Perspective: Using Fuel in a Larger Student Ministry

Written by Michael Eubanks

NOTE: This article is one in a series featuring how Fuel is being used in a variety of churches in a variety of ways. For more information on Fuel or the upcoming Fuel2 (releases August 2006) check out the official Fuel website at www.lifeway.com/fuel.

Michael Eubanks serves at Gladeville Baptist Church, a growing church with a large student ministry in Gladeville, Tennessee. They average 140 students for Bible Study on Sunday morning and roughly 200 on Wednesday nights. For nearly two years they have used Fuel as their Sunday School material, in both their middle school and high school ministries. Here is how he uses Fuel in their ministry:

Having been in student ministry for about twelve years now (the last four of that being full-time), I have come to see some recurring themes and behaviors in ministry that can only be seen from the vantage point of a youth minister. At the top of the list (or at least in the top three) is, and always will be, the issue of curriculum. I find myself surrounded by some of the most committed, willing-to-give-it-all teachers who are convinced that our curriculum choices are always lacking or could somehow be better.

Now mind you, it's not all volunteers all of the time, but there always seem to be a few that think you've stacked the deck against them by not giving them the right tools. Simply put, though - most volunteers simply don't have the extra time to pull together all the pieces for a knockout Bible study. The incredible amount of time they spend with family, ballgames, cheerleading practice, gymnastics, band competitions, church committees, and the countless other daily routine duties that make up their lives leaves them in a tough spot: having a willing heart, a strong desire, and very little time. FUEL has helped our student ministry leadership fill this gap.

When I first previewed FUEL as a curriculum option for Sunday School, I immediately noticed a few things that I could use. The first, and most important (at least to the students in the class), was the DVD portion. Let's face it - gone are the days when you could have a class sit in silence and listen to a three and a half minute song playing on a CD player. In today's video age, that just doesn't cut it anymore. Students today are bombarded with so much media that pausing to listen to a song in a room full of other people is simply awkward.

FUEL's DVD portion meets this obstacle head-on for us. There are three separate segments in the DVD part of the study to choose from. Sometimes we use one of them - sometimes we use all three - it mainly depends on how we think our particular group of students will react to the content. If we think they will dismiss one of the videos, we'll scrap it and use the other two. If we think they will connect with all three, we show all of them. FUEL provides something that my students will connect with - and since it's visual, it feels like the rest of their lives.

Although our student ministries are separated (middle school and high school), we have found that the DVD portion of FUEL works well in both settings. There have been a couple of videos in FUEL that I would never show my high school students simply because I know it wouldn't work. In those cases, I just fall back on both or maybe even one of the other videos. On the other hand, our middle school pastor seems to love the very videos I throw out!  He tells me how his students fall over laughing at stuff that I think would put high school students to sleep. I have found that FUEL maintains balance by allowing me to target our multiple audiences and age groups with one curriculum package. That not only makes me happy, it makes my budget happy.

Now - what about my teachers? The second biggest reason I use this curriculum is what it offers teachers. I have some teachers on both ends of the spectrum. I have some who will study portions of their lesson all week. I've got others who find themselves at home on a Saturday night realizing they have yet to study for Sunday School. They are not less committed than other teachers; they have just as much passion as the teacher who studies all week. They are a critical part of your program because they really know how to relate, and they truly desire to make a difference for the Kingdom in the lives of students. They just have a fully packed life and haven't found a way to schedule enough time to study for their lesson. Again, FUEL helps me equip them to fill this gap.

FUEL has got the resources for all types of teachers. There are customizable teaching plans, background passages for the lesson, customizable outlines, even video transcripts from the DVD portion. There are time lines to help your teachers put events in perspective, printable resources for your classes that are referenced in the teaching plans, and even an audio portion on CD that your leaders can listen to in their car while doing the daily routine stuff that would normally steal their study time! I can sum up these resources with one word: Options!

In looking for a well-balanced curriculum to journey my students through God's Word, I have found that FUEL more than fits the bill. It fits my leaders by allowing them to adapt FUEL's study options to fit their busy schedules. It fits my students because it's thorough, theologically sound, and as relevant to their lives as it is to their communication styles. And since it has so many options for students and leaders, it fits me as a busy student minister trying to be a good steward of my time and energy.

Michael Eubanks is a student pastor from Gladeville, Tennessee. He and his wife Kelley live in middle Tennessee with their three dogs (Putter, Buddy, and Lucy) and two cats (Toby and Tucker).

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