THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Five Turkish students walking to school. They are ascending the staircase, outdoors, campus. Cold autumnal morning. Nikon D800, full frame, XXXL.

Getting to Know Your School

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As you prepare to go hiking, whether in the Rocky Mountains or through an Amazon jungle, you must first know where you’re headed. Without a map and a compass, your trip is doomed to aimless wandering at best, and death at worst.

As you seek to influence your campus, you will want to make sure you know the campus and its people. Otherwise, you may just run aimlessly from one activity to another without really changing things on your campus at all.

  1. You must know the basics about your school.

    You may think you already know the school very well, but there are some valuable questions you can begin to answer that will help your ministry get started in the right direction:

    • Who are some other people who know the school very well? If I didn’t know anything about the school, what would I want to learn?
    • What do other people – adults and students – think of the school?
    • Who are the most influential students?
    • What groups are most influential on the campus?
    • These are good starter questions for helping you get oriented to the school.
  2. Now that you’ve got the basics down, become an expert.

    Like a private eye or a reporter in search of a story, dig a little deeper. To truly familiarize yourself with the campus, you need to find out more about the community and the school.

    Here are some of the many things you can do to get familiar with the school:

    Look through the most recent school yearbook. Notice students who appear often. Look for those in leadership of various groups. Try to use the yearbook to get a general impression of the school.

    Next you could look through local newspapers and publications. Ask yourself, “What kind of reputation does the school seem to have? Is it mentioned often? Are the articles positive or negative?”

    Also, find out who are the most influential students and teachers. Try to determine the key Christian students on your campus. Seek to meet them as soon as possible and share with them your desire to impact the campus. Meet supportive adults in the community. Talk with teachers, coaches, and administrators. Find out what makes the campus tick. What recurring problems are mentioned? What are the strong traditions?

    Attend sporting events, plays, or other performing arts events. These are great ways to get a feel for the school and the student body.

  3. Finally, start meeting students.

    Start with known Christian students, student leaders, and athletes. Your research of the campus will help you decide which students to go to first.

So, get to know the basics about the school; then become an expert on the school; and then you’ll be ready to meet the key students. When you’ve done these initial steps, you can confidently move ahead, trusting God to bring results through your ministry.

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What they’re saying about Cru

You have a group of people who want to learn more about the Bible, and they want you to teach them? What an awesome responsibility! I’m sure you’ll be praying about it and asking God for help. But here’s some important information you’ll need which will help you get ready and teach more effectively.

In the Greek language, Paul used two different words to describe knowledge:

  • One word referred to intellectual knowledge (head knowledge).
  • The other referred to experiential knowledge (heart knowledge).

Good Bible teaching will help people gain head knowledge which will move 16 inches down and become heart knowledge – real life experience. Experiential knowledge is best gained when we use all parts of our mind and senses to take it in. Research shows that we remember:

  • 10% of what we read (e.g. a book).
  • 20% of what we hear (e.g. a speaker).
  • 30% of what we see (e.g. a poster ad).
  • 40% of what we hear and see (e.g. a T.V. program).
  • 70% of what we say (when we give a talk or are talking).
  • 90% of what we say and do (where we are actively involved in the process).

Learner-Centered Teaching

Learner-centered teaching is where the learner is actively involved. Learning has really taken place when a person’s life has changed. In other words, we need to teach with a method that lets the learner discover facts they can apply to their lives today and hopefully in the future.

Planning a Lesson

Following are some tips to help you plan your Bible study, keeping in mind the need for learner-centered teaching.

1. After you have picked the portion of the Bible you want to teach, work through the passage yourself.

This is always the first step in lesson planning and should be done early in the week. This extra work will allow you to think about it, learn it yourself, add to and revise the study during the week.

2. Identify the central truth.

Ask yourself, “What is the main fact or point I want the group to learn from this study?” For instance, your central truth may be that Jesus Christ is God and the only way to reach God.

3. Know your goals.

What do you want the students to do as a result of discovering the central truth? For example, you may hope that by the end of this lesson the students are able to tell another person three ways Jesus is unique.

Make sure your goals are ownable (the students want to do it), reachable (they are able to do it), and measurable (you can find out if they did it).

4. Make a list of your students and what you think they need to understand from the lesson.

This will help you stay person-centered rather than material-centered. Who wants a bunch of information thrown at them? Use this list for prayer during the week too.

Leading the Study

1. Begin with a short learning activity that gets their minds where their bodies are.

You want to get them thinking about the central truth. You might do this through a skit, drawing, or game. Just be creative. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes. For example, you might want them to think about how God searches for lost people. Hide a pager somewhere and set it off, seeing who can find it first.

2. Let them discover what the material has to say about the central truth.

Ask questions about the lesson content. Use open-ended discussion questions rather than ones with “yes” or “no” answers. Read appropriate Scriptures. Let them figure out how this truth relates to their lives.

3. Help them apply the central truth to their lives.

Once they’ve figured this out, they need to apply the truth to their life during the week. Help them see how the truth directly affects their lives. The success of the study depends on how you help them understand what the central truth is and how it applies to their life.

Organizing the Time

The flow of the Bible study needs to be just right. If you spend too much time eating and socializing, you won’t have enough time to dig into God’s Word. On the other hand, if you just study and don’t let the students interact with each other, they may only see the study as an intellectual exercise and not something that applies to their lives right now.

Flow of Your Study

Here’s a suggested flow for your Bible study:

1. Refreshments (20 min.) – Unhindered talking, sharing, and settling

2. Bring group together (5 min.) – Use a catch/hook statement or learning activity to get their attention and introduce the theme

3. Bible Study (30 min.) – Discover the central truth and apply it.

4. Prayer (10 min.) – Pray conversationally if the students are willing.

5. Conclusion – Make announcements for upcoming meetings and plan any other activities. Give rides home to kids who need them.