Do the acts of the first-century believers leave you longing for the supernatural atmosphere of those amazing days? The period detailed for us in the book of Acts and in the New Testament letters was a miraculous time that inspired believers and transformed curious seekers.

The mood of those days may be closer than you think. For starters, the early church looked a lot like youth ministry today: new believers, lots of passion and energy—and, well, food. If you want to get closer to how Christians lived in the book of Acts, there’s an instruction in Colossians 3 that seems tailor-made for youth ministry—and it just may kick the door wide open.

Scripture Text

As you read Colossians 3:13-16 below, notice the instructions in this passage. You may want to circle each one as you see it.

13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one anoth­er. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Think About It

Picture the atmosphere we’d enjoy if these instructions ruled the day in our student ministries—teens being patient with each other, grudges wiped away, differences in personalities and backgrounds going unnoticed because of love. It’s the stuff revivals are made of.

Sound unachievable? Look again. That last verse gives a gateway into that uber­spiritual atmosphere we’re longing for— and it’s something many of us are already doing: worship.

But not just same-ol’ same-ol’ worship! Verse 16 tells us to add another compo­nent to our worship: teaching. And notice the kind of teaching it is—teaching that lets the word of Christ dwell richly. The Greek word Paul used for “richly” was typically applied to wealth. Think abun­dance. Think lots and lots. Think Oprah giving away cars to her audience! Our hearts are to house an abundant supply of the word of Christ.

Allow worship to be the pipeline—the conduit by which the word of Christ takes up residence in our students—and watch the instructions of Colossians 3 fall into place. Then watch the supernatural atmosphere fall into place. Teens bearing with each other—actually forgiving each other!—will be the first of many miracles.

Apply It

Here’s a quick checklist for infusing worship with teaching in the style of Colossians 3. 

 Audit Your Worship. Scan the land­scape of your current worship. Are you already singing Scripture? With a little creativity in setting the context of a Scripture song, you could easily add a little teaching to what you’re singing. Just where did we get the phrase “Ancient of Days”? 

Strive for a Seamless Blend. Think integrated rather than linear. Did you catch that little word “as” in verse 16? Let the teaching happen as you worship. Blend worship with the Word in a way that students hardly notice the difference.

Theme It Out. Brainstorm with your worship team about how to build worship around some of God’s great traits, like mercy and grace, or some of the Bible’s great themes, like forgiveness and redemption. Use your creativity in teach­ing “with all wisdom.”

Worship has already revolutionized youth ministry. Let’s leverage that momen­tum—and unleash the supernatural atmos­phere our students long to experience.

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A 20-year youth ministry veteran, Barry Shafer is the founder and director of InWord Resources (www.inword.org), a ministry that encourages depth in youth ministry by enabling students and youth workers to become better equipped with God’s Word. Shafer is the author of numerous student devo­tionals and small-group studies, including James: 12 Inductive Sessions on Practical Christianity (YS).