Over the years I have tried a lot of Bible study methods with youth. Few have worked for me as well as one I literally created in desperation one night, a process I now call the "Huh? / Yeah! Bible Study." Here it is...

You just never know when an opportunity for ministry will present itself. A couple of months ago, I read that in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children. (More reading statistics are available in a report from the National Endowment for the Arts.) As a book-lover, I was appalled by this statement and commented as such to a friend. The next thing I knew, we were in the midst of planning a way to address this issue in our little corner of the world.

Children’s Sunday School curriculum primarily consists of happy, joyful stories. There are obvious age-appropriate reasons for many of the choices that publishers, teachers and parents make about how to present Bible stories to children. And we do want children to know that Jesus loves them and this is indeed cause for joy. However, children (and youth and adults, too) benefit from acknowledgement that God has given humans the capacity to experience a wide range of emotion.

I discovered the book, Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God by Sybil MacBeth, when it practically leapt off the shelf into my hands at a Cokesbury store. That was a year ago, and since that time I have prayed in color many times. I have also successfully adapted this method of prayer for use with groups of children, youth and adults. The book offers an approach to prayer that is accessible and meaningful.

An approach that I have found useful when faced with a challenging subject is to read a children’s book – regardless of whether I am talking to children, youth or adults. I once heard it said and I believe it to be true that a good children’s book is written for all ages. A book can be a wonderful way to open a conversation, particularly when people might initially be at a loss for words.

From time to time, I work an overnight shift at the homeless shelter in my community. I've noticed something striking: it's a "Drop and Go" site for many people who support it. By that, I mean that it is quite common for individuals to drop off donations and immediately leave. (Some even simply leave the items on the porch and do not even pause long enough to ring the doorbell.)

Far fewer are the folks who have deeper, more meaningful interactions with the residents there, or with the problem of homelessness in general. I am glad so many people in the community give generously to the shelter and to other service-oriented organizations, but I firmly believe that discipleship calls for ever deeper involvement with the poor.

I hope that by now you have realized that Ash Wednesday, and therefore the beginning of Lent, is only two weeks away. For some people Lent has traditionally been a time of “giving up” something – a symbolic sacrifice to help remember the sacrifice that Jesus made. Others use Lent as a time of “adding on” – doing extra acts of love and service to celebrate Jesus’ act of love when he died on the cross. However we choose to experience Lent, it is an opportunity to become more intentional about our spiritual life and encourage those we are in ministry with to do the same.

Ash Wednesday, the day that serves as the beginning of the church season of Lent, is February 25th this year. Many churches have Ash Wednesday services, but far fewer offer other events on that important day in the church year. Here's an idea for a special activity that is fairly easy to put together and which will be very meaningful for anyone who chooses to participate in it - a "Plan Your Own Funeral" workshop.

Okay, I admit that the title is corny, but I simply couldn’t resist. “Consider using children’s books that aren’t categorized as religious” didn’t have quite the same ring to it!

Many individuals in your congregation have a spiritual story to tell, but often they may not wish to do that orally. A writer's workshop can be an effective tool for teaching individuals how to crystallize their beliefs, reflections, and stories...for themselves or for others. Here's an example of a process you might use: