Laurie Polich-Short
Zondervan, 2012, 160 pp., $10.99

Studies on the Go are a phenomenal resource for any student and youth leader. I have used several of these studies, and my students have been engaged, challenged and encouraged. I have seen an increased interest in the study of Scripture as these studies place the text in its cultural and historical setting. The students leave with a deeper understanding. I highly recommend this source for every group.
—Christopher Pope, Student Pastor, Cornerstone Community Church, XtremeStudents.net

To be honest, I had not heard of Studies on the Go before being offered a review copy by my good friends at YouthWorker Journal, but because I’m always looking out for study ideas, I said yes to this opportunity. Studies on the Go by Laurie Polich-Short has 30 studies. This particular edition is on the Book of Genesis. Any book of the Bible can be daunting when you’re trying to interest and impact teenagers, but Genesis increases that difficulty due to the many questions that arise on the topic of creation. On top of that, you have the many stories of questionable characters we often call heroes of the faith. Each study comes with great questions, not mindless Sunday School questions where every answer is Jesus. They also come with an optional activity to take the lesson a step further and create true impact. Add to that a weekly plan for students to go deeper, and you have a winner of a study in one little book. If all the book studies are as well done as this one, I’d recommend getting the entire set.
—Rick Nier, Pastor of Youth and Christian Education, Winona Lake Free Methodist Church, Winona Lake, Indiana

This book is geared to be used in small groups with high school students. It breaks up the Book of Genesis into 30 lessons. Each lesson has some intro questions, content questions and application questions, as well as questions for individual study each day through the week. I like the fact that it covers chapters and topics not seen in most other curricula and that it has different levels (intro, content and application) of questions. I don’t like that it has nothing for leaders of the small groups. (I am not sure if there are teacher guides.) I would need to do more prep work in order to feel as if my adults had good background going into the lesson. I don’t like that it only has one activity option for each session. Would youth workers use it? I would use it for small groups of senior high youth with background/knowledge of Scripture. I think it requires too much thought for intro kids, but it might get good discussion for the kids who are looking to go in-depth. I would use it only if I did more prep work for the adults leading it.
—Chris St.Clair

This Bible study resource should be on the shelf in every youth minister’s office. Laurie Polich-Short has done a great job putting together a resource filled with low-prep, highly discussion-oriented Bible studies on the Book of Genesis. If you have time, you will want to modify the questions and activities to best fit with your group in order to make the most of the Bible study. This book can be given to a volunteer who can lead the study with great success. Plus, each study ends with a week’s worth of daily study questions to help students continue to wrestle with Scripture. You will not be disappointed if you use this book to study through Genesis with your students.
—Mike Kupferer has been in full-time youth ministry for more than a decade. Currently, he is serving at Bethel Church of Christ in Northwest Ohio.

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