How to teach a youth Bible study

When teachers ask, “how do you teach a youth Bible study,” they sometimes assume the teaching principles and methods that work with adults don’t work with youth. While I understand this assumption, I do not agree with it.

When someone with inadequate teaching skills teaches an adult class, the adults sit there nicely: some try to listen while others begin thinking about something else. Either way, the teacher assumes everyone is listening and learning even though they aren’t.

Youth, on the other hand, are not so gracious. If this same teacher presents the same lesson to the youth group, they will begin whispering, passing notes, falling asleep, and more. So, from the teacher’s perspective, it appears he knows how to teach adults, but needs help knowing how to teach a youth Bible study. However, the truth of the matter is that one group is simply being more gracious than the other.

How to teach a youth Bible study effectively

If you want to know how to teach a youth Bible study as well as adults, simply use effective teaching principles. Sound teaching principles enable you to engage the learner, hold the attention of all ages, clearly explain the text, help them around mental and emotional roadblocks, and challenge them to obey God's Word.

The Teaching To Transform Not Inform series will help you do this by teaching you how to create a Sticky Proverb: a short, memorable proverb that clearly states the passage’s central truth and application. You will also learn how to create The Connection: instantly grab and hold attention by connecting listeners to the lesson’s application and relevance. The series also explains one of the most important parts of any youth Bible study, the Visual Anchor: the visual, concrete image that depicts the lesson’s Sticky Proverb in a concrete way.

Learn how to easily integrate a Visual Anchor into your lesson, by clicking on the button below:

How to teach a youth Bible study: As the sights and smells in a restaurant create a desire to eat, develop a lesson that creates a desire to listen.