A way of life that guides followers of Jesus to be good news as they share The Good News.
3Story® is the phrase we use to describe how we live in relationship with God and others. We use three circles to represent these stories—God’s Story, my own story and the stories of young people. When the circles overlap, it means friendship is growing, trust is building, transformation is happening.
3Story® helps people who love Jesus stay tightly connected to Him so they might become good news as they talk about the Good News of God’s love. It’s a lifestyle we pursue. We want to be people who love like Jesus loves us, who serve as Jesus serves and who are consistently drawing near to God for the sake of young people.
We pursue 11-19 year olds who are walking through pivotal, story shaping moments; like navigating a new school, becoming a teen parent, spending time in a juvenile institution or simply enduring the culture of social media. Young people often feel marginalized. As we live 3Story® lives, we represent Jesus who is steady and trustworthy so that young people feel seen, heard and valued.
3Skills help us discover overlap in our stories with God and one another
Making stories and swapping stories. It's how all relationships grow and where the overlap happens. Since we have been commanded by Jesus to love as He loves, dependent on the Father, our direction and power to connect with others comes from the Holy Spirit. 3Skills are three prayerful practices that help us discover steps of faith we can take in making stories and swapping stories with God, one another and lost young people. We're discovering ways to love like Jesus. We like to call those steps of faith "Holy Experiments." It is our hope and expectation that everyone involved in this interaction will experience God, believer and unbeliever alike.
3Skills also help us discover and understand our story in the context of God's Story, the Good News Story. You can't really have an encounter with God and not walk away from it with a Story. And if we have stories of the Gospel changing our lives, then sharing them is inevitable. 3Skills are best experienced together rather than explained so you'll just have to connect with us to learn how.
3Story® and 3Skills come together in teams.
We've all been motivated by church, camps, conferences, movies, podcasts, and our favorite speakers. Most of us know what it's like to come home and do little to nothing about it. We tend to get distracted and discouraged. In the case of 3Story®, it's impossible to do alone. Part of the Good News is that we get a family to do it together. Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT says,
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Youth For Christ organizes teams that practice 3Skills together and, therefore, live 3Story® as they discover Holy Experiments. YFC Core is teams of 2-5 students with an adult coach who practice 3Skills together. HomeFront Missions is family teams, and sometimes teams of families, who are committed to practicing 3Skills and living 3Story®. In either case, teams grow in their relationship with God and one another being the light of the world as the go.
Mitch Janzen
Partner with YFC