We should never underestimate the outreach capability of Bible study.
We tend to think of Bible study as after-salvation follow-up. Obviously, our Bible study groups are going to be populated mostly by those striving to draw closer to Jesus; but today’s teens—believers and nonbelievers—are seeking significance in their life experiences. They are not looking for an easy, meaningless life. They are probing Christianity and other belief systems, checking to see which faith demands and delivers spiritual depth. Not surprisingly, the deepest one wins them over every time.
Your best outreach tool may not be a band. It may be your Bible.
THE SCRIPTURE
We see this in a small but compelling phrase written in a letter from Paul to Timothy. As you read the familiar passage below, with different versions given for added perspective, note the connection between Scripture and salvation.
2 Timothy 3:14-15 (The Message)
“Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:14-15 (TNIV)
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
THINK ABOUT IT
The compelling phrase: “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
While the “Holy Scriptures” Paul mentioned aren’t the same Scripture verses that comprise the Holy Bible we hold in our hands today, the concept is still valid in 2011. As Eugene Peterson expressed in The Message, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation…”
Scripture plays a vital role in deepening our faith. So how would you characterize the experiences your teens currently are having with Scripture? Do students have opportunities for pure encounters with Scripture, allowing them to hear what God is saying in His Word? Are students discovering relevant truth that gives them a deeper understanding of what salvation actually is?
We have an abundance of tools at our disposal for explaining the salvation story: media, drama, analogies, skits. These are all needed and useful. There is, however, something powerful about a personal “Oh, wow!” moment resulting from a connection or discovery in God’s written Word. In my experience, these moments have staying power.
APPLY IT
Youth ministry, by its very nature, caters to a quest for connection on a deep level. We allow the hard questions; we worship intensely; and we’re easily mobilized for “least of these” ministry opportunities. Because Scripture is able to make us wise for salvation, here’s the bold proposal: Of all our ministry activities (whether outreach, service or discipleship), Bible study should be one of our best-resourced, most thought-through initiatives.
If that conclusion resonates, try this:
1. Scan Your Efforts: Do a quick evaluation of your Bible study offerings. Is it Bible study in name only or is there opportunity for Scripture to make teens “wise for salvation”?
2. Offer Pure Scripture: Explore a short book of the Bible. Study Colossians just because it’s Colossians! Seek to answer this question: What is God saying to us today through this book of the Bible?
3. Pique Their Curiosity: Explore your favorite book of the Bible and invite the curious students around you to join you.
When we trust God’s Word to do what God says it will do, our Bible studies can’t help but attract inquiring minds—believers and seekers alike.
Barry Shafer has been in youth ministry for more than 20 years and is Director of InWord Resources. If you’d like to explore maximizing Scripture in your ministry, check out his book, Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry (Youth Specialties/Zondervan).
