biblical literacy with youth

Encounter, Engage, Respond: Biblical Literacy

with Youth

Chad King

© Augsburg Fortress, 2010

Session Goals

• Identify key characteristics of healthy biblical literacy

• Examine age-appropriate characteristics, options and strategies

• Leave with at least one practical idea to put into action this fall

Two Terms:

Youth

Biblical Literacy

The problem facing the Christian Church is not that people lack a complete set of beliefs; the problem is that they have a full slate of beliefs in mind, which they think are consistent with biblical teachings, and they are neither open to being proven wrong nor to learning new insights. Our research suggests that this challenge initially emerges in the late adolescent or early teenage years. By the time most Americans reach the age of 13 or 14, they think they pretty much know everything of value the Bible has to teach and they are no longer interested in learning more scriptural content.

Why does it matter?

It requires increasingly concise, creative, reinforced, and personally relevant efforts to penetrate people’s minds with new or more accurate insights into genuinely biblical principles. In a culture driven by the desire to receive value, more Bible teaching is generally not viewed as an exercise in providing such value.”

-Barna Group, 2009

Why does it matter?

Age-Specifics

• 4-6 graders• 7-8 graders• 9-10 graders• 11-12 graders

4-6 graders

What categorizes this group?

What are they especially good at?

4-6 graders

•Concrete learning and thinking

•Rote learning•Memorization•Relationships are concrete

7-8 graders

What categorizes this group?

What are they especially good at?

7-8 graders

•Memorization is still a strength

•Abstract thinking manifests

•Empathy begins to slowly emerge

9-10 graders

What categorizes this group?

What are they especially good at?

9-10 graders

•Memorization shifts to meditation

•Empathy becomes more fully formed

•Community

11-12 graders

What categorizes this group?

What are they especially good at?

11-12 graders

•Comfortable with abstract ideas

•Rich internal perspective

•Empathy helps shape decisions

A few last thoughts…

Get your kids an appropriate Bible to read and study.

Get to know the context of your kids.

Trust the power of scripture to transform your kids.

So what are you going to do?

Questions, Comments?

Thank you!