The old deodorant commercial says, “Never let them see you sweat” , but they didn’t work with teenagers. If the makers of that commercial knew how little time our kids spent practicing the basic disciplines of the Christian faith; they would know it was the youth workers who were sweating . Pew Research say that Millennial’s are confident, connected, and empathetic to social needs, but they fail to mention how biblically ignorant many of them are and, unfortunately, seem to be content with that.
Youth workers, like me, feel the weight to find new ways to get our teens to learn and practice their faith. Let me encourage you that whatever tool, resource, or curriculum you use with teens, it is ultimately the Holy Spirit that woos their heart. Hearing the Word of God in any context is another step to them responding to God’s call to walk in His ways. Be patient, and don’t YOU sweat it. God is in charge.
S.W.E.A.T (Coming Soon)
This resource came about from the inspiration of a late night t.v. info-mercial called the Insanity. Insanity is a 60 day workout that promises you will lose weight, give you great great abs, and transform your life. My thought was, why can’t we Bible Study be insane? Why do set the bar so low for them and applaud them if they read the Bible for five minutes a day? I think baby steps are fine for some, but we live in an extreme culture, and for those kids who love a challenge, S.W.E.A.T is for them. If your students do S.W.E.A.T, they will not lose weight, or get great abs, but in 40 days God could transform their lives.
7 bonus ideas for using S.W.E.A.T can be found HERE