Category Archives: Teens (Youth)

If we want to reach and teach teenagers, we need to promote an atmosphere of both grace and truth, not legalism, but also not licentiousness. — “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn. 1:17) — Youth thrive in this kind of Christ-like environment because they hear truth but it is presented compassionately.

Acrostic of the Kind of Environment in Which Youth Thrive

If we foster an environment with the following positive traits, they will be more likely to consider the truth they need to hear.

For More Help with Teaching Teenagers, Go To: Youth / Teens Age Level Teacher Training Resources 

Also Check Out This Teacher Training Resource: Age Level Characteristics: Youth Module Download

We want our young people to have a vibrant relationship with the Lord that helps them navigate life. We want the teens in our churches to stay after graduation. So, let’s think about the role of our youth Bible classes.

Questions about Teaching Youth (Teen) Bible Classes

How can we get them interested in studying God’s Word?

If they see the Bible as just another religious book or simply a bunch of fictional stories, they probably won’t express much interest in it. It’s therefore important we know what our students believe about the Bible and address misconceptions. Even if they buy into the realness of God’s Word, it will have minimal significance if they don’t have a relationship with God, it’s Author. That’s the foundation on which Bible study makes sense.

If they perceive the Bible as merely a bunch of rules and regulations, they’ll have little interest in it. We need to show them the relevancy of the Word to their everyday lives. Teens have a tendency to look at life through the lens of what’s in it for them. If we zero in on the benefits of the Word, they’ll be more prone to wanting to get into God’s Word because it’s meeting not just what they want but what they need.

You’ll find two more questions to help with teaching teenagers in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions.

• What do teens most need from us?
• What’s most important in teaching youth, the lesson or the environment we foster?

This handbook covers 49 different topics related to Bible teaching, asking a total of 153 questions.

In a previous post we noted how so many of today’s young people seem to be anxious, depressed, tired, and overwhelmed. As Bible teachers we have the privilege of helping them get to know God as the One who is caring enough, great enough, and wise enough to handle all that pertains to them.

But, simply knowing about Him and believing all that to be true isn’t enough. They must also learn to wait on the Lord (Isa. 40:30-31), to put their hope and trust in Him, even when life doesn’t seem to be going the way they wish it would.

Why Youth Need to Learn to Not Only Know the Lord but also to Wait on the Lord

While knowing the fullness of who God is holds great importance for teens to rise above the fray of life, it will only take them so far on their faith journey. What happens when this God who cares about them and is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20), doesn’t seem to be answering their prayers? What happens when the change in their lives doesn’t occur right away or when their troubles fail to disappear?

Most teens have only known a life where problems get solved in movies or on TV within a half hour to perhaps a couple hours. They’re accustomed to touching a screen or speaking into a device for instant answers. They zap their food so it’s ready in seconds or minutes.

Life in Christ doesn’t generally work that way for God looks at the big picture. He wants to grow and mature them which is a process that takes time. So, while God is able, He may not respond in the way and with the speed with which today’s youth have grown accustomed. Hence, we see the importance of teaching them to wait on the Lord.

What Waiting on the Lord Looks Like

The NIV translates the original word as hope which essentially requires waiting, looking for, and expecting God to work. That’s faith in a God who is able to not only know what to do, is capable of doing it, but also has the wisdom to do it in the best time and way.

Encourage teens to …

• keep praying and not give up while accepting that God is sovereign and may not answer as they expect
• look forward to a day when God will right all the wrongs while accepting that this might not be that day
• continue to lean into His love and grace depending on Him and believing that He knows what is best for them even if they don’t see it
• be still long enough to absorb the strength and peace God wants to give them rather than fretting and fussing

How would you describe teenagers today? While age level characteristics typical of their developmental stage still apply, so many teens experience a higher than usual level of stress, anxiety, and depression. They’re overwhelmed and tired.

Isaiah 40:28-31 shows us that there’s hope for weary young people. As their Bible teachers, we can help them find peace, hope, rest, and strength by pointing them to the right Source. Youth need to know the Lord and they also need to learn to wait on Him.

Youth Need to Know the Lord Who is Described in Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isa. 40:28-31)

The above verses describe the kind of God teens need to know to not only face life today but to rise above.

1. Teens may feel overwhelmed by life so present to them a God who is great enough to handle their problems and the woes of life.

“The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”

Also Read:

• God, Greater Than All That Pertains to You
• God, Greater Than All Other Forces

2. Our youth may be tired of getting let down by people who are supposed to be there for them … parents, teachers, other leaders, and yes, even the church. Help them understand and believe that God will consistently be there for them.

“He will not grow tired or weary”

3. Teenagers may be unable to make sense of life as they know it and feel a lot of uncertainty about the future. Help them grasp the depth of God’s ability to understand what they are going through and give them the needed wisdom.

“his understanding no one can fathom”

Also Read:

• God is Wiser
• Our Unfathomable God

This is a God who truly cares about them and welcomes them to cast their troubles on Him (Ps. 55:22; Matt. 11:28-30; 1 Pet. 5:7). This is a God who is able to “give strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isa. 40:29) so they can …

• soar on wings like eagles. – to rise above even when the problems don’t disappear
• run and not grow weary. – to deal with the more strenuous, stressful times of life
• walk and not be faint. – to cope with the day in and day out daily routines without giving up