The end of COVID must be in sight, because my speaking and project schedule for next year is starting to fill. If you are considering having an in person workshop or retreat, you may want to contact me as soon as possible. I have very little available time and it tends to fill quickly. In the meantime. here are this week’s social media challenges.
Monday: Ferns take very special conditions to grow in the wild. The faith of your Bible students needs special conditions to grow, too. Conditions the secular world won’t provide. Conditions their parents or guardians may need your help knowing how to provide. You can provide some of the things your students need, but they need more hours of help than you can physically give them. That’s why giving parents and guardians all of the tools, resources, tips and encouragement they need is so critical. We can help. Send them to our Christian parenting blog, Parenting Like Hannah. Share specific posts in their entirety. Print off printable parenting resources. Be that resource person the parents of your Bible students need.
Tuesday: Life feels like a giant maze to most of your Bible students. They don’t know which way to turn. Unfortunately, many of them have no Christian adult in their lives willing to spend the time to listen and coach them in living the lives God wants for them. Everyone (including the parents of many) is too busy or distracted to help. Young people are left feeling abandoned, confused and even hopeless. You can be that person who provides loving support and spiritual coaching for some of your students. You can encourage parents to be that person for their kids. You can find other Christian adults who are willing to mentor and coach young people spiritually. No young person involved in a ministry should ever feel abandoned in the maze of life.
Wednesday: There’s nothing wrong with wanting Bible students to enjoy your Bible class. It can become problematic though if the focus is on fun and no real learning is done. One way to check the balance of learning and fun is to ask yourself what each student will actually be thinking during the various segments of your class. If the thoughts are probably secular, you may need to shift the balance towards the educational side a bit. If they will be bored, add an engaging element or two. Maintaining the proper balance is key to student understanding, retention and use of important biblical concepts.
Thursday: How full is your spiritual bucket today? Ministry means using spiritual, emotional, mental and physical energy. You need to keep your buckets full to minister well and stay healthy in every area. Your spiritual bucket is best filled by spending time in scripture for yourself (as opposed to preparing a lesson), prayer, reflection, fasting, being in Creation, creating things and surrounding yourself with things that meet the criteria of Philippians 4:8. Carve out time each day and each week to refill your buckets. You and your ministry will benefit.
Friday: I bought two tomato plants this Spring. Every time there was a green tomato, a chipmunk ate it. We probably had two ripe tomatoes all summer. Yet the chipmunk “deposited” some seeds in a border on the other side of our house. Look at the tomatoes! What started out as something frustrating yielded something positive – fresh tomatoes much later than normal! COVID has been frustrating to your Bible students in many ways. Can you help them find the good that has come from it in their lives? Did God use it to teach them something? To give them needed rest? To give them more family time? Helping young people learn how God can make good come from bad situations is one way their faith can give them hope in the future. Spending time teaching your students about the hope found in God – in all of its forms – can help them now and for the rest of their lives.