How to Lead Students to Encounter God

Written by Sherry Spillman

This generation is hungry for an encounter and experience with God. They are on a desperate journey to discover authentic truth. It is only when the Holy Spirit guides students into all truth that Bible study becomes deep in meaning for students. We should create an atmosphere that will allow room for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

If you want to see your students encounter God and be spiritually transformed, here are some tips that will help you as you prepare:

Acknowledge the Holy Spirit and recognize that He who teaches adults and leads them into all truth is the same Holy Spirit who teaches and ministers to the students we work with. Watch and pray to see what He wants to teach your students on a weekly basis.
Make sure the substance of the session searches the Scripture and examines God's Word. The session should not be a simple discussion of personal opinions or beliefs. It is only through studying God's Word that students will discover real truth. When the Word is accompanied by a leader who is living out its teachings, students will likely move closer to accepting and believing in its truth.
Be careful not to answer your own questions. Give students time to think when you pose a thought-provoking question. Let students know that silence is okay. When we answer our own questions, we teach students that they do not have to respond and that their answers are not important.
Use activities that lead students to discover the truths of the Bible. When we lead them to discover truths out of God's Word for themselves, we allow opportunity for the Spirit to do His work.
Watch for the Holy Spirit to make Himself known in the session. Those times frequently take place as students share results of their group work or report on their findings from the Word. Be ready to help students make connections with God during those times.
Prepare your heart for worship to take place during the Bible study session. When we think of worship, we traditionally define it by the hour set aside for corporate worship. Real worship takes place any time we come face to face with God and leave His presence transformed. That means worship should take place in our Bible studies. When God grabs your heart, be transparent and let your students know that you just had a connection with God.

Make sure that sometime during the session your students are given the opportunity to measure their own lives against the Biblical Truth you have studied. When they take the time to look at their lives as compared to a holy God, realize that they fall short of His holiness, and make a commitment to surrender to Him and His truth, then true worship has taken place. This is what we should labor for in our weekly preparations for Bible study.

Sherry Spillman is the Lead Youth Ministry Specialist for LifeWay Student Ministry Publishing

This article was adapted from How-To Sunday School Guide: Curriculum Workshop for Student Leaders. This guide is an excellent resource to use for training the teachers in your student ministry.