Can you remember your first Bible wow moment?

Maybe it was discovering a new detail in a familiar passage, or making a connection between the Old and New Testaments, or observing a simple fact such as “Jude sure likes to use sets of three.”

I define a wow moment as that epiphanous juncture when you make an observation that causes you to say, “A-ha!” or, “So that’s why!” or, of course, “Wow!”
You can expect two things from an organic, homegrown wow moment: 1) It leaves you wanting more; 2) You want to share it.

That second point is where your youth ministry comes into play. The best discipleship and teaching come from your personal collection of wow moments. You can’t help but share them with enthusiasm and passion, which your teens will notice. When you are sharing God’s truth with passion or with just the slightest bit of enthusiasm, you can expect two more things: 1) Your teens will want more; 2) They will want their own wow moments.

See It
The following passages give insight into the phenomenon of the wow. As you read these, look for the makeup of a wow moment: How is it described? What role does Scripture play? What is asked of people to encourage the wow?

Words from Solomon to his son, analogous to words from God to His children:
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you…and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:1, 4-5)

Jesus speaking to His disciples:
“‘Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show Myself to them'” (John 14:21).

Two disciples on the road to Emmaus, shortly after Jesus had explained to them the things “in all the Scriptures” concerning Him:
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” (Luke 24:32).

Think About It
Along with Scripture, our diligence is a key element of a wow moment: searching as for treasure; having and keeping Jesus’ commands; exploring the panorama of Scripture through the lens of Jesus (or better yet, hearing it from Jesus). Obviously, the pursuit of wow moments isn’t for the casual observer. It costs time and energy; but as you just saw, the payoff is huge.

Apply It
We know this little factoid, but it’s tough to swallow: The best discipleship doesn’t come from a guide that asks us t Read the bold print now. It comes from the transformation that happens from our own grappling, chewing and ruminating. Yes, quick-prep curriculum is helpful in a pinch, but to take Scripture seriously, read-the-bold-print discipleship should be the exception. Organic, homegrown wow moments should be the rule. We’ve been in a pinch for far too long.
Unfortunately, discipling out of homegrown wow moments is not our default setting. Our busyness forces us to get our discipleship out of a can, relying on someone else’s wow moments. This leaves too much untapped youth worker wow.

Youth ministry, as well as the church at large, needs a new era of teaching and discipleship, an era that teaches out of personal wow moments. Our teens, who are in what is perhaps the most spiritually formative period of their lives, deserve that.

Let’s declare the in-a-pinch era over, and let era of wow begin.