Monthly column for youth leaders

'Let's get into the Bible', 'listen to what the Bible says', 'let's dig a bit deeper'.

I'm constantly trying to find ways to say what I mean. I want to encourage young people to get stuck into understanding the Bible, working it out and applying it to their lives.

If the Bible is not guiding our Christian young people, who or what is? But to rework a currently over-used phrase, what is the 'weakest link' in the process of helping our young people use the Bible? To put it another way, am I doing enough to help the youth group understand the big picture of how the Bible works?

Presenting the answer in a maths class is not satisfactory, the teacher wants the working too. So it is with the Bible. Presenting instructions and application is not good enough without the workings. What will my young people do when there is no youth leader to guide them and to see them through? Do those at school have reassurance when they face difficult questions in RE classes? Do young people on ventures and summer camps have confidence to contribute to group times?

The 'nuts and bolts' are something that we don't often work through with them. Showing the working helps the young people to see the whole picture. It builds up a 'toolbox' for them to use when they read the Bible by themselves. If you're like me, it's all very well to talk the talk, but when push comes to shove, there is precious little time for beating around the bush either during preparation or presentation. Here are a few questions that can set us on the right track.

Preparation time?

I don't think this is easy for either full-time or volunteer youth leaders. But it is a crucial question. A rushed planning session results in a poor meeting. Ask questions about your priorities with time during the rest of the week. What needs to give so that you can spend more time on this most important aspect of youth work?

Is my own study time fruitful?

Are you learning when you study the Bible yourself or have you plateaued out? This is a difficult question to ask because it points the finger at our own personal walk with God. But if we are not getting to grips with the way the Bible works, we can't help others.

Do I have good resources: books, tapes, etc?

The good news is that we are not breaking new ground when we prepare our Bible study.

So go to the bookshelf, or your pastor's bookshelf (a very good place to raid), to the bookshop, and get some resources. There are lots of good books that help with understanding the Bible. Postcards from Palestine published by The Good Book Company is an excellent example.

Anybody out there?

Make sure that you can bat ideas around with others. Don't get isolated as you work. Overall planning for a term or year can be done as a team. A syllabus would ensure that input is balanced and you cover everything that is important. Talking with others avoids isolation and the danger of impressing your own ideas onto the text.

Organising the session?

It is always a temptation to try and cram too much in. Avoid trying to cover so much ground that the Bible study has no time for depth. Plan sessions that allow more freedom. Would a midweek Bible study group allow for more discussion and understanding?

So get into it, take time, dig deeper, display the workings, get to the nuts and bolts and, above all, teach the Bible. We want to know that our young people will still understand the Bible's message many years after they have left our group. And here's the encouragement. It does work. After all, however much planning and preparation we put in, only God can do the work in young people's hearts.

We have noticed in our teenagers' group this year how much the young people have learned on their way up through the younger groups. We have been thanking God for the way he has been working in their lives all along. As a youth leader I certainly need to put in the labour, but the reward is the joy of watching God at work.

Roger Fawcett

© Evangelicals Now - June 2001
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