Sometimes I forget how much I learned about God and the Bible while in Sunday school as a child, or in VBS, or just sitting around and talking with my family. I forget that people who come to church later in life, who didn’t spend years learning the stories or going through Bible drills, people whose families don’t sit around talking about God and church and the Bible, don’t know some of the things that I just take for granted.

That is what makes youth ministry (and all of church for that matter) such a balancing act. There are some people who have spent their life learning about God and who need to be challenged to make that knowledge real in their lives. There are others who are still struggling with what it means to be a Christian and “why should I read my Bible anyway.” Trying to find a way to minister to all levels of spiritual maturity is like being in a one room school house.

But more and more people are coming into our ministry with very little prior knowledge of God. So we are starting a basics of Christianity bible study for everyone on Wednesday nights before church. One of our youth will be leading what will essentially be a trip through the Student Survival Kit. It should be a good opportunity for these students to at least see some of the basic disciplines and truths of the Bible. Hopefully this will be just the first step for these young Christians.