Studies have shown a surprising answer from senior class teens when asked what they wish they had more of in their youth ministry. It’s not pizza. Not more ski trips. But, Bible study. To borrow an analogy from the business world, that is money left on the table. To put it in more stark terms, that is sending kids away from the table hungry. Don’t let this happen to your teens.
To help you maximize your Bible engagement efforts in the few years you have teens under your charge, consider these five questions.
- What is your goal?
Author/comedian Ken Davis has famously said, “If you don’t have a goal in your speaking and teaching, your default goal is to want kids to like you.” And if that is your goal, then your teaching time will sink to the lowest common denominator, which is usually “good discussion.” Good discussion is helpful and needed. But the batting around of ideas and opinions over a teen’s youth ministry span will not build a solid foundation of faith. Here are some goals to consider for week-in and week-out discipleship programming:
- meaningful interaction with Scripture
- opportunities to hear what God is saying
- poignant application
- What media do you trust?
We know the maxim about testing your priorities: look at your calendar and your check book. A similar maxim can be applied to youth leaders in testing what you trust in teaching students: look at your bookshelf (both digital and physical). Maybe a more poignant question: In the course of your teaching time with students, what media are you using the most? Is it music? Is it video? Is it discussion starters? Is it a fair question to ask if you trust what those media sources can deliver over what God’s Word says it can deliver? Granted, media can help us interact with Scripture. But if we trust God’s Word to do what it says it can do, we want to be sure our students have ample time to interact directly with God’s Word. So maybe a fairer question: Does your media crowd out or enhance your students’ opportunity to interact first-hand with God’s Word?
- Are you the gifted teacher?
As a youth pastor or volunteer leader, you may not be the gifted teacher among the adults surrounding your youth ministry. And that’s fine. But in following the model in Ephesians 4, it’s incumbent upon you to find the gifted teachers who are. What adult leader keeps bugging you about more or deeper Bible study? That may be your starting point right there.
- Is there opportunity for original “holy wow”?
Truth is best grasped when it is self-discovered. It is also best taught out of self-discovery. How would you describe your time in prepping for a small-group discipleship session? Are you simply finding the bold print in a lesson plan? Are you passing along someone else’s “holy wow” discoveries? Or are you immersing yourself in a segment of Scripture and then sharing with students what happened to you? That may lead to some of the most invigorating discipleship you’ve ever led.
- Are you leading toward application?
If our Bible engagement efforts don’t lead to some type of application, we have missed the point. Yes, God’s Word will always accomplish its purpose, but we also know that knowledge alone “puffs up” and leads to pride. If we have led students through meaningful Bible engagement, there is only one question to ask: “What do you need to do?” The steps will be clear. It may be an internal adjustment. It may be an external act of obedience.