Student Ministries Update: Bible Reading Resources and Upcoming Gatherings
Dear Student Ministry Parents,
This past Sunday, Smedly and I held a Q&A discussion about reading and studying the Bible. We talked about distractions, what to do when we don’t understand a passage, and how to grow in carefully observing what God has said. Our desire is that our students (and all of us at GBC) would grow in our commitment and ability to read God’s Word in order to know God and respond to Him with faith and obedience.
We also opened with a fun game that you can play yourself at home. It built on the previous week’s lesson about how much we can miss when we assume we’ve already seen everything there is to see. The letters were there the whole time, but the longer we looked, the more words we found. There is so much to see when we slow down and keep looking!
You can watch the conversation, listen to the audio, or read the transcript from this week’s lesson here. I hope it will help you continue these conversations with your students at home and, as a family, read God’s Word together and put our suggestions into practice.
One encouragement from our discussion was to slow down, read carefully, and write things down. A Bible, a pencil, and a willingness to stay in your seat and keep looking at the text can go a long way. When questions arise, write them down and bring them into conversations with parents, discussion-group leaders, or pastors. I’ve prepared a reading plan with bookmarks and have printouts of the questions I presented to help you work through the passage you read or sermon you hear.
Here are the resources we referenced:
- 2026 Bible Reading Bookmarks: The full-year reading plan, ready to print double-sided and cut into bookmarks.
- Bible Reading Questions: A printable guide with space to write responses and prayers.
The Bible Reading Questions guide gives students space to answer three simple questions. The idea is that you would print one per week and have something to write in every day. My family has been doing this for the last few years, and the benefits for adults and kids alike are remarkable. The questions to look for are:
- What did the text say?
- What did it teach me about God?
- How should this affect me?
Then pray about what you have read. Ask God to help you believe what He says, trust Him, and obey Him. When your mind wanders or reading feels difficult, bring that to Him too, and keep coming back to His Word.
Parents, consider reading the same passage as your student and talking through these questions together. This is where the bookmarks and reading plans are helpful. Share what you are learning and how God’s Word is affecting you. I encourage you to print out the Bible-reading questions. If you don’t have a reading plan already, print out the bookmarks. Quite a few students and others in Student Ministries and around church are on this same plan.
No Student Ministries This Week or Next
We will not be having evening service this week. Lord willing, starting in October we will be back in our normal building. October 4th, we will also have no official Student Ministries gathering as we will be together as a church for GBC In the Park.
We plan to restart our normal Student Ministries schedule starting Sunday, October 11th in our building on Priest.
Please reach out if you or your student have questions or would like help getting started with a reading plan.
Your servant for His glory,
Jacob Hantla