What's the Best Way to Get My Student Involved in Church and Bible Study?

The following is a transcribed Video Q&A, so the text may not read like an edited article would. Scroll to the bottom to view this video in its entirety. 

I think the best way to really get teenagers to be invested in your student ministry honestly comes down to story. I heard Dr. Russell Moore say one time that just made so much sense to me. He said, "The Bible is not just a book of truths illustrated by stories. Instead, the Bible is a book that is the story of the gospel that's interpreted by truths." I think the number-one thing that student pastors can do today is to preach the story of the Bible. What we love to do is preaching from Genesis all the way through Revelation in seven years from sixth grade to 12th grade, helping students understand the narrative, overarching theme, the story of Scripture, of course, with Jesus as the main character.

We see that Jesus does that with his disciples in Luke 24 where he says in verse 44 that, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." The Law of Moses starting with Genesis and all the way through the prophets through Malachi, Jesus takes them through the story but never even mentions his name. But he shows them how it's all interpreted about him. I think that's so important because when you have the discernment and you have the tools to be able to see Jesus as the main character throughout scripture, then you can have the same lens. You can have the same filter to be able to see Jesus as the main character of your life.

Originally published October 21, 2021.