3Story® is the phrase we use to describe how we live in relationship with God and others. We use three circles (our logo) 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, and transformation is happening.

Evangelism can look like a lot of things, like sharing the Gospel at a concert or rally or striking up a Jesus-sharing conversation with a stranger. At YFC, we focus on relational evangelism using the 3Story model. We build long-term, stable relationships with young people in our community, building trust, friendship, and mentoring relationships that point them toward Jesus.

These relationships are not contingent upon youth accepting Christ on any specific timeline. We love who they are no matter where they are all along the way. We don’t shy away from presenting the gospel message but do so in the context of transformational relationships. Kids are not numbers to be counted or boxes to be checked, they are people to be loved for the long haul. 

So what does that look like? We’d like to introduce you to Katie, a student who attends Campus Life in Orting. 

All relationships start with a first meeting, an introduction, small-talk, etc. They move into what we refer to as conversational relationships, where you’re getting to know someone a little better. When Katie first came to Orting Middle School Campus Life, she practically clung to the wall. She never joined the games and stayed on the edge of any group conversation or activity. 

Volunteer leader Carol usually doesn’t participate in the big group games, finishing up administrative tasks instead. She’s a grandma and exudes that warm-hug energy so many grandparents have. Carol began joining Katie on the wall, asking her simple questions and chatting about life. Eventually, Katie made her way into the larger group. 

Authentic Christ-sharing relationships are what we call the phase when things start getting real. Walls are coming down and space is open to have deeper conversations about the Lord. Often a relationship can stay in this space for a long time. Sometimes it takes years before a young person says yes to Jesus. Sometimes our job is to plant the seed and someone else will see the harvest. 

With Katie, we saw the harvest.

Because Katie had a safe relationship like this with Carol, she was able to form deep, Christ-sharing relationships with other leaders. Eventually, Katie accepted Christ. She is now a dramatically different person, no longer the wallflower. Katie is a leader. Not only does she participate in all aspects of Campus Life Club, but she’s also the one initiating those conversational relationships. Katie is even discipling other young people as she’s being discipled by YFC leaders. 

We believe in the power of relationship to change lives. Young people like Katie 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. 

If you’d like to learn more about 3Story or how you can get involved in bringing transformational relationships to the youth in our communities, click below.