The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Tim. 1:5)
ALL SHE BRINGS IS HER BIBLE. A small group of teenagers gather around her in a room adorned with old couches and chairs. She reads through one of her favorite passages, taking time to discuss and take in every word. It takes weeks to discuss only a few verses. This is what my youth group Bible study looked like when I was a teenager. Now, I realize this description of a youth group probably may not excite you. What made my youth group meetings meaningful, however, was not the couches or the setting, but the power of the simple message of what it means to follow God.
Listening to the latest music, watching the latest videos, and listening to dynamic speakers have become popular activities in youth ministry. Surely those activities capture interest and touch some lives, but they are not indispensable. The apostle Paul identified what is indispensable. He wrote, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). Sometimes I need to remind myself that what made my youth group special was not the setting, and what makes similar ministries special is not the exciting activities but the powerful, although sometimes simple, teaching of God’s Word. The Word produces love, cleanses the soul, and builds faith.
Fall in love with God’s Word and your love for Jesus Christ will increase dramatically.
Amy Knepp is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University and is a stay-at-home mother of four children.
