energy - March 2009

Deep & Wide

Top Questions of Deep & Wide Youth Ministry

Question # 14: As I take my teens deeper and wider, what are some things I can do to encourage student involvement in the areas of teaching time and testimonies?

In the past few issues of energy we've been exploring what it looks like to encourage student involvement in various areas of your youth ministry. This month we'll zero in on student involvement in the areas of teaching time and sharing stories through testimonies.

Teaching time. Students will be more engaged if you invite their participation. If you can unleash their natural curiosity and tap into their innate desire to question everyone and everything, they will be more likely to think deeply about real, relevant life questions that impact their beliefs and their walk with God. Dare 2 Share Ministries' ALT-ernative Teaching Style ( A – Ask great questions. L – Listen intently. T – Teach God's Word.) is built on this principle. Starting with thought-provoking discussion questions will till the soil and prepare your students' hearts for the seeds God will plant when you teach from His Word.

One way to get a pulse on what spiritual questions will engage your teens, is to simply ask them. Whether you organize a quarterly Q & A time with questions submitted in advance or set aside time each week to take on a question or two, teens typically engage best when they are playing an active role in the discussion and learning process. Here's a small sampling of the kinds of questions you can expect, taken from a real youth group's recent Q & A time:

• How do you forgive your enemies?
• How do you stop thinking about the past?
• It sometimes doesn't seem like God is listening. Am I praying right?
• How can we tell when something is God's will?
• Why does God forgive us when we do wrong things?
• How do we know Christianity is the right religion?
• Why isn't the Bible straight-forward, like 'yes' and 'no'?

As you can see from this brief list, teens are asking some pretty heavy questions. They are thinking deeply about spiritual things and are seeking to find answers that help them grow closer to God and better understand His ways. The more you can shine a light on that process and help them find answers in God's Word to the questions churning inside them, the stronger their faith will grow. Remember, "I don't know, but let's find out together" is always an acceptable answer. Then go do your homework – you'll grow closer to God yourself, in the process.

Sharing stories. Build in time each week for your teens to share stories about their personal efforts to live and share their faith. Whether or not your teens are leading their friends to Christ, the very fact that they are trying can serve to encourage and inspire others to do the same. Reserve two or three minutes a week to have a teenager share their 'Divine Encounters' or 'God Sightings'. When teens are sharing their faith and their stories with others, they will inevitably find themselves relaying experiences where they were confronted with questions they didn't know how to answer. With your help, these kinds of stories can motivate your teens to learn how to dive deeper into God's Word and seek out the answers they need – pushing to Grow Deep and Go Wide simultaneously.

Electric Truth

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (James 1:5-6).

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

• Why are questions such a powerful way to engage others?
• Have you ever been afraid to invite questions because you thought you might not know how to answer?
• If so, what are some things you can do to get past the concern that you might not know all the answers?
• How do you think God's wisdom comes to us?
• How would providing a time for Q & A and a story sharing time help your students become "prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks"?

Jolt and Bolt

Grow Deep accountability question: What's one thing you can do this month that will help you be more prepared to answer students' questions? (i.e., pray for wisdom, study God's Word more regularly, read a book on a particular spiritual topic, etc.)

Go Wide accountability question: Are there specific teens that come to mind that you need to get on board with various aspects of your ministry that will help your students go wide? (i.e., helping with publicity for events, promotion and sharing outreach stories).

Resource of the Month

If you want to address the hard topics of sex with your group, The Naked Truth: The New Sexuality and Youth Ministry is the resource for you. New from Interl'inc, this video curriculum gives you the tools you need to have an honest, upfront, no-holds-barred discussion about the new sexuality that is facing today’s teenagers. Includes clips of an in-depth conversation on sexuality between our very own Greg Stier, Zane Black and Derwin Gray at a Dare 2 Share conference.

Here's what others are saying about The Naked Truth:

My input from students is that Christians are in total denial about the pervasive involvement of Christian students in a broad range of sexual activity. I believe Youth Leaders Only is the forum to address sexuality honestly and in a way that says to students, ‘These guys get it.' Let's address pornography, same-sex issues, hooking-up, and the ‘gone wild' culture head on. The kids are. Let's engage them. - Rusty Van Duesen, 30-year youth ministry veteran

This is an incredible resource!  I've never seen anything like it.  It's the best of the best… Your hard work has saved me many hours and sparked my thinking.  Resources like this are priceless to me.   - John Poe, Olivet Baptist Church Bellwood, PA

Become a Youth Leaders Only (YLO) member today and get this special YLO edition as your first volume! This special YLO edition can also be purchased separately.