About the Dramatized Bible Stories. A lot of research has gone into studying the culture of the times (including traditions, customs, and laws) in order to try and bring a sense of reality into these stories. Some stories are dramatic, others may seem silly or whimsical. I have done my best to keep the core values of the Bible verses that inspired the stories intact. These stories are not meant to replace the original Bible text. They are just an attempt to try to bring the Bible stories to life while including context for the story, background information and sometime a little humor. At some point during the lesson, after the reading of the dramatized version of the Bible story, I recommend that you read the actual passage(s) that the story was comprised of. About me and my family. I am a veteran youth worker of 35+ years. I live in New England where church sizes tend to be smaller than the Midwest or Bible belt. As a staff person I've done everything from volunteer to part time, to full time and I currently find myself back volunteering. I've had anything from 100+ students down to just a few. I have a wife and two daughters currently in middle school. (Well, my wife's not in middle school.) She has the real job that allows me to be the stay at home (work from home) dad. My passion is in mentoring. I love to teach teens how to be leaders for Christ. And more recently, I've developed a love to teach adults how to minister to their teens. I love to have parents partnering with me in teaching and developing the youth at church. A also like to make the parents look Biblically smart to their teens during small group sessions. (By that I don't mean that parents aren't smart - but they're not trained to be pastors.) Empowering You, Empowering Others If you're a youth leader at your church here's a few win-win pro tips in empowering parents: Here is the line-up I prefer for a youth night. The evening is about an hour and half long. Ice breakers, games, hangout time, whatever you want to call it, happen for the first half hour. The lesson, where I speak to the entire group (teens and adults), lasts about 20-30 minutes. During that time, I introduce the top and read the associated scripture. What I don't do is give an application for the lesson. Then we break into small groups. I have a leader sheet prepared for each leader. I no-prep set of instructions with additional background information on the passage. This is what happens in our small groups: Each person shares briefly how their week went. The leader/parent shares the additional information I have provided for them on the passage I just taught from. This helps empower the leader as well as helps make them someone the teens can turn to for Bible knowledge. The leader/parent gives the application or challenge for the text used. This, also, help empower the leader as the teens see them as the person teaching them how to apply what they have just learned. The small group ends their time praying for each other. Your youth time may be different. Just adjust this to fit your own youth group. Make it personal. I don't have a teen worship band and I'm not good a singing to CD soundtracks so we don't currently have a singing time. You might have that. That's awesome if you do. This isn't a have-to-do-it-this-way concept. It's a guideline for an idea. My goal isn't to have teens see me as the person to turn to during difficult time. My goal is to teach the teens they can turn to their parents during a difficult time. First you need to get some parents to be volunteers so that you can turn them into small group leaders. Sometimes it's as easy as asking a parent to assist you. I haven't had much luck with the direct approach so I've found that I have to be a bit sneakier. What I'm about to explain is a long process. It can take up to a year to fully work itself with a parent. But I promise you, if you are patient, you will have a fully committed parent volunteer. I look for parents that do not live close to the church. Of those parents, I look for someone that looks like they have a desire to be more like Jesus. I'm not looking for super Christians - just people that I can tell are trying to grow in Christ. Pray for discernment. Then it begins... "You know, you don't need to drop your kids off, leave, then turn around and head back just to pick up your kids again. You're welcome to stay if it makes it easier on you. You don't have to be involved. You can just sit in the corner and read a book or be on your phone." So far, I've yet to meet a parent that hasn't at least veered up a few times to show an interest in what we're doing. After a month or so I start in with the games whether I need help or not... "Hey, we could use an extra person to play games tonight just to even out the teams. Would you mind joining us for the games? You're welcome to go back to the corner during lesson time." Even if it's a reluctant "yes", I've never had a parent say no. Then I increase the amount they are playing games with us over the next month or two. During this "play" time the parents are building relationships with the kids in the group even if they don't realize it's happening. And they're having fun doing it. Usually, by the next steps I have a few months to get to know the parent. So I find a way to use them in a lesson just by letting them tell a life story in front of the teens. This takes a little more work and sensitivity. I never put the parent on the spot. Give them at least a week before you want them to speak so they can prepare. but that conversation might go something like this... "So, I'm teaching on loss next week. I'm going to read a passage from Job. But to the teens that might seem super old and outdated. I know that at one point in your life you lost [fill in the blank... your father, a job, a large sum of money to a poor investment] Would you be willing to share how God was there for you during that time? I'd like the teens to see evidence of God's faithfulness through hardships and I think your past experience would be very meaningful and personal." Again, it's tough to say no to that because now they are being asked to help others grow spiritually. Many time, even if they're shy, they're very happy to help out sharing their stories. After asking them to share a time or two more over the next couple of months the next statement happens... "I really enjoy your insight and involvement in the group. Would you mind just sitting in with us during the lesson time and letting me ask you for your opinions and stories occasionally? I promise I won't ask you anything hard without giving you at least a week’s notice. But I really feel your presence and input into the group is helpful. Besides, I think some of the teens even like you!" (Remember, by this time they're already playing the games with you every week, so asking them to participate in the lesson too isn't that big of an additional commitment.) Remember, way at the top of this page, I said I had to be a little sneaky. Well, here comes the second most sneaky part. I'll assume you have a small group of leaders, say, you and your spouse. If you have several leaders already this will be easier. I ask if the parent would be willing to "sit in" on the small group portion of the evening. I will ask them to be a part of the larger group justifying my request with, "that leader has some extra kids and could maybe just use an extra had keeping the small group time moving." Or, if I know another leader will be out in an upcoming week, I will ask the parent if they would be willing to "sub-in" as the leader for that small group. This isn't like being a substitute teacher in a public school. By now, they're being ask to help lead kids they've already been playing games with (building relationships with) and teaching through their life stories (teaching spiritual formation with) so the kids in their small group should already have a level of respect for this person. They should be about 6-10 months into relationships building at this point. If everything is working like it should, you now have adult that is learning the ropes on how to be a small group leader. Our small group change members every so often. (Call it a cycle) I like to have groups of about 6 teens to 1 adult. Over time some groups shrink while others grow make it necessary to reassign teens to small groups. We usually don't mix the kids up a lot, just combine a few of the smaller groups into a big one or separate a larger group into two smaller ones. Try to make sure that in each group a teen knows at least one other teen. When we start a new cycle is when I finally hit the parent up with the big commitment question. But make sure they've had a couple months under someone else's wing first. "We're about ready to sure up or small group rosters. I know it's not what you signed up for but the kids really like having you around. You're already playing games with us, you help out during the lesson time, and you seem like you've done pretty good when sitting in on a small group or substituting for someone when they're out. Would you consider being a small group leader for a cycle?" Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I'm extra blessed, but I've never had a parent say no and I've never had a parent quit at the end of a cycle. There's just a bond that builds between anyone that can't be broken when you spend a year studying God's word together and praying for each other And the second pro-tip... Make sure you equipe and empower your leaders to be successful. If you're not sure how to do that look at what the small group leader handout contained. I'm mentioned it earlier on this page. Here's a BONUS piece of advice. As a youth leader you are replaceable. A simple job opening post can make you disposed of. Parents are not replaceable. Make sure you build parents up in the eyes of their teens. Donate.