Ryan Smith

Coaching Students with Decision Point

My name is Ryan Smith and I am excited to be serving as Chicago West Suburbs Field Staff with Decision Point! Decision Point coaches Christian students at public middle and high schools to reach their campus for Christ. I initially joined Decision Point as a volunteer while studying at Wheaton College in 2018 and joined the full-time staff after graduating in 2022 with a B. A. in Economics. As Campus Ministry Staff, my mission is to equip Christian students and send them as missionaries to share the gospel throughout the Chicago area this year.

I live in Wheaton and in my free time enjoy playing soccer, writing, and all things Star Wars.

Why I Feel Called to This Role

First, and most importantly, I’m here because I believe that this next generation needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Young people these days are faced with all kinds of problems: a heightened mental health crisis, increased isolation, false “truths” and ideas from our culture, enslavement to various sins, and more. Despite this, the majority of youth nowadays have never even been given the opportunity to hear the Gospel message, and most of them have little or no knowledge of the Bible. This need is also urgent: studies show that 84% of American Christians come to Christ by the age of 18. Our goal is to give every student the chance to hear the Gospel before they graduate!

Second, I’m serving with Decision Point because I believe in this next generation of Christian youth! One of the most inspiring parts of my job is getting to mobilize and equip dozens of teen evangelists to bring the Gospel to their peers. I hope it encourages you to know that there are so many young people who are passionate about sharing Jesus. So many that, quite literally, I don’t have time to train them all!

Which leads me to the third reason I’m here: I believe that God is calling His Church to unite together to mobilize, train, and send young people to reach their peers with the Gospel. My goal is to equip pastors, train adult leaders, mobilize harvest workers, and bring unity across denominations, all for the mission of reaching students with the Gospel. My dream is that one day, every church would be equipped to be actively raising up their own young evangelists to reach local schools with the good news of Jesus!

Would You Partner with Me to Reach Students in Chicago?