This principle comes from the example of the ministry of Jesus Christ. He worked with many different “circles” or groups of people, all with differing spiritual needs; and He did it through a variety of  methods: teaching, preaching, and meeting needs, both physical and spiritual.

In the first and broadest circle, we find Him preaching to and teaching the multitudes. This was basically a message of choice:  will you be a believer or will you choose to go your own way? He had compassion on this group and spent a good deal of His time on these presentations but not to the exclusion of ministry with the believers, who make up the second circle.

The second circle is smaller than the first.  It was comprised of those who were basically believers and were in the process of learning from Him whenever He would come to their town to teach.  In Jerusalem, these may be characterized by the 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.  They formed the basis of this first local church’s membership roll.  Today this type of young person will attend most youth programs, but he has not yet grown to the point of any kind of voluntary service or leadership with the other youth.  We work with and teach this young person, bringing him to the point of wanting to please the Lord and making decisions in life to do so (Romans 12:1-2).

Obviously, there was then, as there is now, a crowd of people in between those two circles.  They were “almost” believers, not quite sure if they wanted to make the commitment or not.  Jesus never made it easy for these folks, as is characterized by His response to the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:21-22).  Because he did not want to give up what he had in exchange for belief in Christ, Christ just identified for him his choice.  We cannot give this group a circle of their own because they are basically unbelievers.  Difficult to identify as “tares,”  they may outwardly look like believers and may even be fairly faithful for a while; but sooner or later, they will decide either to believe or to leave because of the offense of the Word (Matthew 13:20-21). With these young people, we do not need a special program to reach them.  We just preach to and teach the believers on one hand and the unbelievers on the other hand.  Occasionally, something will happen to open the door; or they will open a door through a question they ask.  At that time, all we can do is what Christ did:  answered their question with a question, “Will you choose Jesus Christ even if it means giving up what you are holding on to, or will you choose to hold on to whatever you value more than Christ?”  It is their choice and we cannot make it for them any more than Christ could.  They must make their own decision.  Then we can begin to help them.

The third circle Christ kept for His disciples, the ones who had responded to the challenge to “follow Me and I will make you to become fishers of men.”  This group Christ often had with Him for teaching, service, and daily example. They heard Him talk to others one-on-one or in groups and crowds.  They witnessed His miracles, His prayers, His weariness, His compassion, His reprimands to the Pharisees, and His reactions to the difficulties of life.  He gave them service projects and sent them out preaching and practicing the life of faith.  They were called “disciples” for good reason.  He was constantly mentoring them, using the “opportunities” of life as a backdrop for the teachable moment.  This circle must be much smaller than the second one because it requires much more time, toil, and tears.  This is the circle of followers that Jesus used to change the world forever within the time frame of their own lifetime.

Remember, this group did not come to Him at the very beginning.  After a season of prayer, He went after them, presenting to them the opportunity to follow and learn; and they accepted.  Their agreement to follow Him gave Christ permission to get involved in their growth and development and in their lives.  He was not successful with all of them, and they all grew at their own individual pace.   As He left them for the last time at His ascension, they certainly did not appear to be “finished” products.  This should give us confidence as we let go of those with whom we work.  Christ knew for a fact what we must believe by faith “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…” (Philippians 1:6). We can do just so much for anyone; then we must allow them and Jesus Christ to do their part.

The fourth and final circle is the smallest of all, the inner circle that He was training for future leadership.  They witnessed the transfiguration and participated in special prayer meetings.  They experienced failures but never rejection from the Savior.  It is quite obvious that there was a special bond and emotional attachment between them and the Lord; and because of their willingness to go the extra mile, He gave them greater challenges and more responsibilities.  Then the day came when they thought they were alone and wondered if all they had learned was for nothing.  Their time with the Master and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit answered that question forever—their inner circle experience had changed them forever.

Name the concentric circles A, B, C, and D.   Can you identify the youth in your group that are the “A-inner circle” ones?  Can you identify the “B-group of volunteer followers”?  Can you identify the “C-group of basic believers”?   Can you identify the “D-circle of unbelieving prospects”?   Tailor various aspects of your youth program to reach each of these groups.  Set your priorities for each group based on the current needs and past neglect of each group.  Sometimes you can, as Christ did, reach two groups or more at the same time by using the teaching of one group to have an impact on the others by direct involvement or by indirect example.