Know since i hung ut with that girl i don’t know who i am and there is so much more i want to say but it is so private that’s why i partly wish i could talk to you in person.
Megan Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
hey greg to what i just did i will finsh the rst tomorrow please pray and help me.
Megan Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 am
hi Greg,
Sorry so many replys but I really need some prays I can’t tell if satan is winning but I’m not going to let satan win so please reply and pray I need that Please reply.
megan
Megan Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Hey Greg, (GREG PLEASE REPLY AND IF ZANE COULD PLEASE REPLY AND KEEP ON REPLYING PLEASE!!!!)
I know I’ve said I’ve replied so many times but I need you to say something to me reply and talk to you first in this message I got a few questions. The questions that satan keeps on asking me and I’m haveing trouble anwering, and then tell me if you could diffrent ways of that answer because I’ll give satan an answer but he won’t take it. Here are the questions:
* How do you know when you truly belive in god? That is a question of myself becasue I want to know for sure that I belive in God.
* When will satan stop asking me these questions or until I can ignore that crap that satan is saying?
* What are some ways I can know for sure that I trust God?
* Will you pray for me? Like Pray that satan will get out of my head and that I will trust God better.
* This question is to Greg personally. Is there any way I can talk to you by e-mail or talk to you get your phone number or something? ( I’m not being a stocker) It’s only because sometime when you have free time I want to talk to you so that I can talk to you and you can respond right away.
* This one is also to Greg personally. Is there any way that I could talk to Zane or have him respond on here like so I know it is him? The only reason for Zane is because I want to ask him a question and the question is when zane decided to be a christen how hard was it to ignore satan saying that crap and thing’s.
Ok well like I said satan is getting in my mind and saying crap I want him to stop and I want to know that I belive in god.
Ok 2 messages up I was telling about what has happened just this year yea still not finished so here is more of the story and my life:
Well since that girl i keep on hanging out with her I don’t know why but I guess I just do. Even today I asked her about dare 2 share and she knew about and then i asked then why didn’t you go to it and she really honestly said this. Oh yea because there was a dance this weekend and then i said so u would rather go to a 2 hour dance then go to d2s worship god and listen to bands then she said this oh my boyfriend was at the dance soo… yea.
That girl sesorily said that. Amazed yea I am too.
Well the reason i keep on saying things to you Greg and my life it is because after dare 2 share and now i know for sure that I was on satans side with out knowing it and i was helping tons of other people about god and not helping myself. know i really want to know i do belive in God. I am haveing troubles i almost burst out crying in school if anyone could reply and help i do need it.
Well know i kinda don’t know what to say but i need prays i do belive in god i trust him but i need to talk to someone like you Greg Stier and Zane Black. just to say something i guess i did belive in God before d2s but not as much as i really thought. There is so much more but i fell like i’m alone annd even though know it is 2 days after d2s satan is starting to say you can end this all, all by killingg yourself this, this right here i need more help then ever im fighting the devil but i need other people Praying.
Right know i am crying tears are pouring out of my eyes i’m scared i know right know that i’m doughting myself i don’t want to go to devil’s side i need help please everyone please help i need pray for me i want to belive in god and i do i don’t know if i am doughting myself or not but i need help. Greg this is a poem i made tell me what you think of it.
i want to die latter in the years and go to heaven.
I want to worship god.
i gave satan so many answers to so many questions.
He won’t he Won’t take them
sometimes i wake scared frighten
i say i want to belive in god
But how i say
I need prays , people, and GOD
When satan askes me those questions i try to ignore
i figure out a way to make it go away but
when i think that answer in my mind
satan answers which isn’t good
i think you might know that answer
that satan says
but i pray to god save me love me
satan is there again again and again
I pray to i love god
satan again
in my way so
i pray i ask god save me i trust you
then god is me savior god is the one
this might come back again it will but god
is always there no matter what satan say’s
GOD!!!!
so yea greg please reply give me some answers i love god but satan is in my way and is trying to convince me of crap here is a saying i made:
It is easy to fall in the trap of satan’s lies, but harder to belive in satan, easy to be on god’s side but sometimes hard to get satan out of your head and lies.
which is better: GOD
so please reply i love god i just need help and satan out of my head. i love god please pray for me please and anyone else can reply and give me answers and pray for me please!!!
I LOVE GOD!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie Mitchell Reply:
March 1st, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Hi Greg,
i have gone to d2s every year since 7th grade and am currently attenting the north platte community college. i went to d2s again with my youth group but this time it was different. i was raised a very strong christain and everytime i went to d2s i said i was going to talk to my friends…and never got around to it. when u told us to call that one friend that we were thinking of, i did but he was busy and said he’s call back. when i was looking through my contacts, i noticed a number that i thought i had deleted. this girl and i fought all through highschool and we really truly hated eachother. i knew God was telling me to call her but i was fighting with him abaou it. i didn’t think she would answer or what to say if she did. but i said alright God i hope u know what ur doing. i called her and she answered. i said i know ur probably wondering what the heck i’m calling u for but please just hear me out. i just want to ask u a question. she said ok and i asked her what her spiritual beleifs were and she said agnostic. i said so if you died tonight, do u know where u’d go? and she said honsestly no. then i told her that i could tell her how she could know for sure and i asked if that would be ok. and she said it’d be nice to know. and i was amazed….but anyway so i kept going and i walked her through the GOSPEL message and when i was done she said i’ve never had it explained so simply before and i said well it is simple. then she told me that she always went to church with her grandma but they always told her that she had to do all these good things to earn Gods favor and i said u don’t have to do anything just accept and beleive that Jesus Christ died for you and wants you to be in a relationship with him. then i asked her if she wanted to and shes like is it really that simple though and i said yes it is. and she said ok!!!!!! she did!!!! then i appologized for everything that happend between us in highschool and i told her i can’t belive i did all of it and she said that out of everyone she’s fought with, no one cared enough to appologize and no one cared enough about her to explain Jesus to her.
YOU know before i wnet to d2s this year i was having doubts of my own but God really showed me that he IS out there and i CAN make a difference…even if it’s only to one person.
THANK YOU SO MUCH GREG!!!
DEBBIE
Caleb Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Hey Megan, just remember that you’re in a spiritual battle and that Satan can distort anything that God says. Just make sure you equip yourself with God’s Word. I suggest that you get a devotional book. You don’t cover many verses but it’s not quantity it’s quality and your passion and focus on the verses. Don’t let Satan set your mind on things in this temporary physical world but always focus on the way more important spiritual world. Just put your heart into God’s kingdom and be brave. Remember where your home is.
Kathy Reply:
April 7th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Megan, Unfortunately, doubt and unbelief are issues that all believers deal with their entire lives. You are not alone in your struggles. In fact, the apostle Paul wrote many verses reassuring us that even when we are weak and scared, God is bigger than our humanity. Romans 8:35, 37-39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing, not even your questions or fears, will EVER separate you from the love of God.
PLEASE talk to your youth leader about your fears and doubts. It is hard to counsel someone you don’t know well. I’m not sure how old you are but a couple of good books to read would be “Mere Christianity” by C.S.Lewis and “Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure” by John Piper. Your youth leader can recommend more I’m sure.
Hi Greg. I spoke to you twice over the weekend. i asked you a couple of questions about sharing my faith. i am a 19 year old sophomore in college who doesn’t really have a lot of ministries to get involved with so i try to get involved with what ever i can. and also before i left i told you about the spiritual funk i was in. i had begun to believe the lies of the enemy. the lies of you will never be good enough…and you will never make it. now that the conference is over…i reflect on the first drama…and that was me…minus the cutting. but what i really want to share is my heart. i am not a strong Christian…and i make mistakes all the time. but my heart is this, i have friend who i have no idea if they are really Christian or if they just claim to be. i have family who look down on me because i believe in Jesus. i am the only Christian in my family and most of my friends lead lives that lead me to beleive that they may not be saved. i know this may be long, it may be short. i taught myself not to cry a long time ago. Now i wish that i could…i wish…i wasn’t emotionaly numb. and i know that this will only come through prayer and God’s healing.
alone_in_the_dark Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:22 am
5 friends
1. Andy
2. Steven
3. Shonn
4. Ashley
5. Aaron
5 family members
1. My uncle Erik
2. My aunt Cheryl
3. My mom Cindy
4. My Dad Charlie
5. My step dad Scott
I know i may be crazy for the putting down my family…but…i care about each of them in a different way. the first 4 i love so much that i never ever want to see them in hell. number 5…we both need healing in our relationship…i grew up in fear. no confidence…no self worth. in a way you could call it cutting but in my life i have carved or attempted to carve a total of 6 crosses. three of them are clear and on my fore arm. one very faint on my wrist. another above the elbow and one more just above the wrist on my fore arm. the three that are basicaly right next to each other were carved at diff times and with diff objects. one was with a mechanical pencil…one with a rock with sharp edges…and the last with glass. i was so emotionaly and spiritually numb that i wanted to feel pain over nothing at all…and when i hit those spiritual funks…my mind goes back to the past. i want to burn those bridges to the past so that i can not go back to my old life and also it prevent the enemy access thru those bridges. i want to move forward in a relationship with Christ. i get along with most people but there are a few that i sense something that rubbs me the wrong way…and my trust is alike. i have very few people in who i trust…others i am a good friend with…and only few are way outside my trust zone. i am in the process of forgivness and i have made more progress since Dare 2 Share. Greg…i don’t know if this is the right thing to do or not. but i feel like i should write each of my friends and each family member on my list a letter. and in that letter share why i became a christian and what God has done in my life. about the secret struggles i had growing up and just lay my heart bare. share with them how much i fear that they may go to hell and that i don’t ever want that to happen. i don’t know if i should do this but words come so much easier when i write. message back to let me know what you think of the letter idea. Kyla
hey Greg i’m the same girl fom that message umm how do i check if u commeted back because i use the other computre? please respond to that i need advice on that other message please i really am the one that did that message
D2S in Lincoln was awesome! I had so much fun and learned a lot. I live in Lincoln and feel so lucky that Dare 2 Share comes here, so I don’t have to travel. I hope everyone’s Shreddin the Gnar!
Greg,
I just wanted to comment on the impact you made in my life. I always grew up with the Christian faith in my house, just never embraced it as my own. Then I started too, and your speaking boosted it up even more! I want to thank you for the changes I’m seeing in my life. God is so amazing!
Also, people who read this- please pray for me right now. I’m “shreddin’ the gnar” with my friend right now. Who doesn’t believe in anything Christianity related. I’m actually doing that right now, it is so complicated. But Dare2Share made me realize it’s something we should be doing- so please just pray for courage in me. (: <3 mucho thanks
Anyways, Greg, I’ll continually be praying for you and the entire Dare2Share conference tour. Can’t wait to come back next year!
Shreddin’ the Gnar in Nebraska,
Mekenzie
Hi there Greg,
I’m not sure if you will even get to read this yourself,but I just wanted to let you know how AWESOME your job is! I so appreciate the fact you, Zane and Dewey get up in front of all of us kids and tell it like it is! I love that about you guys! I would really like to get into the business of this as well! Who knows maybe someday i can be with you leading teens to Christ! That would be the coolest,but anyways I just want you to know that God is totally PLEASED with you guys! So thank you and i will be looking forward to going again next year!
By the way when you where talking about your meeting with all the Pentecostals I laughed because my family is very apostolic! lol Anyways
God Bless!
Molly
Hi im Cheri,
i went to dare2share for the first time and had a blast. i am 18 years old, about to turn 19. i just started going to chuech 2 years ago and really started to get into it last year. i started going to church with a boyfriend that i had but he was a jumpercable christian, only going to get his jesus fix. his parents went to that church and they invited me to come. me and him broke up shortly afterward because i started going to church all the time, not just with him and he didnt like that i wasnt spending as much time with him. i continued going and spent alot of my time doing church things learning about jesus and all that he has done, i was raised in a family that did not go to church. so therefore i did not know all that jesus did for us. i knew a few things about the bible like noah arc and mary and jesus, and some of the storys like that but i had never owned a bible let alone read one. i had never been to a church camp till this year, or done any sort of trips. dare2share was AMAZING
and i was so excited to met you and zane because my youthgroup is watching gospel journey maui and i LOVE it…..i didnt get to met you but i did get to met zane….
my 5 people are:
1. zach
2. derek
3. austin
4. hannah
5. courtney
THANKS FOR A GREAT WEEKEND, I WILL NEVER FORGET IT!!!!
<3 CHERI
Hey Greg,
This year was my first time coming to Dare 2 Share. It was really the first time I was actually excited to learn about God, and his Word. I was excited about growing in my faith. Up until then I always really thought that Church was boring and the GOSPEL was boring and everything about Religion is boring. And what you guys did, about how it’s not about the Religous people, it’s about putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and he will be there to help you. I mean, this was really exciting and I loved all of the dramas and skits, I wasnt thinking about those things, but some of my friends don’t know Jesus, and seeing those skits really made me realize that if I don’t get out there, and tell those friends who don’t know Jesus about him, that they could be in serious danger and I don’t want to risk loosing one or any of them. Thank-you soo much all 3 of you guys were AMAZING! I can not WAIT to come back next year! It was soooo much fun! I do have a couple questions though:
I don’t know how to explain the GOSPEL other then just reading out what each letter stands for, I don’t really understand what to say if I get asked that question.
And if my friends ask me why I believe in Jesus, do I just say because that’s what I believe and know is whats true? I dont know what I would say to that.
Please respond!!
In Christs Love,
Zoe
I went to my first D2S conference this weekend in Lincoln, I thank you for that and for the fact that you give all of us the opportunity to buy your books that can help us on our journey. I just wanted to say that it was an AMAZING time. I’m currently working on a college student who is older than me, I’m only 15, and she believes she is agnostic. Luckily, since I’m new at this and haven’t really shared my religion with ANYONE, I bought Dare 2 Share, A Field Guide To Sharing Your Faith. I’m going to read through it all the way when I get the chance and help this agnostic college student to come to know Christ in a different way. God Bless you and Zane, and Dewey. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach for my sharing as I’ve never really done it before, but D2S tour is helping me along with that. Please reply back or e-mail me which would even be better! God Bless, and y’all, please pray for a boldness in me to share Christ with anyone I see.
I love Jesus!!!! Yes I do!!!!! I love Jesus!!!!!! HOW BOUT YOU?!?!?!?!?!?!
Hey Greg,
I wanted to stop by and say that this weekend, was the most inspirational weekend of my life. I learned so much and i feel like i understand so many things a lot better then i did before. And you were right I usually only think about God on Sunday’s but now i think about him all the time, and i already feel like a better person. This was my first time going to D2S and there is no doubt i will go to it next year too, I want to encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing because i know that you have been n inspiration to so many people and it’s awesome.
Thanks so much,
Keep up the good work!
~Alex
Hey Greg!
Man, another success here in Lincoln. This was my third year at D2S and it just keeps getting better! I’ve been to Lutheran schools all my life and so don’t have many non-Christian friends but the idea about facebook friends was great! I just finished having a conversation with a friend who I met a few years ago via another friend. I know she’s had some hard times in life and I saw her name in the chat list and was like, you know what? I’m going to shred the gnar! We got into this conversation about what she believed and how her parents are really religious but she’s never really gotten into it because she feels like they’re over-bearing about it, so I explained to her what you told us about Jesus and the Pharasees and how Jesus came to be with the sinners and the religious people didn’t like that. We talked for about an hour and I asked God to give me the words to answer her questions because I usually go blank when I get into conversations about my faith…but the words just came today. And when we finished I asked her if she would accept Christ as her Savior and she said yes!!! It’s such an exillirating feeling! Thank you soooo much for all you do! You’re an inspiration to us all! Can’t wait until next year!
~Katie
P.S. You should get a facebook too and start a D2S group!
You were amazing at Dare 2 share. Your messages are very powerful about the lord Jesus Christ.
hey.. so yeahh this weekend was amazing it gave me a whole new outlook on God..!! I called my friend she she was so stoked bout everything.. I gave her the lil ? thing in the booklet that u gave us! thank you for everything it jus was awwww.! no words to put it in..
but I do have a question for you and everyone who reads this.. my friend Bianca is having a rough time.. I was jus told that her step-dad Juan hung himself this morning.. so I was wondering if u could pray for her and her family.. her mom is Wendy.. please and thank you much!
<3 Sarah!
Hey Greg the weekend was a awsome. I love the way you share the word. Every year i a pumped to go out and share the gospel. Its my favarit part of the hole thing. There where many people this weeken that gave there lives to jesus. And that is great i love it. I get closet to you ever year. this year was one of the best. Thank you for what you do and how you do it. I would love to help out in any way with d2s. thanks agian cya.
David
Greg this weekend was the most amazing thing i have EVER went to! i give you and your team two thumbs up! you guys really rocked out I can not wait till next year! this weekend was the first time i have ever went and i was really down because i hade been missing out! next year i am taking my family and i am so excited!
Dear Greg,
First of all thank you for a great weekend! This was my 3rd time going and I will continue to go for many years to come. Now for my story. I’ve grown up in a Christian home and accepted Christ when I was at VBS in 4th grade. I really didn’t apply myself to my faith until I was in 6th grade. For the past two years I have gotten so fired up about going to dare 2 share but slowly it would fade away weeks after dare 2 share. This year everything was different. The night before the conference I prayed to God and asked him to keep me on fire for him forever.
The next day was my absolute favorite. At my church I am known as the quiet girl who would just quietly sing along during a song in worship. Durning worship throughout the day I found myself raising my hands and worshipping God and really thinking about the message in the songs.
Later that day when you told us to do the cell phone challenge, I called my friend who was catholic but had never accepted Christ. He didn’t answer at first but later that night he texted me. We had the longest conversation ever and finally after explaining the Gospel to him he accepted Christ as his savior.
When you had us recite the Lord’s prayer I almost started crying. I really have never thought of the Lord’s prayer in the way that you explained it. I completely understood it and it made me feel good. I know now that I should go to God for help in anything that I need…not just wants..which is what I used to find myself praying for all the time.
I was soo sad when it was over. Tomorrow at school I am prepared to shred the gnar. My friends all believe in Christ but I believe that they are not fully equipped with the right weapons to stand agaisnt the devil. I am ready to get to them before he does. I finally understand why God brought my friends into my life. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I see everyone in Heaven someday.
Once again I want to thank you for everything. I will pray for you and all of dare 2 share ministries everyday.
See you next year!
~Emily
This weekend was just amazing. The worship music and the skits were just so wonderful. The thing I found very hard for me to do was the can food drive. My group wanted me to try it and I kept stalling because I didnt wanna talk to some stranger about God. Well the first house for me when good but the second house was the hardest. I rang the door bell and did my little intro and the man comes back and I asked him if there was anything we could pray for him about. He told me about how his wife had died suddenly to cancer three years ago. He told me she had passed away a short time after their 48th wedding anniversary. He started to tear up as my groups leader began to pray over him. I wanted to jsut hold this poor old man and take all his pain away. I asked him if he belonged to a church family and he told me that he is currently involved with his church.
This man made me want to fall apart because he was in so much pain. It showed me how God has helped this man push on and keep living and make progress with his wife gone. That was the most emotional thing that happend to me during the whole trip.
Hey Greg! This weekend totally rocked my world and changed my life. Before I experienced Dare 2 Share I was at a really difficult time in my faith and this weekend totally changed that. I did call a friend on a borrowed cellphone. (I don’t have a cell phone, otherwise I totally would have texted my friends name) The friend that I called is absolutly my best friend in the world, but this friend has gone through a lot in her faithlife, her family had been following a man who claimed to be a prophet, but what he told them contradicted the bible. He was basically running their lives, it was almost like a cult. He is now facing prison for tax fraud. They don’t follow him anymore but the whole ordeal had a very bad affect on my friend and she doesn’t belive in God anymore. I called her and I kind of followed the script, when I asked her if I could share the GOSPEL with her she said yes and seemed open to it, but when i asked her if it made sense to her, she got upset and said “You know Libby I really don’t want to get int this with you right now! Goodbye.” Then she hung up. On the bus ride back to Omaha we said a prayer for her. I would really appreciate it if you could comment back and if you would keep her in your prayers. I also think that the worship at Dare 2 Share was AMAZING I have never felt so close to God. Thanks so much for all that you do to make that conference possible. It was the greatest experience of my life.
-Libby
This weekend was AMAZING!! I have to admit i was pretty skeptical, i’d never been to dare 2 share before and i just assumed it was a bunch of deeply religios jesus freaks gonna tell me how badly i was screwing up my life and how jesus was the one to fix it. Surprisingly ewnough i got a lot out of the weekend and am pumped to start sharing the g-o-s-p-e-l i even bout the “dare 2 share” book and “venti jesus please” I never got a hold of my friend but i plan to go out and start shreddin the gnar! It was great and i can’t wait for next year. Now i really want to get involved more with church and make god a bigger part of my life. Thanks so much for the great message.
Just to follow the crowd here, I too would like to share my opinion on the weekend in a long drawn out story. Its not boring, just some background.
There is a girl that I have gone to school with for 5 years now and we have been in the same homeroom all four years of high school. When I first met her, she would talk all the time about how she was athiest and there is either no God or a God that is mean to let the world get so bad. I didn’t really care what she thought at the time, I’m just a talker and would come to school every Monday and tell her about my Sunday activities (church, youth group, sunday school, etc.) and she would just have to bare pretending to listen. After a while, she stopped talking about how there is no God, she would just refrain from airing her opinions on religion at all. I’ve always prayed for her to find the hope that she needs and deserves but I wanted to do something more. Every year of high school, around the time of Dare 2 Share, I would think how she might benifit from the conference, but every year, I would tell myself that I would invite her next year. This year however, is my last year of seeing her every day. I told myself that it was a now or never situation, so I just flat out asked her if she wanted to come. I’m not very good at the subtle thing. To my surprise, she said she would like to just to see what it was all about. She came along to a youth group party and got to know the people we were going with and she started to get excited about it. Her attitude at school didnt change much and it was almost making me unsure of how the weekend was going to go.
When we finally arrived to the hotel, things just kept going downhill. She was cursing and being rude to everyone and walking away from the group leaving us all to wonder where she was and begin to panic. As we sat through the lectures and the songs, a solem look was all the expression she had…until the drama. God couldnt have been more helpful with my situation. She has gone through the same depression, the same demons whispering nonsense to her. It was amazing to see the change, especially since it was right after I talked to God about how this may have been just a little too much for me to handle and the stress is just making me want to give up.
On the ride out to collect cans, a member of my youth group asked her loudly and in front of everyone, “so, I hear you are a nonbeliever?” I was honestly afraid for the responce. She looked at him and said, “no…I’m Christian” (little fyi for you, that is the first time that she has ever spoken those words. She ended up walking away with friends, the shredding the gnar book, and an interest in the worship music. The change was phenominal.
The ride back home from the church took a half an hour. I didnt want to shove the gospel down her throat, but I wanted to know so bad what she thought. I had to tell myself to keep my eyes closed and my head bowed when the ones who first trusted in Jesus that night raised their hands, I wanted to know if she would. During the last ten minutes of the ride, she was telling me how intense the weekend was. At this point, I was thinking “oh crap…too intense” but she smiled as she was saying it. To see her genuinely happy about something is rare so it just lifted my spirit. Before she got out of the car, she asked if I was planning to go again next year and if it was ok if she went along. (Like I am going to say no?)
Needless to say, I came home, thanked God dozens of times…and did a happy dance.
p.s. Sorry it’s so stinkin long. I’m just still excited 
Hey Greg.
I know your busy, but if you could read this whole thing(I know its long) and please answer back that would be amazing.
I was at Lincoln. And it was my first year. And It was life changing.
I had told the person sitting next to me (who also happens to be the guy I like) that I didn’t really believe God loved me. Or was even there (before we even came to the conference.) And when you talked about the Big guy and little guy at the beginning and you asked him where he was going to Heaven or Hell, this guy turned to me and said Alex, do you know where your going? I turned from him and tears welled in my eyes. Later he asked me why I had turned and not answered. Then you started talking about the one friend who doesn’t know Jesus. He would look at me. Then the drama came. It impacted me a lot. Because only about two months ago I stopped cutting. And it has been hard for me. And watching that drama I would just squirm. I started to cry. Watching that just hurt. Because I don’t feel like God is knocking. Well then you told us to tell our youth leader about the one person we thought about before. And he stood up, and turned to me as I was standing, and he asked me if he could say my name to our leader. I was speechless. So I just nodded. As I walked behind him I started to shake. He hugged our leader and whispered as I watched. I was next. I walked over to our leader and he took me in his arms. I broke down crying. He said that he loved me and it would all be okay. And I went to sit down and another one of my friends walked over to me and sat down and just held me in her arms. And we cried. But I don’t feel like its all been okay. I have been continuously hurt. And God just sits there and watches. I have asked for help. But it never comes. I want to believe. Well that guy who said my name, he kept telling me how much God loves me. But he said he could not fully explain, and that I should talk to our leader. But I said no because he (the leader) is not actually my Youth Director. (I went with my friends church) But I have always talked to there Youth director about everything. But the reason I said no was because I was the only one not from there church. And I didn’t want to have to talk to him while he was supposed to be spending time with his Youth Group. I don’t like to talk to my pastor and we dont have a youth director at my church.
After listening to Zane I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do about anything. And if you could say something that would be nice.
Jane Mittura Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
hey Alex I too have been in the same situation with cutting in fact I have not yet mannaged to quit i started to cry during the skit becuase it was tat theatexact moment that i reliazed that i could not do it on my own with help from my youth director i asked God to help me with my demons and i can not understand why my youth leader thinks that i can overcome this problem because just three weeks ago i asked God to help and i still think of suicide my youth leader says that he loves me but i don’t believe him because my entire family fell apart and i feel that nobody could love anything as ugly as a person who cuts and i would like for greg to pray for us so that we may not have these thoughts anymore
Hey Greg!!!
I was at lincoln and it was my first year at dare2share! i wanted to let you know it has changed my life.
After that drama on friday night about the girl that was locked in that bedroom in her mind i couldnt stop crying because i felt like god was calling me to do something far beyond myself. i was crying so much that a girl in the row of chairs in front of me asked me if i was okay. but anyway i had a friend of mine on my mind through the whole thing because me and him had just finished talking about how he felt like he had no hope in life. i was so burdened and sad that i had passed up such a great oppertunity to tell him about Christ that all i could do was cry because i knew he was locked inside that room in his mind to.
so when i got back to the hotel i sent him an email that told him how he could find hope in christ. he hasnt recieved christ yet but i refuse to give up. this is my calling in life and i will not fail god.
on saturday night when zayne was talking about girls and their self image it was like a big slap in the face because i knew i struggled with that alot.
so this weekend i have given up 3 things to christ: my pride, my image, and my faith to share his name.
Tomarrow i am going back to school and you can bet that i will do my absolute hardest to SHRED THE GNAR!!!
Greg,
My name is Kali Maynard (same first name as your daughter). I came up to you after the Lincoln, Nebraska conference. I told you a summary of what this weekend meant for me and thanked you for helping me get control of my cutting and my life. But I feel that you should know the whole story of which I didn’t have time to tell you that night. Because if you know the full story you’ll realize just how much I really do owe you. It might be hard to read but I feel it’s important for people to realize what a cutter goes through because the word ‘cutting’ and ‘self-mutilation’ aren’t pleasant words for a reason. However the reason why I cut and how it made me feel can be completely different from someone else who does the same thing.
I started cutting when I was in 6th grade. I was only 11 years old. Most kids my age had no idea what cutting was but I did (in all honesty, I saw it on TV and it implanted the idea-so yes TV can corrupt the minds of young kids because it happened to me). I can’t even tell you the reason why I started cutting because I don’t remember. My childhood was filled with my parents constantly fighting, my brother being a jerk, and losing my friends. I didn’t have the easiest childhood. Granted I grew up Christian it never set it until later. I was in a dark place, without God so to speak, I didn’t know how to ask him for help so instead I turned to a razor.
Inevitably cutting is an addiction for some. It became one for me. I used have cravings for the feeling that cutting gave me, feeling physical pain to forget the emotional. I cut so much and so often that my arm became numb to some of the pain and I would have to cut deeper and deeper to feel it. I have scars that are 3 years old that look like they just healed. Cutting became my security blanket. The time that I really considered killing myself was when I’d lost all my friends because of what I did, and I was told by numerous people around me that I wasn’t good enough. I never got the nerve to do it but there were several nights were I had everything ready but I just couldn’t do it.
Later on when I was 15 years old, I attempted to commit suicide. I took a bunch of pills and by the grace of God my body couldn’t handle them and I got violently sick they were out of my system. I didn’t think about how lucky I was at that time but I know that God was working that day to keep me alive.
Going back to around the time I started cutting, Scotte Hansen was director of student ministries at my church at the time. I had a friend that was worried about me and took me to see him. I opened up about what I was doing and he helped me start the path to quitting. However I was never quitting for the right reasons. Giving up cutting to please someone else isn’t going to get you far. Whether you relapse at 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years, etc., unless you quit for you it’ll never feel right. I came up to him this weekend and told him about my latest relapse. I quit cutting for 1 year and 6 months, and some odd days. On February 13, I put all of that to nothing. Scotte was the one person who it’d be the hardest to tell cause he was there from the beginning. He prayed for me and asked that this conference would speak to me. Later that night, there’s a skit on a girl who cuts.
That skit opened my eyes to things I didn’t even realize I did. Instead of expressing pain, I’d hide so I wouldn’t be vulnerable. I don’t like showing that I’m helpless so I would put on a fake façade and pretend that everything was fine. Keeping even small things like a “paper cut emotional pain†locked in with the “broken heart emotional pain†so to speak. It never even occurred to me to ask God to help. I wanted to overcome cutting on my own, which I can’t get rid of my own sin, I need God to do that. I needed God to help me out of the hole I had carved myself into with a mere razor blade. I needed him and all I had to do was pray.
This conference helped me on so many levels. One was finally realizing the true and right reason why to not cut. God made me the way I am, I was amazing in his eyes and his judgment is the only one that matters. Not the kids who picked on me, or my parents who I wasn’t good enough in their eyes, I was spectacular in God’s. Another way this conference helped me was being able to get closer to God on a praying level and just open up to him about everything. My first dare2share let me know that I needed God and since each conference strengthens my relationship with him.
So Greg, I thank you again, for giving me the knowledge of how to take control over my life. To just let God guide me in the right directions and that nothing else matters except living my life in God’s presence and serving him. Thank you for finally opening my eyes to what I was doing when I cut and giving me the reasons to finally quit for me. I just ask that you pray for me and that with God’s help finally quit for good. I promise to come up to you next year and let you know how the progress is going.
Hey. I went to Dare 2 Share this weekend and i had no idea how awesome it was going to be. I really Loved it. Dare 2 Share was seriously one of the most life changing events for me. When you were talking about how there are alot of people who are christians that have a relationships with god but never share it i was really hit by it because i knew it was me. I was the kinna person who was a christian but never shared it untl this weekend.. I promised to take ur challenge of the five people and i did… well kinna I only have four friends that dont no jesus because i go to a christian school and most all my friends are from church or school but i started with one at the conference and the other three as soon as i got on the bus to go home.. because i knew you were right i wouldnt do it if i didnt do it then. so I told them and. some were more accepting then others.. you told us to write about the challenge so i am going to tell you about it. At the conference i called one of my best friends. Her name is Sophie and i felt like i had to tell her. So i called her. she said she was busy and would text me later.. she texted me while we were at lunch and i started talking to her about it. She Laughed at me and said i was stupid for believing in stuff that doesnt exist. i kept trying and she said she is never going to believe.. it made me really sad to the point where alot of ppl were asking are you ok. I never thought it could hurt so much having people reject God let alone my best friend. I really want her to no Jesus… but she wont even listen. I saw her today because i really wanted to talk to her about it face to face and she wasnt even open to listening.. i am really praying hard about this.. and i was wondering if you had any advice for me… to help me share with u. The other three are more accepting.. and it is going much better. they were open to listening.. two of them have accepted christ and went to church with me this morning the other one is still curious and is talking to me about it right now.. Thanks again for Dare 2 Share it was life changing.. I never expected it to be that great
Hey Greg,
I was a youth leader for the conference and also a first timer for dare2share. I had a couple of things to tell you. The first was something that i will never forget. It happened as we were doing the mission project. We came to a door that was answered by an elderly man, it looked like he lived by himself. And when one of the girls in my group told him who she was and what we were doing he went in and got a can and as he gave it to us he told us that he knew it wasn’t much. He then told us that he was planning on having it for supper that night but figured it would do more good in our hands. Those actions to me were beautiful. I also wanted to tell you my story about shreddin the gnar. I work in a hotel to pay the bills and tonight i was doing double duty and driving the shuttle van. I was taking a guest to a restaurant in the downtown area and as we were talking he mentioned that he was a surfer. So having my boots of readiness on i asked him if he had ever heard the phrase shred the gnar. He said no so i started to explain the conference to him and explained what shreddin the gnar was. Our conversation went all over the board, everything from skiing to mission work, all in the span of about 20 minutes. With him, he was already a believer and lover of Jesus, but to just talk about it was amazing. Just shows that evangelism can happen in any situation at any moment. Thanks for the training!
also was curious about what it takes to become a part of dare2share staff?
Greg this weekend was awesome. It was great to meet you. I’m the guy who had the ‘man crush.’ Last night at youth group one of my girls told me her and her mom were at Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon. her mom ‘dared’ her to share the Gospel with a complete stranger. She did and he accepted Christ right in the middle of Wal-Mart! It’s awesome to see students put what they learned into practice and to see God work through them. Thanks for being obedient to God’s calling in your life and ministry.
Hey Greg,
I just wanted to let you know that this weekend was fantastic. That conference was the perfect spiritual renewal. Being from Northern Minnesota, the drive down to Lincoln was a good chance to be able to talk with the girls in my youth group and my youth leader. On the way down I had told my leader that I was sick of conferences that spent so much time on saving teens, but not preparing them to go back out into the world. Ironically, dare2share was exactly what I was looking for. Since the conference I have slowly been trying to share my faith with the friends around me. Its difficult, but God just keeps on pushing me forward. Thank you so much for all you do for us!
Yours in christ, Katie
P.s. Here is my list of people that I would appreciate prayer for.
Janessa
Alicia
Patrick
Jeff L.
Jeff T.
My mother
My father
all my sisters and brothers.
Thanks once again for all you do.
Father God, Papa, Daddy. I come to You right now and ask You to continue to place a hedge of protection around the Dare2Share ministry and all those involved. I thank You for Greg, Zane, D.Gray, and the fantastic staff that they have. Please keep encouraging and loving on each and everyone of them, for what they do is truly from You. Thank you for showing up and showing off at the Lincoln conference, You truly are the “Master of ceremonies”. You orchestrated every moment, every hand that raised in worship, every tear that was shed, and every heart that was receptive of Your amazing gift. Thank you again for Your precious Son and the gift of eternal life. Without You, we’d be nothing. I love you Papa. -Amen
Greg and the AMAZING Dare2Share Staff/Volunteers-
What you do is truly God-driven. Thank you for opening your hearts and your life up to all of those that have the opportunity to attend a Dare2Share Conference.
This year was the second conference I attended in Lincoln. My original thoughts were that this conference was that is was just for the kids… boy was I wrong! As a 26 year-old “sponsor” I was convicted and moved beyond words. The cell phone challenge was something that had been on my heart since last year’s “Survive” conference and I hadn’t really done anything about it. This year, I finally took the challenge. I text/called my baby sister (who is 21) and tried to talk to her about where she would be when she died. It didn’t play out the way I had hoped, but I know God has a reason and I’m going to continue to pray and be the best witness that I can possibly be to her. I’m not sure I would have ever really talked to her in-depth about her salvation if it weren’t for this weekend. So, thank you for that. I also want to thank you for your candid accounts of your personal experiences. I have been married for a little over four years and we have tried since day one to conceive a child to no avail. Fertility treatments, doctor visits, diets, and other strange things never seemed to work. I know that if it is God’s will a child will be given to us, but only in God’s PERFECT timing. Your account of the “Elvis” prayer warrior was a confirmation that I needed, let me explain. Our Pastor has been asking us to come forward and have our deacons lay hands on us and pray for us about our “parental journey”. I have been struggling with asking for prayer in this area of my life, because it’s sooooo personal, but your testimony has solidified my decision to ask for help. I shared your story with my husband last night and he said he’d pray about it, but in my heart I know that is what God wants us to do. Submit to His will and give Him 100% control. Thank you for sharing your story.
I could go on and on about what an amazing event this was, but you already know because you were there!!! So, keep on keeping on. You all are in my personal prayers and on my e-mail, facebook, and myspace prayer chains. God loves you and so do I!
In Christ’s Beautiful Name-
Lacey Mason
First Southern Baptist Church
“Live Out Loud” Youth Ministry Sponsor
Independence, Kansas
My 5 Friends are:
1.Emily
2.Livia
3.Brianna
4.Megan
5. I’m not too sure on that yet.
Dare 2 Share helped answer so many questions I had about God. I loved Leeland, and had a great time. Now I know that all my doubt is coming from Satan and that God’s doing his best. The drama helped to stop me from cutting and I haven’t felt depressed since Friday.
Thanks, God Bless I’ll keep you updated on my progress with my friends and God. I haven’t shredded the gnar yet. :/
Greg, I just wanted to tell you my story
Today, I am home sick, and I decided to get on Facebook, and I found that my friend, Brandon, who I said I would Shred the Gnar with was also on.
Brandon had previously gone to church, but he lost faith in God. Last time I tried to talk to him about it, he would ignore it, and he jsut didn’t want to listen, but today, I asked him if he would come to church and give God another chance, he didn’t hesitate, and wanted me to let him know when I can pick him up.
God made us both sick today for a reason, I have no doubt about that.
Hey i went to the conference in Lincoln. It’s was absolutely amazing. It was my second year going and it was once again amazing. While i was there one of the sponsors from our group let us listen to the “letter from Hell” monologue and it really got me scared and made me think. So once i got back to my school i decided i really want to do that for a serious solo for my forensics team i didn’t know if there was a book or a script that i could by so i could preform that piece and help spread the gospel as well.
Hope you can help me
Meredith
Wow! the Dare2Share conference in Lincoln was the best church event I’ve ever been to. Today I’ve already been bolder with my faith. Well I’ve always tried to witness to my friends and shred the gnar but I haven’t known where to start. The Dare2Share conference really helped me to adapt a structure for my witnessing. Just today I talked to many of my friends about God and different stuff. But today I just learned that a girl in my school was an atheist/agnostic and I talked to her about why she is. Just pray for me so that God would work in my life and help to be more and more bold in my faith. Also pray that God would me talk to my friend John alone and convict of his sin and help him to finally give everything to God. Thanks for all you’ve taught me. P.S. I have another way to say Shred the Gnar, it’s Wake the Regiment.
Hey Greg,
I have really never been to something like that and let me tell you that it was truly amazing and inspiring to me and the rest of our youth group! I just got done talking to my friend on the phone and she was at the Mall of America for vacation while this went on in Lincoln, and after I told her some stories she really wished that she would have been there with me to enjoy it!
“shreddin the gnar for always”
– NELLY FRY
Hey Greg I forget something in my comment above but I just want to share with you something that God’s taught me. God’s really taught me that Heaven is home. Not any place in this world. God’s really helped me to be careful with what I call home. Home is where the heart is.
The conference was awesome. One of my friends commented on how ‘the trip turned me inside out and upside down’. I am glad though. It has really opened my eyes. My friend that I talked to Saturday is willing to listen, and we are making progress, but she is still resilient about the idea. I think she doesn’t think that Jesus could be willing to take her back, but I plan to keep reminding her about it. All of the people I have talked to want to go to next years conference. Thanks for having such an awesome event! It has inspired me so much, and I am ready to fight Satan head on!
.:tessa:.
This conference was my first, im only 14 and i suppose im a “dare 2 share virgin”- i was sort of warned how powerful it would be. But i certainly saw and felt amazing things happen. Kids who would never act out around their friends were jumping up and down with their hands over their heads, at one point, i felt my knees lock up and i fell to my chair and just prayed.
This was such a powerful expirience, i wish more kids in the Nebraska area had this oppritunity. I’m talking to my friends about this! shred the gnar!!
Hello Greg!
Well, I took the dare of sharing my faith. Can I first tell you my story? Okay. My story. I am a Catholic, but I wasn’t living my faith to the fullest. I was very much luke warm in what I did. I only went to church on Sundays, the Holy Days, and attended CCD(like a youth group per say) only because I had to. Slowly but surely this changed. August August 29, 2008, two weeks into my Senior year a close friend within our group of friends died in a car accident. Justin Patrick Volzke had been coming from a school activity, heading home when he collided with a fellow student from our school. The fellow student was traveling faster than would be allowed on a country gravel road. Justin had a yield sign, yet we do not know if he yielded or not. It was so freakish, the invesigators could not figure it out. There was also corn on both sides of the road, so we think he would have at least shifted to a slower speed(he was driving a stick shift truck). The fellow student hit Justin at the intersection hard. We do not know if he spun around or what, but we know he was hit and then hit a tree. The fellow student continued onward driving after hitting Justin, plowing down a tree in a neighbors yard who lives where Justin and the fellow student colided. Justin out of adrenaline got out of his truck and then something wasn’t connected in his heart or back and once he got out of the truck he collapsed and died. His truck then started on fire and somehow he was not burned. The fellow student, who is a girl survived and lived. She was lucky. We don’t blame her for anything, Justin went home to God, we know he did. He loved D2S and anything Christian related. He tested my faith(he was a strong Lutheran) more than once and was best friends with the young man I am now dating. He also traveled to Honderus this past summer and came back on fire. He wanted his best friend to go with him and he now is going this summer. We lost Justin, but some of us found Faith and we found God. I was one of them who found God. I now read devotions before I go to sleep, I attend CCD with pride and I take a Lutheran friend every Wednesday with me(she loves our CCD program a ton), and when I go to church I pray for my friends. I also listen to a Christian radio station now too, but I can’t completely give up my country(born and raised it). I felt D2S totally opened up a new way for me to get others involved in Christ, in God. Its never felt so GOOD to be with others who share the same interest. I am now living as a Solider of God.
I shared D2S with a friend who is a Methodest, but doesn’t exactly live the life of a Christian per say. He is like me before I turned myself over to God. I just got off the phone talking to him and he listened. I know I can’t change him over night, but I told him my own story, the story of having doors shut in our face when collecting cans, being laughed at for asking if people knew if they’d go to heaven or hell. I asked him if he would laugh in someones face or shut the door if they asked him that. He said he wouldn’t be that rude. I told him the story of the person who a guy tried to get the GOSPEL across for 7 years and finally he did. He said he was touched by some of what I had said..maybe there is hope. Hes a very stubborn person, but I believe somehow, someway God will come to him as he did me. I will try my best from here on out to share the Christian side of D2S to others and not so much the religion of Catholics or Lutherans, but Christians, since all it takes is love, trust, and let Jesus in our hearts.
Thanks for reading.
–Katherine–
Hey Greg,
I just wanted to say thank you sooooo much for all that you do you have really changed my life!!!
I also had a quick question I am home-schooled and so I don’t have very many non-christian friends I have been thinking for a while about going to public school but I really love home-schooling so I am not sure what to do about talking to other people about my faith do you have any suggestions????
Hannah
P.S. again I wanted to say thanks YOU ROCK!!!
Megan Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Hi Hannah,
I was just going through and reading thing’s and so it just so happened I stoped on this. If you read up you see that I am haveing troubles with satan, beliefs, myself, and other things but I still am really good fo giving advice. First off since you said that you don’t have very many non-christain friends, well all, well most of my fiends belive in god but I asked some of them if they were to die where do they think they would go. They said I don’t know, I talked to them about Dare 2 Share, God, and how Dare 2 Share changed my life and so they already planned to go to Dare 2 Share. But anway still talk to your friends. Second for the school if you really want to go to public school then try it and if you still love home school then think of the pros of home school then think of the cons of public school then switch it around. Then do what your wants. Third I was scared to, to talk people about God everytime I go to talk to someone about God I get a little nervous but I just come straight out with it and it works and if you choke up then pray to God and ask God to help you with what-ever you need.
From a careing christain,
Megan
Heyy Greg.
Dare to share was amazingg this weekend!
you are a greaat speaker.i love what you and the whole crew does.
you got all my freinds(me as well) pumped and on fire for god.
i was already saved when i came, but you made me realize how i wasnt following
the lord daily like i should.
i cant wait till next year.
i really love what you do.
love always,
-alexis(:
Greg,Im 15 and went to the lincoln conference this weekend and as always it was amazing i love you Zane and Derwin, but, i need your help a lot, i tried sharing my faith with my older sister and all she believes in is reincarnation and everything i tell her she says is a religion and she says that i dont even know if this stuff is true, im trying my best but i need yours and god’s help, i really want her and my older brother to know christ but they are too stubborn, anything i say she doesnt believe or has an argument, pleaese help me Greg, the Lincoln conference was great, i need your help.
Please pray for me to spread the word to her and many others.
In Jesus,
Matthew V.
Hello!
Just wanted to thank you for this weekend!
I am convinced that God is working in the hearts and lives of the teens that went to this event as well as the adults.
My List:
1. Riley
2. Sara
3. Kyle
4. Brandon
5. Erin
Thank You for praying for me and this Mission that God has put before me!
Living by Matthew 28:19-20 is so hard but I am convinced with Christ in me, I can do anything! He gives me the strength and Power!
Thanks!
NK
JesusismyRock Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Praise Jesus….Spoke to Kyle. He had never heard of how Jesus loved him, or of how Jesus died on the cross to take away his sins, and that its by HIS grace he can go to heaven.
I shared the Gospel Journey with him in my own words….and once we completed I asked him if it all made sense. He said it does. He put his faith in Christ. He now knows where he is going when he dies!!!
I praise God for this opporunity and give him all the credit for this taking place! Praise Jesus another one can enter the gates of heaven because they know Jesus! Please keep Kyle in your prayers as I continue to talk to him and work with him regarding his new faith!
Whoa! I loved Dare 2 share this year! pretty radical stuff!!
u guys have been a inspiration to me! u dudes has been a HUG blessing to me!
Jesus just rocks my whole world! its just been awesome i describe christians as warriors or soldiers. around 2 Timonthy is says “Endure hardship with us like good soldiers of christ jesus.” that is always my scripture there! thanks for a great weekend!
Dare2 share
Wow, that subject is something that can bring such panic and then joy possibly. (realize I am a 33yr old youth leader working in a secular environment)
I took the challenge God had before me today at my lunch table. I jumped blindly off the cliff for Christ, and man He landed me on my feet! You know how much adrenaline that produces??? Let me tell ya in a guy like me, I felt I could conquer the world for Him!
I am still “high”.
I was ready to poop my pants, I was so scared to bring up Jesus at the lunch table. I didn’t though(poop my pants), ok maybe a little! Just kidding! :0) I was thinking to myself “boy o boy I could chew on this sandwich just a little longer and maybe the lunch time would be over”, then I heard “Tell them, ask them if they were to die today, do they no what would happen to them?” Then I went back to “oh roast beef mmmm good, talking about Jesus, Danger Danger!!!” I went back and forth for a while and I don’t think I ever appreciated a roast beef sandwich so much in my life. :0)
Then it came, “the moment”, I was going to step out for the King. As my life flashed before my eyes, God spoke through me. He had me ask the question, as if I was struggling with it myself. I said ” So, I was asked this question this weekend, if you were to die right now, do you know where you would go?” Bam! It’s out, I thought “Ok i am done here” Fortunately for me God had an even more timid believer at the table with me. So when they answered ” No”,” I wish I could know”, “cremated” My wonderful brother with which at that moment, I could of poked out his eyes, says to me out loud. ” So Toby, what’s the answer?” Then God again, clearing his throat gave me an answer I was not quite expecting. He had me answer as if I just found the only logical answer, Jesus Christ. I talked in comical sarcasm (as not to offend, but to kind of show why Christianity makes the most sense) about Buddhism, JW’s, Islam, etc. Then I pointed out that in all these we need “to do” something, but that Jesus says he has paid the price for us by dying on the Cross, and that all we have ” to do” is believe that He did this for us and rose and is coming back one day. For me, I said “this just makes sense. I don’t have to do anything but believe, sign me up” You would of been shocked how that “jump” landed. No one came to Christ from that, but man I felt literally the adrenaline pumping through my veins!!!! I can’t wait to try it again! The guys also left hopefully with the Holy Spirit tugging on their heart strings. So we will see if God waters the seed and makes it grow!
This weekend was truly something new for me. Not that I havent heard of jesus before or had him in my life, I grew up in a christian enviroment but as I got older I started to think “He hasnt done anything for me, why should I care.” and “There’s no proof of him,” things like that and I started to shy away from all the beliefs I grew up with. This weekend I turned my life over to God! It felt so cleansing but also so confusing, because honestly I still have those few doubts. One of my really close friends also accepted God, we are going to try to shred the gnar with our friends and also keep the fire alive within us. I really hope we can achieve our goals but being back home and seeing our friends is already proving to be challenging. I am SO glad there are others out there that are supportive, because without this weekend I dont think I would of came through! Thank you SOOO much! Keep doing what your doing, your wonderful at it!
Hi Greg,
I am a youth leader from First Baptist Church in Platte City, MO. We brought a group of 30 teens to the Lincoln Conference. It was so awesome to see the kids dive in and give God all they had!! I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to listen to the girls that came up with the GOSPEL rap. I was the van driver listening for 3 hours as they made up the verses. It was a blessing to listen as they went over it until they had it right.
I can’t imagine the time crunch of keeping a conference that size on schedule. Your kindness in taking the time to listen and encourage them will be something they will never forget, and either will I. What a great way to empower teens in the importance of their role in the Kingdom of Christ.
Since we have returned to Platte City…the girls have preformed the rap at the High School and are filming it to put on youtube. What started out as a way to kill time on a 3 hour trip has become a way to share eternal life….Thank you so much for your ministry to teens. Oh by the way I have 2 kids also, one named Jeremy and one named Kaley. Both born in Denver….
God Bless
Kathy Vonada
JesusismyRock Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 11:14 am
We should get that Gospel Rap on video and post it on Dare to Share’s website! SERIOUSLY! It was AWESOME:)
Emily L. Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I taped it..but not all of it..and the quality of the video isn’t very good!!
Hey Greg
This is Dakota Troglin from Northgate baptist church in Kansas city. I went to the dare to share in lincon and it was amazing and i would like to tell you that since then ive got one person to accept God and im talking to 5 or 6 others about it. i want to personally thank you Derwin, and Zane for helping me discover just what god can do.
Jesus Rules
Dakota Troglin
Hey Greg,
Thanks for a great weekend. We have taken our kids to ATF for the past 2 years – WOW…. Your conference is so amazing.. the kids have come home on fire. I will never take them to ATF again – the concept isn’t even close to how your present it. Because of this conference a lot of amazing things are happening. Not only did 2 youth groups of different faith come together as christians, but we are going to make a non-demoninational youth group – because the only book rules we need to live by is the BIBLE, not the governing bodies of churches trying to tell us their rules for us. Also, when we left Lincoln, we all attended a service in a church in Omaha that was absolutely amazing. While sitting there, God spoke to me – which kind of freaked me out a little (kind of like when I asked you what product you used in your hair LOL) anyway, He told me that we need to start a non-denominational church to reach out to people that are tired of “rules” of churches – to start a church that welcomes everyone and focuses on the youth and the younger adults. I wrote that on a note and passed it to the youth leader from the other church… We have since talked and there has been interest, but no one has ever approached the subject. We are now praying like mad that God will make a way for this to happen. I put my pen to paper the other night and wrote ideas of what books in the bible to look into for ideas to make this presentation work. Please pray for us. I really think this is how we are going to move ahead in this Christian life… Also, pray for our youth groups – we are hosting a Life Light concert on Sunday March 29, in Battle Creek Iowa (free – Jesus already paid the price, why should the youth pay a price to hear about Him, right?). Anyway, we need to get the word out and fast – so pray that our turn out is better than last year (720). Again, thank you for your work in helping our youth understand why God is so important. Maybe when I grow up (I am 40 HEHE) I can be like you. Smile!!! God love you!!!
Jodie – Ida Grove, Iowa
PS That kid (Loren) that you told had the “nice” hot pink socks is gloating that you told him that. Thanks for making his day. You are very special and God will wrap His amazing love around you daily!!!!
Hello!
Greg i just want to thank you all for such an amazing weekend, Zane and one guy that can to that thing with his chest! and the people that did the drama. you are all so very inspiring and my dream is to talk to and reach thousands of kids for Christ.
Here is my Story: i went to Dare2Share in Lincoln Nebraska for the first time and it changed my life like no one can believe. we left Friday the 20th from Sioux Falls South Dakota around noon and got there at 5 pm. we went to eat then our hotel and then the conference.. ok so the real story.
When i was 4 my parents got a divorce but i didnt really understand till i was 6 or 7. i would cry my self to sleep every night till i was 10, i just didnt understand why my parents put my brother and i in that situation. My dad got remarried to a womann named Joni and she was a police officer during the night so when my dad had to go out of town a lot my grandpa would come watch us… to escape the details, pretty much i was sexually abused by him and i didnt tell anyone for the longest timee.. actually the 1st time i told someone was friday the 20th, i told one of my best guy friends that friday of the conference.
JesusFreeek Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
sorry not done. and so it was seriously the most amazing day of my life. you have changed my life in so many ways from that saturday. we were in the 3rd and 4th row that whole weekend you did an amazing job. so we left the conference around 9:30 and headed home. 5 hour drive. so we did this group prayer thing with all 29 of us on the bus. where we just prayed for anyone that needed it. so many life stories were told. one girl was raped and she is having surgery tomorrow so please pray that is goes okay and she knows God loves her. also my “big sister” – my best friend at the church. her mom just told her that she was HIV positive and that her bf is abusive so we prayed for all these people and Parker, the guy i told whispered in my ear ‘have them pray for you’ and i just couldnt i was crying and really stressed out. we had this prayer group for 3 HOURS it was AMAZING. then Jamie Stolp my youth paster asked us if our feet and hands had a tingly feeling and we nodded yes. and he said God is with us. The Holy Spirit surrounds us. that exact moment i gave my life to the Lord and asked for forgivness.
Saturday February 21st i gave my life to God and that date is forever engraved in my memories.
Thanks so much for coming to speak to us. you guys did amazing. Respond if you have time, with your busy lifeee. hah.
God Bless.
Katie Gebauer from Celebrate Westlyan Church in Sioux Falls.
princesscwlvr@hotmail.com
Hey Greg, I just wanted to say listening to you talk in Lincoln was a major blessing for me. When i was younger i went to church alone with my older sister because i step-father refused to go and wouldnt stay home with watching my two younger sisters so my mom would have to stay rather than come with us. up until i was 12 i loved going to church and sunday school and the vacation bible school our church has in the summer but when i reached the 5th grade my step-dads mom started having health problems and that in turn started to upset him and make him very controling. that is when the sexual abuse started. this lasted during all four years of middle school and all that time i had to separate identities. at home i was fearful and tense and stayed locked up in my room but at school i would forget all of that and strive to make everything look perfect and normal in hopes that it would just go away. then the summer after my 8th grade year the authorities finally got involved and thats when we begun going to court to have him put in prison. it took 3 years before he was finally convicted which was in july 2008 and he was sentenced to five years and two years of parole. after that i figured life would just become normal and we would all be happy finally. instead things took a major turn and i became severely anorexic and depressed. i ended up losing 40lbs when a teacher finally confronted me with worry. i had also been having reaccuring nightmares of middle school and had thought that i must have done something very wrong for God to be so upset to punish me like that. after a very frightening overdose that nearly cost me my life and by the doctors thoughts was surprised that it hadnt, i realized i needed to call on someone else for help and not just try to fix it on my own. since i have been going to the same church since i was four i had heard of dare2share but never really thought about going because i was always to “busy with better things” but this year a few friends talked me into going and i am soooo thankful i did. i never realized how many other people go through problems like mine until i sat through the reality of the skits, i began to see that God has already forgiven me for my sins now it was time for me to do the same. i had been caring years worth of guilt and self-hatered when i finally decided it was time to give it all over to the Lord. i had accepted God long ago when i was at a church camp near our town and was later baptisted at my church but through the struggles and pain i seemed to have turned away from God and His love. At the end when you had us pray i just got down and let it all out. i handed everything over to the Lord and asked him to be my guide and in that moment everything changed. i felt as if i could finally breathe again and was positive that He loves me and will take care of me.
since i live in a small town most people know my story and all i’ve been through and i know that like zane i could use my story to show people of God’s love and the joy and peace that we can have only by trusting in Him.
Again thank you so much!!! it was an amazing conference and i definately plan to continue coming and bringing more friends along with me
God Bless,
Dani
So i’m sitting in my chair surrounded by 7,000 screaming high school kids thinking… “Now THIS, is what it means to worship God…” I glance around the packed auditorium where, to the non-Christian observer it may look like a few thousand students have lost their minds. There are arms shooting up towards the sky, and the occasional Senior-High kid sitting prostrate on the ground crying out. To who? To God. And as I am sitting at DARE2SHARE soaking in the spectacle I can’t help but think that I cannot wait to be in the presence of God. The emotion of the moment is overwhelming and for that weekend it seems like we as a Christian force ARE INVINCIBLE.
But… The lights dim, the music fades, and we pile back into the vans. A group of 25 Christians, on fire for God. At least for the weekend.
Emotion is a great thing, it is how we build on relationships, it is how we tell people if something good happens or it is how we communicate the annoying, depressing, or downright painful things in life. But emotion is also dangerous. Especially in this context. I can’t tell you how many of these things i’ve been to over the years and it never fails only one or two kids, if any, walk away with their lives being literally changed. The emotion doesn’t carry over, it’s not a dedication, it’s an empty promise. I’ve made plenty of these.
Now though, as I look at my life coming back from this “Youth Conference.” I start to think to myself, “Am I losing the battle?” Has Satan gotten a hold of me so tightly that I am no longer affective? How often do I seek to share the gospel, how often do I think of God as the all-powerful holy One who was and is and is to come. Am I letting Satan make me, Josh Klein, ineffective for Christ. If I am. I am losing the battle. Look, there are times and places where emotions run high, and I don’t think that God would want to do away with those weekends, but I think that personally God wants to see us carry that emotion into action. How often have YOU come back from an emotionally packed weekend and decided then and there that your life would be different…Maybe you swore off a sin that you’ve held dear, maybe you finally vowed to reach that friend with the gospel, maybe you had an overwhelming desire to read scripture or pray, maybe you urged yourself to resolve an issue with a friend, or a “used to be friend.” Whatever it may be, my question to myself and to you is this…Did you?
When the emotion drifted away, and all that was left was the mundane life you’ve lived for the past ten, fifteen, twenty years, did you find it in your heart to meet that resolve you made in the emotional moment and carry it out into action? I know that for myself, the answer would more often than not be a resounding NO. So. Will you continue to allow Satan to tell you the lies that make you ineffective for Christ? I say no. Now it is time for you to decide. Will we, as Christians, honor the commandments left by Christ, Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s not that we should go it is that we MUST Go. So, will I, will you, have the attitude of Isaiah or Jonah? Will you say:
“Here I am Lord, Send Me.”
or will we turn our backs and run? Like Jonah did.
These are the names of 70 kids that do not know Christ. My youth group had the courage to write them down, now we need the courage to bring God up. Which is partially my job as the youth pastor but it rests on the kids’ shoulders if they want to carry that emotion into action.
Stephen M.
Alicia
Grant D.
Dominic R.
Brian R.
Tyler S.
Zach W.
Katrina S.
Sam D.
Nick O.
Jordan
Trevor
Aaron
Steve
Josh
Anna
Erika M
Sammy H
Paige M
Alecia S
Sara
Katie R
Audrey P
Puok C
Ann T
Carson S
Chelsy C.
Eric
David J
Kevin
Greg
DeAngelo
Samantha
Tyler C
Ivy S
Amelia K
Sabrina T
Lisa
Dana A
Hailey G
Richard
Victoria C
DJ Buck
Eddy J
Eric O
Tyler D
Rachel M
Shannon M
Nichole M
Jake
Shirley
Breana
Jiaron
Donald
Jolene J
Jamie J
Alyssa Q.
Ashley Q
Briann A.
Cherise G
Breahanna D.
Haylee D.
Patrick D.
Ericka D.
Cameron R.
Devon
Erin H.
Elexus C
Angie
Conner
Will you? Will I? Be bold enough to believe that God wants our friends in heaven? One thing I have to consistently remind myself is the fact that it isn’t my JOB to get anyone to heaven, it is only my job to proclaim the gospel it is THEIR job to choose what to do with it and the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them. I only need to preach it! What a load off of my mind! My only responsibility is proclamation, but I have to do it. God handles the rest!
Guys in this world we WILL have trouble, but Jesus didn’t stop there he finished by saying, “Take heart, I have overcome the world.” Come on guys lets keep the dedication up even when the emotion is down. We will all be praying, for resolve, for action, for courage, and for support. God loves you no matter what, even if we fail at times. Here are 70 names, we know them, we know that each one of them is destined for an end we don’t want to think about. Our job is to tell them about another option we can’t force them to believe but we can proclaim the gospel and let God work out the rest.
Dare2Share was awesome and it opened my eyes. I got the Dare2Share book from one of my leaders and I’ve only read 22 pages of it and it’s still changed me so much.
Hey Greg I have an emergency on my hands. I know this girl at my school named Tarah and her mom has cancer. I was talking to one of my friends that is her cousin and he said that doctors say that Tarah’s mom has two weeks left on this earth. Two weeks until she dies phyisically and spiritually. It tears me up inside that I didn’t reach Tarah sooner. I mean I’ve talked about God quite a bit with her but I need to talk to her one on one. Just pray that I’ll be able to visit with her mom and open her eyes. And pray that Tarah will come to Christ in the process too. I need help. Just give me some advice. I think I’ll try to take her on a walk and talk to her about it. I’ll also try to get her to go to 180 (The youth group that I go to.) Just pray for me to be filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit. READ THIS GREG IT’S AN EMERGENCY A SOUL IS AT STAKE!!!!!!!
Awesome! I didn’t have time to read any of the comments really, but with the amount of them I can’t help but notice that God worked during the conference! I’ve been praying for D2S daily that He would prepare the hearts of those attending and guide the speakers . I can’t wait to see you guys in March! Hope God continues to pour out blessings on your organization!
In Christ,
Jorden
Dare 2 Share
wow, My second year and it was awesome and amazing like always!
I love your Testimonies! It really spoke to me! it really did. So when my youth group got back from D2S i started the 48 hr challenge right away! like the monday i was talking to my friends at lunch and i started with our conversation with “So do you think there is a higher power?” and right away the conversation got really interesting. My 5 friends were interested with the conversation soo much!! cause i think 2 out of 5 are christians and including myself. i started to get really happy cause they are getting into God! Just thank you soo much for helping us to shred the gnar!! i also got a question, does dare 2 share have a intership program there? if so, please let me know!!!!!!!!! thanks a bunch!
WOW!! I can’t Wait, I live in Federal Way Washington, about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Seattle, where the conference is going to be in mid-march. It sounds so awesome, and it sounds like it’ll be better than last year. I’d've replaced my D2S wristbands a while ago, except that no one sells them, hope to get a new pair at the conference. I just Can’t WAIT.
I live in Atlanta, we just paid our money for Dare 2 Share on Wednesday. we are so excited!!!! March 6-7 baby!!!
D2S was AMAZING this year! I took the cell-phone challenge, and i called my friend Paige, who had told me nearly a year ago that she thought God was like Santa Claus, someone they say is true so you’ll be good, but really isn’t there. But since that day I’ve been talking to her about God, and was making some progress, but i wasn’t sure if she really trusted in Him yet or not. I continued to keep bringing God up in conversation, i’ve read all your books trying to learn new ways to share my faith with her, and finally on Saturday, after a year of talking I was ready to finally put all everything I’d worked for into action. Before i called, i prayed God would prepare her heart for what I was about to say, and that i would have the right words to say. I called, we started off with just a little small talk, and i said, “hey, I’m at this conference called Dare2Share, and they’re asking us to call one of our friends and talk to them about God and stuff, so i called you, because you’re my friend and…” I started to kinda choke up and cry because i felt so strongly about what i was talking about, and i really cared for Paige, “…I don’t want to die or you to die and not go to heaven with me. Look, I know you’re not very religious, but can you hear me out for second…” I asked her what she believed and shared the GOSPEL with her and said, “Does this make sense?” she said yes, i asked, “will you put you’re faith and trust in Jesus” and she said yes. It was the most thrilling, scary, some what sad, exciting, most memorable moments in my life!
I still wasn’t sure if she put her faith in Him because i asked her to, but she didn’t really mean it. So, I talked to her yesterday and asked if what i said made sense and if she really did put her faith and trust in Jesus and she said everything i said made perfect sense and she did trust in Him. She still has some major issues she needs to work through, she has some major regrets of things she’s done in her past, and has many questions as to how God could let bad things happen (we recently just had 3 friends from school die in a car accident, and that has been on everyone’s mind). I just tell her that Jesus erased everything she’s done and everything she will do when he died on the cross. And I share with her that I have doubts sometimes too, but God has somehow found a way to show me that He is in control and has a greater purpose, and i share how i over-come my doubts and fears. She’s made some amazing progress, and I’m excited to see what else God has instore for her, as well as the other people I plan on talking to about God (which includes my entire graduating class along with a few others) I’m just so pumped about sharing my faith with others, I can’t hold it in anymore!
I may live in Nebraska [home of the oh-so-dreaded Cornhuskers ], But I’m SHREDDIN THE GNAR!!!
Thanks for all you do!
-Katie S.
Debbie Mitchell Reply:
March 1st, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Hi Greg,
i have gone to d2s every year since 7th grade and am currently attenting the north platte community college. i went to d2s again with my youth group but this time it was different. i was raised a very strong christain and everytime i went to d2s i said i was going to talk to my friends…and never got around to it. when u told us to call that one friend that we were thinking of, i did but he was busy and said he’s call back. when i was looking through my contacts, i noticed a number that i thought i had deleted. this girl and i fought all through highschool and we really truly hated eachother. i knew God was telling me to call her but i was fighting with him abaou it. i didn’t think she would answer or what to say if she did. but i said alright God i hope u know what ur doing. i called her and she answered. i said i know ur probably wondering what the heck i’m calling u for but please just hear me out. i just want to ask u a question. she said ok and i asked her what her spiritual beleifs were and she said agnostic. i said so if you died tonight, do u know where u’d go? and she said honsestly no. then i told her that i could tell her how she could know for sure and i asked if that would be ok. and she said it’d be nice to know. and i was amazed….but anyway so i kept going and i walked her through the GOSPEL message and when i was done she said i’ve never had it explained so simply before and i said well it is simple. then she told me that she always went to church with her grandma but they always told her that she had to do all these good things to earn Gods favor and i said u don’t have to do anything just accept and beleive that Jesus Christ died for you and wants you to be in a relationship with him. then i asked her if she wanted to and shes like is it really that simple though and i said yes it is. and she said ok!!!!!! she did!!!! then i appologized for everything that happend between us in highschool and i told her i can’t belive i did all of it and she said that out of everyone she’s fought with, no one cared enough to appologize and no one cared enough about her to explain Jesus to her.
YOU know before i wnet to d2s this year i was having doubts of my own but God really showed me that he IS out there and i CAN make a difference…even if it’s only to one person.
THANK YOU SO MUCH GREG!!!
DEBBIE
Hi again Greg,
I figured i was on a role so i called another person. a guy that i graduated with and we never talked and he didn’t like me. i called him and he answered but he didn’t know who it was…so when i told him he was surprised. i told him about dare 2 share b/c i knew he knew about it. and i asked him about his spiritual beleifs. he said he was catholic and i actually missed the whole concert b/c we were…not arguing…but discussing releigion. i was trying to get him to understand that christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ and not a religion but he just couldn’t understand that. he didn’t think that God would let a horrible person into heaven and that we needed to do things to take care of our sin. i told him that Jesus already did that for us and it was still and unending battle. after a while he said he needed to leave and i told him that my youth leaders were looking for me to leave too. but then he said something that surprised me. he said i’m coming home next friday and i would love to sit down with u and continue this…so i said i’d call him friday. well when i finally got back to gothenburg it was around 1 a.m. and i went down into my room. i was getting eady for bed and my phone rang. it was him. i picked it up and he was crying…so i asked him if he was ok. all he said was this. Debbie, i understand. and i’m like understand what? and he said i understand what u were saying about God and Jesus. i didn’t even know what to say. he said he didn’t have much time to talk about this but he wasnted me to pray for him roomate Eric. he said he wanted him to know someone was out there for him. then he hung up. i don’t know if he trusted Christ but at least he understood. I was so excited that God showed me that not only could i do his will for one person but for another. please pray for Eric…
Debbie
Greg,
I want to thank you for another great year in Lincoln, however this year was very different. In the past our students have come back excited, but it turned back into them doing their own thing after a few weeks. This year finally one of our students really got it. His name is Chris, and he is a typical teen guy, who loves friends, parties, and yes girls. Chris has been a christian on sunday and a non christian the rest of the week. He’s always been very faithful, and knows what he’s been doing wrong. This year when we got back, Chris approached me, and said this year i am different. Of course i heard that before, but then something happened to Chris. He started actually talking to his party friends about not being truly happy and that he needs to go back to what true joy is. Chris shared Christ with his friends, and yes, they buried him. But Chris called me, and asked for some advise. We talked for hours, and the next day, one of his friends called and apolgized to Chris. Asking Chris what this real joy is. Chris not real sure himself how to respond, called me and on Saturday, March 7th, the 3 of us are gonna have lunch, and hopefully his party friend will learn, and understand how to really party. All the way to eternity. Thanks for a great weekend, and Greg, i know you get messages all the time, but i want you to know from one brother to another in Christ, i appreciate what you do, and because of your love for students too, we may have a new memeber into the Hall of Eternity!
Pastor Dave
hey lincoln was awsome (sorry if i scared you greg i have that affect on people) its been 2 weeks, i have been trying so hard not to lose my spiritual high, i have sucsessfully learnd 2 verses (starting small one verse a week) and am reading my bible evry nite. I am not much of a partier, but i am a cutter, I have been 6 weeks with out cutting, thanks to my counseler, lets start with 3 months ago me and my sis were both cutters, and my sis got admitted into richerd young hospital in kerney neb.i went downhill from there, as a last resort i got help, and started going to a counseler. i didn’t tell her i was cutting untill i cut really deep one time and scared myself, i then spilld my guts out to her, and she helped me stop, the drama was really good for me I have no desire to cut but it is an every day strugle for me thank you Greg, and thank you dare2share. unfortunatly i will probly not be back to lincoln nxt year so i will just have to terroize you from the twin citys hope to see you there!
Hey Greg,
I went to the Dare 2 Share confrence in Lincoln, NE, and I came out with a new perspective about my relationship with God. I am so excited because we are doing numerous ways to help the teenagers in my community about coming to God. Number one is the my youth group and I are hosting a Lifelight Spring Tour concert for FREE!! We decided that putting it free gives people no limitations of coming a believer in Christ, so we have raised the money to put that on. And number two is, that we are doing an Easter Sunrise Service for the youth and anyone else who wants to come. But this is where I need your help Greg. We saw that High School Musical skit at your confrence in Lincoln and thought that, that may be a great skit to do for the Easter Service. If you could please, please, please, give us that script so we can use it at our sevice that would be amazing! We thought that, that was the choice skit to reach out to all the kids, teenagers, and adults there who have seen that movie too many times to count on one hand. I know as a High School Musical lover myself that it was an amazing skit and funny and I think that it would be the best one to use.
Peace and Love,
Kristina Andrews
Hey Greg!
Ever since Dare 2 Share in Lincoln, I’ve been trying to talk to this guy Kris about Jesus. That monday after the conference when I was in art, he happened to notice my “Shreddin’ the Gnar” t-shirt and asked me about it. I was so excited that I started telling him the meaning behind Shreddin’ the Gnar and where I got the shirt from and the conference. After I was done, he got up and moved by his friends. Later, I saw all of them looking at me and laughing. Later that week, he sat by me in my language class and started talking about the conference. I don’t know what to do. He acts different around me then he does around his friends. It’s like he wants to know about Jesus, but later his doesn’t.
And also I want to say that Dare 2 Share this year opened my eyes to many personal things. Thanks. Can’t wait for next year!
God Bless,
Tamra Leanne
I went to dare 2 share this year and it was really cool for me because it was my very first year going to dare2 share. I was a little scared during the time that we wen out and got to evangelize I can’t wait until next year
Paul Foreman Reply:
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Jane,
I am thrilled to hear about your experience at Dare2Share in Lincoln. God is using you mightly. I’m happy to have you in our youth group.
Paul Foreman
(Jane’s Youth Director)
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