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RESOURCES FOR YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP

Youth need a bit more help finding their way around the Bible? Here's a really simple game to get them knowing it a bit better. Get them to stand on a line taped on the floor in the middle of the room. Mark one side of the line as New and one as Old Testament. Shout out a Bible book. They step either New or Old Testament. Even if they make a slight move the wrong way, they're out. Eventually you have a winner. Not sure what that would look like? See it here

Sermon listening
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sermon listening guide

So, you want your young people in the adult sermons sometimes, but how to keep them focussed? 

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Rachel Bell, from Grace Church Highlands, North London has produced a really helpful fill-in sheet for young people (or adults!).

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She writes, "The idea is that the leaders will also take notes and then pop out to quickly discuss what we've heard in the last song. I did think that some adults may find this helpful too so tried to make it not too childish!"

One-to-one questions

one-to-one questions

It's great to spend time getting to know young people. Make space in your programmes for this. You could try Glow-Low-Hero. Find that and other ideas on the Small Groups Ideas page. You can ask a simple question like:

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"What have you been up to this week?"

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As I have continued in youth ministry longer, I have discovered that as a church youth minister, young people expect me to ask them important questions about their faith and life. I realised once as I filled in a reference form for  a young person to go on a Christian mission that I couldn't answer where they were up to in their Christian journey. Take every chance you get, one to one, to ask,

 

"What do you think of what we talked about tonight?" 

"How are you and God then?"

"How are you feeling about Jesus these days?"

 

Or ask how they are applying their faith with: 

"How do you find talking to your friends about Jesus?"

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You may find yourself really encouraged as young people share God's work in their lives.

Dan Bright, Youth Pastor at Greyfriars, Reading has written some one-to-one questions, a small card of which, his leaders can carry in the back of their lanyards, to facilitate great chats with their young people. You can download the lanyard-sized questions here.

Pip Wilson's Blob Tree

If you want to push things a little bit further (gently, of course), you can use something like Pip Wilson's Blob Tree communication tools. I've used lots of them and they always produce great conversations. Start with "Which one of these figures do you most relate to at the moment?" and see where the conversation leads you.

My colleague Jack Percey and I have put together a booklet to help young people (and adults!) develop good habits in their Bible reading and prayer.  It's not rocket science but it gives a mass of ideas for things to pray for and ways to read the Bible.

Download it FREE below.

Raising the Bar prayer and Bible reading

Our young people are loving the Swedish Bible study method at the moment. There are lots of ways of doing it that you can find online but we've produced a simple bookmark which young people can leave in their Bible to help them engage with the Bible for themselves.

Download it FREE below.

Raising the Bar Swedish Bible Study Meth

If your young people want to learn some Bible verses, why not give them a verse a week?

 

Or just give them a top 50 Bible verses to learn?

 

Not sure where to start? Here are my suggestions. If 50 is too easy, go for 100!

Raising the Bar 50 and 100 Bible Verses
Bible reading and prayer resources
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"THE MOST HELPFUL BOOK I'VE EVER READ ON YOUTH MINISTRY"

Luke Blakely, Youth Pastor

Find out more about Dave's manual for youth ministry.

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Bible roller coaster

A Bible overview, using the ups and downs of a roller coaster, in under ten minutes. Enjoy!
Want to help the young people engage with the overview more? In teams, give them time to create a Bible Rollercoaster themselves with blu tack, string and bamboo skewers (that's a risk assessment right there). That's what Ewen Greenlees, Youth Worker at Chandlers Ford near Southampton, UK did. Thanks to Stefan for the photos.
Bible roller coaster
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A great app to encourage your young people to pray. Check it out here.

PrayerMate

youth Struggling to read the Bible?

Give your youth a challenge - the Bible in One Year.

 

Impossible?

Not really. It'll take about 20 minutes a day.

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We've found a couple of the youth group here have just read through the Bible from start to finish: one doing an hour and a half a day until she finished it. One student here read it in six days because they had a quiet week!

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Too much?

Then encourage your young people to just do the New Testament readings. They will read through the New Testament in one year. That's pretty good.

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Bible in a Year

"Raising the Bar gives a step-by-step explanation of what creating good youth ministry looks like. A manual of best practice, showing us that we can lead both a fun and Bible-centred ministry. 

It’s the most complete ‘manual’ that I’ve seen written in the British context."


Ben Horrex, Assistant Minister writing for Premier Youth and Children's Work Magazine

“Raising the Bar is a MUST READ for every youth minister. A practical and organized look at how to take your group to the next level. I highly recommend you take the time for this easy, organized, and valuable read.”

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Matt Wendal, US Youth Pastor

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CHECK OUT ON TIKTOK

I have not checked every post and they may not be to your taste, but I think some of your young people will find their content helpful.

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@justin.brierley has short talks answering some big questions. 

@liv.pearsall does quirky retellings of Bible stories.

@sean_mcdowell (there's an underscore in the gap!)
Sean McDowell has some great apologetics stuff.

@elijah.lamb 
does short Bible talks.

@speaklifeUK
Glen Scrivener answers apologetic questions.

I know of these resources because someone told me about them, not because I spend all my time trawling through TikTok. If you know of another account that others may find helpful, let me know here.

TikTok

MORE RESOURCES

Raising the Bar Escape Room Round the Wo

FIND OUT MORE AND DOWNLOAD ESCAPE ROOMS

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SMALL GROUP IDEAS

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GAMES RESOURCES

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OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

More resources

ENJOYING THESE ONLINE RESOURCES?

Get more ideas and support for your youth ministry with my book: "RAISING THE BAR: Nearly Everything You Need to Know about Christian Youth Ministry."

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