Andy Blanks
YouthMinistry360, 2012, 120 pp., $12.99
Andy Blanks has hit a home run in The 7 Best Practices for Teaching Teenagers the Bible. This engaging work humbly challenges youth workers to know God better through personal devotions and then strive for excellence in teaching the Bible with relevant and creative applications for today’s youth. The vision he casts for Bible teachers to instruct teenagers for life change is priceless. I also believe this is a tool that would benefit youth pastors greatly and already have passed it along to my son who is our church’s youth pastor.
–Ken Burge
Andy Blanks offers a solid teaching-practicum that can be used by the expert or the novice to more effectively reach teenagers. His 7 Best Practices “Teach for Application” is not only spot-on relevant but also loaded with tried-and-true methods and newer ideas that will help teenagers make the move from Bible to creating a life with God.
–Todd Outcalt
Andy Blank and Youth Ministry 360 recently released the first of two books, The 7 Best Practices for Teaching Teenager the Bible. This book is as the title says practical, but it is also so much more. If you are just within the first couple years of youth ministry, this book is basic training in paper form. I strongly encourage you to pick it up. Those of you, who like myself have been teaching students for years, this book bring us back home. It is a refreshing reminder of why we do what we do with a helpful little slap in the face about what we may not have been doing.
Each chapter addresses one of the seven practices of teaching, starting off by making it personal with “Engaging God.” Beginning this way sets the tone for the book immediately, as it not only concentrates on teaching methodology but also about the importance of our personal relationship with God as we teach. The central five practices at the core of the book are encouraging preparation, understanding of context, pushing for unpredictability, interaction, and application. The final practice wraps it back around to making it personal with “Know Your Role,” a section that really focus on who God has called us to be.
The book is a rich resource that not only is written from a ministry perspective but also brings in useful educational pedagogy, as well as details the three main learning styles, differentiated instruction and curriculum. Overall, the book is outstanding and so well thought through. The only area I wish would have been addressed more is the “From Scratch” lesson preparation. It is easy to read and a valuable book for rooky and veteran youth workers or anyone who is teaching teenagers.
–Dan Istvanik
The 7 Best Practices for Teaching Teenagers the Bible by Andy Blanks is a resource I would recommend for anyone working with teens. Many of the ideas and applications in the book could be used for preparing adult Bible study lessons, as well. It’s all about application, because anyone can read the Bible through in a year. It is more important to apply it to daily life. As youth pastors and workers, we can benefit personally from the preparation of lessons. We can all grow closer to God through study. I think the material from this book will be useful in helping plan and implement Bible studies that teens can relate to and use in their lives.
Teens are busy with school and other activities, the last thing they need is more reading to do that doesn’t seem to have benefit to them. If we implement some of the strategies in Andy’s book, we may find some of our teens getting into God’s Word and not avoiding it as yet another homework assigment. At least that is my desire for our teens, and I think this book will be helpful to me as I work with young people and adults at my church.
—Rev. David C. Lannan, Youth Pastor, Speedway General Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
At just more than100 pages, Andy Blanks has written a smart and thoughtful book for anyone who wants to be a better Bible teacher. I am thankful Andy mentioned two very important things right from the start: Teachers need to take care of their own spiritual lvies; and God is the One who changes people’s hearts. Once a teacher knows and practices these two things, the pressure to impress students with our lessons vanishes. Once this happens, then a teacher can put into practice the ideas Blanks offers in his book. As you read through the 7 Best Practices, take time to apply one before moving on and you’ll notice an improvement in your teaching.
—Mike Kupferer has been in full-time youth ministry for more than 10 years and currently serves in northwest Ohio.
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