Average User Rating: 
By Kurt Johnston
9/12/2007
Every Tuesday night I lead a small group for 7th-grade guys. It's awesome! We throw around a football, eat great snacks, share prayer requests, talk about life, and work our way through a Bible study. These guys really surprise me.
I'm surprised that they can catch my Elway-like passes
We encourage our leaders to be able to use Scripture from memory as they encourage, counsel, and hang out with their students. I'm helping them relate to it: Reading and remembering the Bible simply aren't enough.I'm surprised that they remember to bring snacks on their assigned night. I'm surprised at their willingness to share prayer requests and discuss life issues deeper than whether XBox is better than PlayStation. I'm surprised at their desire to participate in the Bible study. I'm also surprised that the only time most of them pick up the Bible is to bring it to small group. I shouldn't be surprised -- I've been doing this a long time -- but I am.
As junior-high workers, one of our most important roles is to help students develop an appreciation for God's Word and a desire to let it impact their daily lives. But how do we do that? Let's face it, in today's world of the Internet, blogs, email, instant messenger, cell phones, text messages, video games, extreme sports, music TV, and movies on command (not to mention the old-fashioned stuff like homework, Little League, and baby- sitting), it's tough to convince a 13-year-old that spending time reading the Bible is actually a worthwhile pursuit. Here are a few steps I'm taking to help my students value the Bible. I'm encouraging them to read it: Our ministry has started selling student Bibles below cost, and we give them away to anyone who can't afford one. We've created lots of self-paced Bible studies and devotional guides that make reading the Bible easier. I try to constantly remind our students that "starting small is better than not starting at all."
I'm challenging them to remember it: Our small group leaders have been asked to place a higher emphasis on each week's memory verse. We've created Scripture memory incentives. We encourage our leaders to be able to use Scripture from memory as they encourage, counsel, and hang out with their students. I'm helping them relate to it: Reading and remembering the Bible simply aren't enough. I've met far too many people who've read God's Word and can quote Scripture better than Billy Graham but have still failed to let it impact how they live their lives. When students understand the relevance of God's Word, they'll give it a place of priority. I'm asking more questions that force my guys to relate what they've read to their own real-life situations. I'm giving them plenty of time to ask questions. And when they ask questions, I'm doing a better job of pointing them to Scripture for the answers. I realize my small-group guys may never ask if we can quit playing football a little early so we can get to the business of discussing Scripture...but it would be a nice surprise.
Kurt Johnston is the junior high minister at Saddleback Community Church in California, and he's the author of the book Controlled Chaos: Making Sense of Junior High Ministry (Standard).
GROUP MAGAZINE OFFER
Free Trial Issue! Subscribe Today. Click here to sign up.
* = required field