Teens (Youth) | Train Bible Teachers Blog

Methods for Teens

Posted on September 16, 2016 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 2 Comments ↓

Bible Teaching Methods for Teens Students of all ages need to be actively engaged in the learning process. Active methodology refers to physical activity but also mental. The younger the students, more physically active types of methods should be used. The older the students, more mentally active types of methods should be used. Where does that leave teenagers?

Teens have gotten to where the activity should be more mental with some physical. As students move into their teenage years, they still need some physically active methodology but not near so much of it as when younger.

Methodology Good to Use with Teens:

Physically active methods still matter, but need to be appropriate for teenagers. You may find teens complaining when you ask them to get up and move, but once they start, they’re usually good with it. Do not let their initial reactions keep you from incorporating these types of methods. They still need to be physically active in the learning process.

Since they are capable of going to higher levels of thinking, teens are at a point where they can learn with mentally active methodology.

Also think about using more group-oriented activities at this age level as peer becomes increasingly more important.

While you can incorporate some lecture into the lesson, you most certainly should keep it short and break it up with other activities.

You will find this article with a list of some of the methods that fit the above criteria for teens as a handout included in the Reaching All Age Levels Resource which includes other articles for all the age groups and PowerPoint slides to use as a group teacher training session.

3 Tips for Teaching Teens (Youth)

Posted on April 22, 2016 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 4 Comments ↓

Tips for Bible Teaching — (Click to enlarge in Pinterest & repin.)

When thinking about tips for teaching youth, I would have to use the same three tips given for all other ages. Reaching teens especially demonstrates how truly ministering to students requires teachers go beyond mere methodology and biblical content.

1) Have the right focus.

Relationships are critical at all ages, but are particularly important at this time in life. Teens need to know that they are truly loved, each individually for who they are. They need to feel affirmed, as though they matter, that they are truly being heard, not just being told what to do or what they need to know. Consequently, Bible teachers of teenage students need to focus on building relationships. For more read: The Focus of Youth Ministry

2) Be prepared for challenges.

Young people want their needs met and will often do just about anything for that to happen. Bible teachers of teens must work hard at identifying those needs and providing a palpable, godly alternative to how those needs are met. When that happens, Bible learning becomes relevant to them, something that will get their attention. For more read: Young People Need Relevance (Follow the links in the ‘Related Posts’ for how they also need realness, relationship, reasons, and renewal.)

3) Foster an environment conducive to learning.

As already mentioned, youth need to sense that they are accepted not only by you but by their peer as well. Build a positive, community-based atmosphere, full of both grace and truth, where they don’t feel beat up when they fail. For more read: A Place Youth Want to Be and A Place Youth Don’t Want to Be

Motivating Teens to Learn

Posted on November 13, 2015 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 2 Comments ↓

Do you want to see the teenagers in your youth Bible class desire to learn and not just be there because of their friends or because their parents made them attend? Then you need to make them feel affirmed.

AFFIRMATION

Sometimes it might seem like an impossible task to motivate teens to learn God’s Word, to want to grow in their walk with God. Teens can get quite discouraged as it seems like they take one step forward spiritually and two steps backwards. As they navigate the ups and downs of adolescence, they need teachers who believe in them.

This article is included as a handout in the Reaching All Age Levels Resource with a brief suggestion on how to motivate teens based on this need. The resource also includes similar articles for the other age groups. It provides you with a teacher training group session in which you gather teachers of all age groups for a PowerPoint presentation followed by breakout sessions to personalize it according to age levels.

More About This Age Group: Age Level Characteristics: Youth Module Download

Teens Need the Benefits for Studying the Bible

Posted on August 28, 2015 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 3 Comments ↓

If teens are going to engage in an activity, they want to know what’s in it for them. They might not always verbalize it that way, but when faced with a choice, they tend to go with what benefits them the most. Bible teachers, are you providing the pragmatic value of studying God’s Word? Are you showing them what’s in it for them? If you zero in on the following benefits, your students will be more prone to wanting to get into God’s Word because it is meeting not just what they want but what they need.

1) God’s Word is a source of renewal.

For teens to invest time in God’s Word, they need to see it as more than one more pressure in their lives. Today’s young people seem to be more stressed than ever in this high paced world in which we live. Rather than Bible study being another point of stress because it is something they “have to do”, it should be a source of comfort, hope, and relief from the anxieties of life.

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Ps. 19:7-8)

Bible teachers, are you helping your students discover the promises of God that are relevant to them? Are you helping them see that the God who helped Moses, Abraham, David, Daniel, and others, is there for them today to give them the strength, reassurances, and pathway they need to go on?

2) God’s Word provides answers to life’s questions, reasons.

Young people are faced with so many systems of belief coming at them from so many different angles. Is it any wonder they can be so confused about the purpose and meaning of life? Is it any wonder life seems like a chaotic mess with nothing firm to hold onto? Is it any wonder their lives spiral out of control with so many teens depressed, committing suicide, resorting to violence and dysfunctional relationships?

Bible teachers, are you providing an environment in which they can come with their questions, fears, and doubts to find answers? Are you encouraging them to turn to God and His Word when they are all alone and feeling down? Are you being real in letting them know that they will not always understand but that they can trust the heart of this God about whom they are reading and find peace even in the midst of uncertainty (Isa. 26:3)?

3) God’s Word promotes relationships.

In previous posts we’ve already determined that relationship is a big motivational factor in teens spending time in God’s Word on their own, providing both the foundation and desire. Relationship is also an outcome of Bible study. The more time they spend in God’s Word the more intimately they get to know Him (Col. 1:9-12) and the greater their basis of unity with other believers becomes (Col. 3:15-16).

Bible teachers, do your students understand how beneficial a relationship with God is which spills over into loving relationships with others? Is your own life an example of this reality?

God desires young people to live abundant lives (Jn. 10:10; Isa. 40:29-31) filled with His strength, peace, wisdom, and love. Let’s point them to Him and His Word as the source of all that is good and worthwhile in this world.