For a lively Bible-study session, here are some practical guidelines.

· Teach the students God’s word in a way they can hear, understand, and apply. Take a story from the Bible about today’s issues (including controversial ones) such as sex, tattoos, judging one another, loyalty and betrayal, war, or homosexuality. The Bible speaks to each of these issues. Let the teens ask questions, and listen to what they are really asking.

· Invite the youth into your life through coaching, mentoring, being a role model, discussing some of your experiences, and spending one-on-one time with your group members. Be an open book they can see and follow. This means that you as a youth leader must have a high level of accountability for yourself.

(NOTE: You must also carefully handle certain issues of your personal life, such as intimacy with your spouse, and areas in which you have failed. It is easy for us to confess our shortcomings, thereby giving the youth approval to do the same: If they think you drank, had premarital sex, and stole from local stores, they’ll think they can do likewise and be right with God because you are right with God. On the other hand, if they think you’re a goody two-shoes who never did anything wrong, they’ll think you don’t understand their problems. I recommend that you address the group’s issues by referring to the Bible and discussing the experiences from your personal life that you think are appropriate. Sometimes sharing your heart and soul is good, and sometimes it isn’t. That’s why prayer is important before, during, and after conducting a Bible study.)

· Show your group that you are listening to them. Pick discussion topics that are relevant to the group members’ lives. Repeat their questions back to them, making sure you understand what they are asking. Another good idea is to ask each youth what he or she thinks about the discussion topic, let the group know what the Bible says about it, and ask the group what it now thinks.

· Build a bond of trust that allows for delving into the harder, deeper questions. Never laugh at or make fun of a youth’s question unless it is truly funny and not at someone else’s expense. Then address the question or statement, probing deeper into why the group members think the way they do.

I used to lead a Bible-study group of senior-high teens who determined their discussion topics. At one time, I asked them how they will feel about these topics at age forty-five when their daughters and sons are in high school. It was interesting to watch my question hit close to home and to hear about what they would want for their own children.

· At least once a month, do a fun activity with the group. Be a kid again with them while looking out for a teaching moment. It could be an instance of fighting, arguing, cheating, gloating, boasting, or something else that all of us do everyday but is not right in God’s eyes. You do not need to be a stick-in-the-mud who always ruins the fun, given that the behavior is safe and does not violate Christian principles. But do not pass up a great teaching moment when it presents itself. In this way you’ll build a relationship that earns you the right to be heard.

Keep in mind that you do not have to win—let the group members teach you how to do something. I once went on a trip in which the youth challenged their leaders to a game of volleyball. This was a big mistake, because during the game the athletic leaders began to destroy the teens. I then brought the leaders together and asked them what we were teaching the youth. The answer was “Who is best!” Our competitive juices were running so high that we forgot why we were there. From that moment on we sought the right attitude and actions to represent Christ to the teens and have fun doing so. I think the leaders learned the most by allowing the youth to win.

In the end, mentoring is all about praising Christ and helping youth come to know him in a real and relevant way. And for youth, that experience can be more exciting than anything.

For it is to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. These are the things you must insist on and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:10-12