Teach Your Study Group to Dive Deeper into Scripture!
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8
What a promise!
As a Bible teacher to teens, I aim to help them approach God confidently, knowing full well that God is near them when they seek Him. Lately, in a couple of my teenage groups, I’ve taught students Bible study techniques that can be used for the rest of their lives—now, I want to share those scripture techniques with you and how I teach them!
Grab your FREE Study the Scriptures Handouts at the end of the post. There are three in total! The one I have been using most recently is the S.O.A.P. handout.
Guided Bible Study
When introducing a new study method, I walk the group through the handout step by step. First, we always start with a heartfelt prayer thanking God for His Word and asking for His help in understanding and applying what we read. We then read a passage (not just a verse) together, answer observation questions out loud, and move into application. The session ends in prayer, where we pray about what we read and what God has revealed to us.
At the end of our group meeting, I often assign a passage and encourage students to complete our Bible Study handout (the same one we did together, but a blank one) before the next meeting. For teens, I sometimes use a little incentive (hello, candy!).
Independent Study
As confidence grows, I often have participants practice studying independently for 10-15 minutes in a group meeting, and then we regroup to share insights. Background music helps ease the silence!
Again, the goal is to equip them with tools to engage with Scripture confidently. The more they practice with you, and you help encourage their question-asking and observation skills, the more they will develop healthy Bible-reading tactics. Whether they choose to study outside of your group time is between them and God, but they’ll at least have the tools to know how to handle His Word in context so that when they have a heartfelt desire to seek God, they won’t feel lost or overwhelmed with how to approach such an important book.
One teen recently told me that the S.O.A.P. Bible Study handout made reading her Bible easy and enjoyable—how encouraging! I hope these handouts will give your group members confidence too!
