If the Bible really is the Word of God, then it would make sense that we want to teach as many people as possible to study it! Over the past year our youth ministry has started to study the Bible in One to One Bible studies. This includes students reading the Bible twice a week on their own and answering five questions each time. An adult youth leader also does the same exercise and then they meet to discuss it before or after youth group each week. The goal is for there to be one student paired with one adult youth leader, but sometimes it is one to two, one to three, or even one to four! This Bible study method is a combination between the Simeon Trust Bible Study Worksheets, material in One to One Bible Reading by David Helm, and my own thoughts. The five questions that the students answer after reading the text are:
- How would you summarize these verses into one or two sentences?
- Is there something that is hard to understand or that I want to know more about?
- What shines or seems really important in this text?
- How do you think those who first read these words responded to them?
- How should you respond to them today?
These five questions help students interact with the text in a way that they might not if they aimlessly read on their own. Then, when they discuss their answers with an adult youth leader the students are reminded what they studied on their own which reinforces it.
Currently, we have six different Bible Study Journeys that students and leaders can embark on together. There is one introduction which includes 6 weeks in various New Testament Books. Then there are five Bible Study Journeys that go through whole books of the Bible including Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and selected Psalms.
An example of how we break down books of the Bible is shown below with this 5 week journey through the book of Colossians:
Week 1 - Colossians 1:1-14 & Colossians 1:15-23
Week 2 - Colossians 1:24-2:5 & Colossians 2:6-15
Week 3 - Colossians 2:16-23 & Colossians 3:1-4
Week 4 - Colossians 3:5-14 & Colossians 3:15-17
Week 5 - Colossians 3:18-4:1 & Colossians 4:2-18
If students can think through difficult subjects at school every week, then we should also be challenging them to think critically about what God has revealed to us in the Bible. May God continue to raise up high school students who read, learn, study, and apply His Word!
Please connect with me through the contact tab on the home page if you want to connect with me about this Bible study method or have ideas on how to effectively teach high school students the Bible.
