One of the goals for any Bible class teacher is to encourage students to read the Bible independently. It’s difficult enough to convince adults, but suggesting kids and teens read the Bible at home can be even more difficult. You may have tried other strategies we have suggested and still have students who are struggling to develop strong Bible study habits at home. We have three unique strategies that may help those reluctant Bible readers to become more engaged with scripture.
The first strategy is to divide your Bible students into groups of two or three. The personalities of your students will determine how often these groups need to be changed. Each group is encouraged to read at least a few Bible verses each day. You can give them free choice or encourage them to read story heavy books like Genesis, Ruth and the Gospels or practical books like Proverbs and James. At a random point during class, tell the groups to huddle and share one thing they read in the Bible this week that they found interesting or that challenged them. If students didn’t read any Bible during the previous week, the group should come up with a strategy the student can use to encourage them to read the Bible during the coming week.
The second strategy you can use is to choose a passage, story or book in the Bible you know your students will find interesting. Take a few minutes at the end of class to introduce it as a teacher would a social studies unit. Tell students interesting facts and archaeological finds attached to the passage. Show them where it occurred on a map. Show them photos or replicas of cultural items in the passage which may be unfamiliar to them. Define any difficult words they may encounter when reading the passage. Finally, give them one thing to find when reading the passage. During the following class period, see how many found the answer to your challenge question.
The third strategy involves a little of your time each day. Find a time in the morning or at night when most of your students will be home and available to get on Zoom. Each day have a five minute call with anyone in your class who can join you on Zoom. For the first few sessions, share a couple of verses you think will be helpful to them in the next 24 hours. After they understand the types of verses you are sharing, encourage them to take turns finding and sharing the verses for the day. This is assisted independent Bible reading, but encouraging them to search for new verses to share can drive many of them to their Bibles to find something appropriate.
These strategies may not work for all of your students. For students who respond to them, however, it can be the beginning of a lifelong practice of independent Bible study.