Teams of students with adult coaches who together, follow Jesus in a way that naturall y invites friends to discover Jesus with them.

Matthew 28:18–20, Colossians 1:28–29

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Is Friend2Friend®?

Why is F2F Important?

What Does F2F Value?

Friend 2 Friend Fundamentals

So…What Does F2F Look Like?

What Are Some Examples Of Different F2F Ministry Sites?

So…How Do I Do It?

How Do I Find Students?

Once I Find Them…How Do I Get Started?

Once Things Get Going…What Do I Do With Students?

WHO Do I Contact If I Need Help?

3

4

5

6

7-10

11

12

12

13

3

Friend2Friend Is…

Teams of students with adult coaches who together, follow Jesus in a way that naturally invites friends to discover Jesus with them.Matthew 28:18–20, Colossians 1:28–29

Why is F2F Important?

F2F is an effective way for us to mobilize students and adults to reach teenagers at a high school or

middle school.

How many students have existing relationships with their lost peers? F2F equips them to make the most of

what God is already doing in those relationships.

How many authentic, Christ-sharing relationships can one staff person actually have with lost kids?

50? 12? Less? Relationships take time, and time is limited. We need more workers, and students are in

prime positions.

How many schools are open to youth workers? No school is closed to students.

Do you know a person with the heart, skills and gifts of mobilizing and discipling others? Are you that person?

If you know someone or feel that we are describing you, Friend2Friend provides an ideal platform to help

you get started.

4

What Does F2F Value?

F2F values…

3STORY®

3Story® is a way of life that guides followers of Christ to BE the good

news while telling stories of THE good news.

THE FIVE ESSENTIALS

1. Widespread Prayer: We deliberately engage lots of Christians to intercede on behalf of the

ministry site.

2. Loving Relationships: We consistently pursue lost kids and engage them in life-long

relationships with Jesus.

3. Faithful Bible Teaching: We accurately handle Biblical truth, regularly coaching kids to

apply it in their lives.

4. Collaborative Community Strategy: We intentionally work together with local churches,

agencies and other partners to provide sustainable youth and family ministry.

5. Adults Who Empower: We strategically develop leaders to reach young people from every

people group.

5

THE FRIEND2FRIEND FUNDAMENTALS

Abide: Surrendering to, listening to, loving, and obeying Jesus together are first priority as

we work to actively love others into His Kingdom. (John 15)

Share, Pray, Discover: The central practice for those who are involved at any level of

Friend2Friend, including the board of directors, site leaders, coaches and students. The

commitment to sharing stories, praying together, and discovering God’s direction for

relationships is essential to every aspect of Friend2Friend ministry. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Network: To create visible unity within the body of Christ and to build up the local church,

we are committed to doing ministry through relationships with kingdom-minded churches

and ministries. (John 17:23)

Adult Coaches: We develop adults who empower teams of students through nurturing,

mentoring, modeling and mobilizing them for relational ministry.

(2 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 4:11-12)

Teams: We recruit and equip students who are called by God to abide together, serve

others, and encourage one another to engage their world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ so

that more and more young people will discover Jesus. Teams meet weekly and thrive when

students are involved in mutual encouragement and accountability. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; I

Timothy 4:12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 4:12; James 1:22; Philippians 4:9)

Make Disciples: We are committed to Christ’s method of disciple-making through

transformational 3Story® relationships.

(Matthew 28:18–20; Colossians 1:28–29; 2 Timothy 2:2; Mark 1:17)

6

So…What Does F2F Look Like?

Structure: Friend2Friend teams are comprised of a handful of students (2-12) with an adult

coach who meet weekly from 20 minutes to 2 hours. A ministry site will be composed of

one or more teams that focus on a neighborhood, school, cultural group and/or other

circles of influence.

Meetings: Share, Pray, Discover are the three elements that are always included in a team

gathering time. These elements are more than agenda items and are founded on Scripture

(Heb.10:24-25). They are organized in a way to help students share stories, live a life of

prayer, and discover how to tangibly love Jesus and others as pictured in 3Story®.

SHARE: teammates share with one another the details, events, and meanings of their

encounters with God from the past week.

PRAY: teammates encounter God together in intercession, meditation, thanksgiving,

confession, etc.

DISCOVER: teammates discover risks, through prayer, that demonstrate God’s love for the

sake of their lost friends.

On pages 14, 15 and 16 you will see how these three elements (Share, Pray, Discover) are

used in the weekly Friend2Friend Curriculum. Keep in mind that these elements can take

place in any order during a meeting. One element may receive more attention than the

others, depending upon the needs of the team that week.

S - Junk, Joy, Jesus

P - Breathe Prayer

D - E-Challenge

7

What Are Some Examples of DifferentF2F Ministry Sites?

Three Case Studies…

There are many cultures, needs, and personalities among students, so we want to give you

a few examples of what Friend2Friend® looks like around the country. Feel free to contact

any of these people (contact information on the back page of this workbook) if these

examples resonate with you.

Case Study: Network-Driven Friend2FriendLocation/Ministry Site: Youth For Christ Rome Area | Rome, GeorgiaSite Leader(s): Kate Huff

Description

In a Network-Driven Friend2Friend model, YFC staff members provide training and support to local youth leaders, who host and lead the Friend2Friend teams.

Structure

We partner with local churches, and together, reach lost kids in our communities. The success of this model relies on establishing meaningful relationships with local youth leaders. We encourage YFC staff members to get involved in their local youth network and build meaningful relationships before introducing the concept of Friend2Friend. YFC trains local youth leaders and provides them with Friend2Friend curriculum to use during weekly meetings. Youth leaders can elect to receive training through one of the following options:

_ Directly: Youth leaders can receive one-on-one training with their local YFC staff member Corporately: Youth leaders can elect to attend a Friend2Friend training workshop with other leaders from their local area or across the region_ Self Directed: Youth leaders can also opt to complete training online

Once Friend2Friend has been launched, youth leaders receive ongoing training and support from YFC.

The focus of Friend2Friend meetings within the Network-Driven model is not to increase the size of the youth group, but for students to develop a passion for their lost friends, share stories of what God is doing in their lives, pray together and discover loving risks to take for their lost friends. As students meet Christ, an additional benefit is that the new Jesus-followers often end up joining the youth group.

Continue to next page : Case Study #1 contd.

8

Example

Kate, a local YFC staff member, knew Adam, a local youth pastor, from their involvement with the local Youth Pastors Network. When she noticed that his Facebook posts and activities aligned with the heart of YFC and Friend2Friend, she contacted him, shared information about YFC and Friend2Friend, and began volunteering at his church to get to know the students. She also began praying for Adam, the students and the lost kids in the community. Kate eventually talked to Adam about how Friend2Friend might help the students pursue relationships and share the Gospel with their lost friends. Before launching Friend2Friend at his church, Adam attended the Friend2Friend training workshop with other leaders from across the region.

Adam uses Friend2Friend curriculum during Wednesday night youth group meetings where most of the attendees are already Jesus followers and have a passion for their lost friends. During the school week, students are encouraged to take loving risks with their lost friends. Youth group activities provide additional opportunities for students to take loving risks with their lost friends by inviting them to attend. While they are encouraged to invite their friends to these activities, they’re not required to do so as inviting should not be the primary purpose of loving risks.

Meetings

The meeting time is guided by the Friend2Friend curriculum, which is emailed by Friend2Friend YFC/USA on a weekly basis during the school year. Feel free to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of the team. Adam often adapts it as he learns how students respond to various exercises. For example, he usually introduces the Share, Pray or Discover exercise from the front of the room before splitting up the students into co-ed teams by grade level. Volunteers who have been recruited by Adam and have some training help lead discussions.

Continue to next page : Case Study #2

What Are Some Examples of DifferentF2F Ministry Sites? (contd.)

9

Case Study: Campus Life & Friend2Friend PartnershipLocation/Ministry Site: Platte Valley YFC | Hastings, NebraskaSite Leader(s): Joe Marino

Description

In the Campus Life & Friend2Friend Partnership model, our Friend2Friend ministries partner with our Campus Life ministries to provide a process of discipleship for teens who are interested in (1) sharing stories of what it means to follow Jesus, (2) praying with and for each other, and (3) discovering the ways Jesus calls them to love their friends.

Structure

The Campus Life & Friend2Friend Partnership model is proving to be an excellent model for the students and leaders who are a part of an existing YFC ministry. It uses existing communities (Campus Life student leader teams) and provides them with the training and resources to develop passion for their lost friends. These teams share stories and pray for and pursue opportunities to love the lost kids in their lives. In the Campus Life & Friend2Friend Partnership model, the teams are led by Friend2Friend coaches. This occurs because we ask Friend2Friend coaches to also serve as volunteers or ministry directors for our Campus Life ministries. Their involvement with Campus Life ministries gives them the opportunity to recruit teens that are beginning to follow Jesus and have a passion for their lost friends to be part of a Friend2Friend team. This strategy has replaced the “Student Leadership” piece of our Campus Life ministry so that now our “Student Leaders” are not only inviting friends to Campus Life, they are also (more importantly) inviting friends to share in a life of following Jesus!Meetings

Friend2Friend meetings within the Campus Life & Friend2Friend Partnership model vary from meeting to meeting. We encourage Friend2Friend leaders to create an environment for students to feel safe enough to be vulnerable--a place where they feel they belong. Some Friend2Friend teams meet on school campuses--either during lunch or before school--and others meet in coffee shops or basements of parents’ homes. Regardless of the meeting space, our Friend2Friend leaders seek to effectively coach and facilitate meeting times where teens spend time (1) sharing their journey with Jesus within the community of the team, (2) praying with one another for each other’s and the community’s needs, and (3) discussing and discovering certain risks the Holy Spirit is asking them to take with their lost friends.

Continue to next page : Case Study #3

What Are Some Examples of DifferentF2F Ministry Sites? (contd.)

10

Case Study: Volunteer-Coached Friend2Friend TeamsLocation/Ministry Site: Central Coast Youth For Christ | San Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaSite Leader(s): Mitch Janzen

Description

In the Volunteer-Coached Friend2Friend model, YFC staff members train and support adult volunteers who coach students as they pursue relationships and share the Gospel with the lost kids in their lives.

Continue to next page

Structure

We build relationships with adults and students who love Jesus and care about lost kids in their communities. These individuals include youth pastors, youth staff, parents, and Christian students in youth groups and Christian Clubs, to name a few. The success of this model relies on identifying and training individuals who will lead and encourage a team of students as they attempt to live out the Gospel in their communities. Sometimes these prospective coaches are already functioning in this role at church, a school-based club or an informal small group. Other times, these individuals have the potential to greatly impact students but for one reason or another, aren’t actively pursuing relationships with them. We become the community’s partner in evangelism by training, equipping and providing resources to students and their Friend2Friend coaches to be a Friend2Friend Team. We help trained coaches help students take real-life steps of faith toward helping their lost friends discover Jesus.

Once the YFC staff member trains the Friend2Friend coach and the Friend2Friend team is launched, the YFC staff member provides ongoing training and support to the volunteer coach.

Meetings

We encourage coaches to seek out opportunities to introduce and apply the Friend2Friend Volunteer-Coached team structure and curriculum. The goal is to provide YFC resources and support to existing communities or newly-formed Friend2Friend teams so they feel equipped to share the Gospel with their lost friends.

Example

A YFC staff member met Emily, a Freshman at a local high school, at an event hosted by her campus ministry. Shortly afterwards, Emily joined a Friend2Friend team that met after school in a deli near the high school. As the team grew, YFC recruited three additional coaches to help lead the students: a youth pastor, a Friend2Friend alumni from the high school, and a trained adult volunteer in his second year of coaching. The coaches noticed that Emily was an exceptional team member. At the end of the year, when Emily asked how else she could help, the coaches asked if she had thought about leading her own Friend2Friend team. She completed training and formed a middle school team. Emily now coaches students at the local middle school who are launching Friend2Friend as part of their campus ministry leadership team.

What Are Some Examples of DifferentF2F Ministry Sites? (contd.)

11

Now that you’ve had a chance to look over the case studies… Please remember that they are here to simply give you ideas of how ministry might look in different areas. Please work through the next section of Friend2Friend 101 to start wading through HOW God wants Friend2Friend to look in your area and what your first steps will be. This process will be very flexible, creative and organic. We know this can sometimes be unnerving, but it can also be very exciting! Remember the foundation of all this is abiding. Watch as God does amazing things!

So...How Do I Do It?

How Do I Find Students?

The short answer? Abide. Be present. Network! Be patient and persistent.

Keep your ears and eyes open!

The long answer? Potential F2F team members can be elusive or could be right under your

nose! There is no archetypal F2F team member. They can look like “super Christians” or

students who have been broken, students who are growing and being transformed by Jesus’

grace and love. Just keep in mind that they may not look like anything you might expect. In

fact, we hope you keep an open heart and mind as you prayerfully seek out potential F2F

team members.

The key to finding students is not usually hunting them down, but rather positioning yourself

correctly! Most often, THEY find YOU!

Continue to next page

How do I Start?

12

Here are a few ideas about how to put yourself in the right places to meet the right students:

_ Befriend your local youth pastors, find ways to partner with them, etc.

_ Be VERY involved with your local youth pastor network (or start one).

_ Find ways to serve in your local youth group.

_ Offer to teach 3Story at a local church.

_ Show up at a local student-led Christian club.

_ Ask for student recommendations from a local youth pastor.

_ Ask students you know to recommend their peers.

_ Be a regular at everyday local activities, such as sporting events, outreach events,

concerts, skate parks, etc.

_ Feel free to use your imagination!

Once I Find Students…How Do I Get Started?

You’re abiding, listening and praying. You’ve recruited students. You need a time and a

place to meet as a team. Now do Share, Pray, Discover together.

Begin SHARING about where you already see God at work in your lives and the lives of people in

your everyday community.

Begin PRAYING about what God desires for your lost friends and your team.

Begin DISCOVERING what risks God is specifically calling you to take to connect with God

and lost friends.

As the Share, Pray, Discover process becomes a part of your team’s culture, it will become

apparent what God is doing and how He wants to continue working through you and your team in

the lives of your friends!

how to get started... (contd.)

13

If I Have Questions... Who Do I Contact?

The members of your YFC National Friend2Friend® Leadership Team would love to help you work

through any F2F related issue you’re facing. Feel free to contact any of us.

KEVIN BUSSEMA – KBussema@yfc.net

Youth for Christ USA

JEFF NEEL – Jeff@ridetheform.com

Northern Colorado Youth for Christ

JOE MARINO – Jmarino@plattevalleyyfc.com

Platte Valley Youth For Christ (Nebraska)

KATE HUFF – Kate.huff@yfc.org

Rome Georgia Youth for Christ

MITCH JANZEN – Mjanzen@yfcslo.com

Central Coast California Youth for Christ

14

©Friend2Friend 2011 YFC/USA

Jesus was the first missionary.He left His place of perfection and entered our sin-stained world to be “the Word who became flesh” (John 1:14).

We want to encourage the team to “be real”--to be honest about the dirt of our imperfect lives--so others may see what God has done in them.

This exercise is designed to encourage the team to develop real relationships amidst the junk of life.

A stopwatch

_ Ask for a volunteer to serve as the timekeeper. Give him/her the stop watch._ Before beginning the exercise, tell the team to think about three events that occurred during the past week that fall into one of three categories--junk, joy and Jesus:_ Junk: low points, challenges, disappointments or struggles_ Joy: high points, obstacles they’ve overcome, exciting news or joyful experiences_ Jesus: something that Jesus has said, done or revealed during the week_ Ask the team to share three events they have identified as junk, joy and Jesus in two minutes. The time keeper should tell the team member when he/she has 30 seconds left. Repeat until everyone has shared.

*Note: Lead the team in discussion if time allows._ Ask the team to share how they felt about sharing the highs and lows--the junk and joy--with each other._ Ask the team to encourage each other’s efforts to build relationships with their lost friends this week.

15

©Friend2Friend 2011 YFC/USA

Social media has made it convenient to “stay in touch” without really staying in touch. Although a Facebook message can’t take the place of a good old-fashioned conversation, it does let our friends know we’re thinking of them. This also applies to our relationship

with God. Sometimes we wait for a more opportune time to talk to God--a time when we’re not so busy or stressed or tired. We want to encourage the team to seize every opportunity to pray--because some communication is better than none.

This exercise is designed to encourage the team to talk to God regularly throughout the day.

_ Ask the team to share their favorite ways to pray. It might be helpful to share some of your favorite ways to pray to facilitate discussion. Some examples include:_ Whenever you need help, guidance or wisdom_ In the shower_ During a long car ride/drive_ Outside--somewhere in nature--when no one else is around_ Ask them to share how often they get to pray throughout the day. Remind them that these questions are not meant to induce guilt. Encourage them to be honest._ Ask them to share how they feel when they don’t pray as often as they usually do._ Challenge the team to pray a “breath prayer”--a prayer that can be said in one breath-- throughout the day this week._ Ask them to take note of any changes they might notice in their relationship with God and with lost friends.

16

©Friend2Friend 2011 YFC/USA

It’s easy to offer words of encouragement, scripture or prayer to fellow believers. But they’re not the only ones who need to be loved and encouraged in this way. Psalm 10:17 says that God hears the cry of the afflicted, and that He desires to encourage those who are far from him.

We want to remind students to actively love and encourage their lost friends.

This exercise is designed to challenge the team to be walking examples of Christ’s love within the context of relationships.

_ Ask the team to brainstorm five different ways they can actively encourage their lost friends on their wish lists this week. Remind them that the act should be relational, and that it should be completed in the natural environment of day-to-day relationships. Examples include:_ Spending lunch with a lost friend and maybe praying for him/her at the Holy Spirit’s guidance_ Checking in to see how he/she is doing through instant messenger, Facebook, text or e-mail_ Ask for a volunteer to send daily “e-challenge” reminder messages to the team via text, e-mail or Facebook.

_ Ask the team to actively encourage their lost friends through the five different ways they identified during the brainstorming session._ Ask them to write down and be prepared to share the results of these holy experiments at the next meeting.