The author has provided a template for download (attached below) to help you implement a book club with the teenagers in your ministry context. We pray this resource will make it simpler for you to disciple teenagers in rich and meaningful ways!
One of the challenges of discipling teenagers is having adequate time to address deeper theological questions.
I once had a student approach me after our normal youth meeting with a pen and pad in hand (I know that feeling that just hit many of your stomachs…I felt it too). “I had a question…if Jesus is God, that means he is omniscient, right? So how does Jesus not know when he will return?”
As you can imagine, I was incredibly proud of this student’s courage to approach me, and also of how well she had been listening to our passage that night. I also felt a profound sense in which I would not be able to tackle the complexities of the Incarnation in the five minutes before she had to go home.
That brief conversation sparked an idea: What if I offered students the opportunity to read a book on this topic, then come together to discuss? That way, we could dive into the question, allowing for discussion and follow-up. So we did, and it worked. Over the course of a semester, we dove into Christological heresies, the virgin birth, the incarnation, the nature of persons, while connecting every week to why they mattered for understanding the gospel.
Many times, these deeper conversations are difficult to engage in a large group setting. Even regular small groups have limits on what they can discuss owing to the varying degrees of biblical literacy among students. Even if you want to make time to pour into your more theologically-minded students, you can’t expect to personally mentor every one of them. This is where book clubs can be a beneficial addition to your youth ministry rhythms.
What is a youth ministry book club?
A book club provides a time for you to gather with a smaller group of students outside your normal youth ministry schedule to discuss a book on a particular topic. Unlike other youth ministry-wide programs, these groups typically include just a handful (or slightly more) of students you believe are ready for more in-depth Bible study and theological discussion.
What is the point of a youth ministry book club?
A book club allows you to facilitate deeper discussion about the faith, using a book as the foundation. The driving force of these meetings is to help students to learn, discuss, and articulate the finer points of the faith, as well as investigate doctrinal distinctives or apologetic arguments that might not be covered in a standard youth ministry lesson. This is a great time for students to learn how to ask deep questions, follow and engage arguments, and communicate the faith they believe.
How is a youth ministry book club helpful?
There are several ways I believe a book club can serve your discipleship goals for students in your ministry.
Introduce New Concepts
Book clubs provide flexibility to cover material that falls outside your teaching plan for youth group. Although you want to teach every passage with depth, you will not be able to dive into all of the historical, theological, or philosophical side-discussions in a normal teaching setting. In a book club, you could introduce these topics with students who desire to dig deeper, since you have the time to do so.
Navigating Doubts and Confusion
A valuable aspect of a book club is giving students the opportunity to ask important questions and express how they struggle with faith without feeling judged. Doubts and confusion among students abound. The Bible is full of difficult truths. Not only do many students struggle to think critically about these things, they often fear what others would think of them if they expressed doubts of any kind. Other times, they may not even know how to ask the questions they have! Book clubs are less threatening, providing a safe space for wrestling with the Bible’s claims.
Bouncing Off Each Other
Although books will spark discussion, they do not have to be where it ends. The group might generate further questions that are adjacent to the topic being covered. For instance, a discussion that began with the Trinit could end up finishing as a discussion on Jesus’s humanity. As students begin to learn more, and you help them navigate questions, you can craft a healthy rhythm of back-and-forth discussion. This keeps things from becoming stale, gives students confidence, and challenges you to think clearly.
When might a youth ministry book club be ineffective?
While I want to encourage you to experiment with leading a book club for students in your ministry, there are some potential pitfalls we should all seek to avoid.
You are There for You
One temptation in book clubs, especially for theologically inclined youth workers, is to “nerd out,” spilling out all they know in front of their students to demonstrate how much they know. That’s called pride, and if that is the goal of your book club, don’t start one. Don’t dump too much information in students’ laps and stifle conversation. This is supposed to be a way for students to learn how to investigate and articulate the faith, not for youth ministers to prove how serious they are. Another temptation of a topic-driven book club format is to focus on the issues you are into, even if they are controversial and/or not necessarily “gospel issues” (Calvinism, Natural Theology, Eschatology, etc.). It’s not the point of a book club to convince students that your view on a second or third-tier theological discussion is correct.
You Don’t Prepare Well
Even though book clubs aren’t formal teaching settings, you should still prepare to help guide discussion for a couple of reasons. First, because students may have questions about what they read, you need to come prepared to engage with them. Second, preparation helps you to stimulate good conversation. I recommend having a solid balance of questions and structured outlines in order to prevent the discussion from derailing into non-essential topics. Finally, the benefit of having students read on their own is that you don’t need to rehash the entire book chapter during your group. Coming prepared to flesh out the topic or make connections to other important subjects can help students grow in understanding.
You Pick Bad Books
The purpose of a book club is to help teenagers to understand a given topic, which means most likely, you should NOT pick your favorite theological work. Having students read books that challenge them is helpful, but reading books that will crush them is not. You are trying to give them confidence, inspire them to try, and help them grow in knowing Christ; that requires supplying them with resources that they can reasonably engage with. If you pick material that is too difficult, too stuffy, or too irrelevant to their lives, you will undercut the success of the book club before you begin.
Why start a youth ministry book club?
Holding a youth ministry book club is not only good for your students; it’s good for you. Having rich discussions about the faith with teenagers in a more personal setting will feed your soul and deepen your relationships with students in ways you never expected. It will shape you as a pastor, communicator, and thinker. It will encourage you to keep moving forward, knowing students are growing in their understanding of life-changing message of the gospel: that Christ is able to save sinners because he became human. And when done well, studying with teenagers in depth will bear fruit by the power of God’s Spirit. As they grow in their knowledge of the truth, it will shape their approach to studying Scripture, strengthen their understanding of why they worship, and give them confidence to share these things with others.
Any opportunity to discuss and explain the gospel to teenagers is worth our time and effort. You don’t have to meet every week, and your book club may not need to exceed a handful of students. These gatherings may be something you prioritize seasonally rather than year-round. In whatever way you choose to implement this idea, I believe a book club can be a valuable asset to the work God is doing in your ministry.
If you’re looking for more gospel-centered and practical coaching for ministry, consider applying for one of Rooted’s youth or family ministry mentoring programs.
