(Youth Study)

Dan in Real Life is a well-made movie for teens to discuss because it portrays realistic, multi-generational, and messy family relationships between parents and children. We see the transformation of one man's life through his learning from these rel...

(Youth Study)

Who doesn't want to live in a world of enchantment? To give up gritty, everyday reality for a fairytale life of "happily ever after"? But perhaps the name of this movie, Enchanted, is a misnomer for the plot line of this story. It would be very easy ...

(Youth Study)

Evan Almighty is a story about God's crazy call on Evan Baxter (based on the story of Noah) and the effects that call has on every aspect of Evan's life. Evan is asked to make an ark of gopher wood (Gen. 6:14). To respond to that call he finds he mus...

(Youth Study)

Everybody hurts. Frederick Buechner says that the theological task and one of the main developmental tasks of adolescence is to learn how to be good stewards of pain. This does not mean to endure needless suffering. His words are a call to learn how ...

(Youth Study)

Music is a powerful influence in the lives of many people, especially youth. How is the music we are listening to informing what we know and believe about ourselves, about humanity, and about our God?This session invites youth to examine some contemp...

A Study for Youth
(Youth Study)

High school is a critical time when youth begin to reflect on the narrative of their own lives and decide how they want that story to be told. Competing influences sway young people between wanting to be themselves and avoiding any group or individua...

(Youth Study)

What is God's plan for my life? Teenagers often experience a time of searching for identity, finding faith, and making tough decisions. Many are asking, in the midst of very hectic and pressured lives, what am I suppose to be in the world? This one-s...

(Youth Study)

Juno MacGuff is a smart, creative, and observant high school junior who, after a single sexual act with her best friend, Paul, finds herself pregnant. The movie presents, in an innovative, edgy but sweet, humorous but poignant way, the expected and u...

A Study for Youth
(Youth Study)

This study is designed to encourage teens to talk openly about their take on how their "peers" in the movies deal with issues such as depression, risk-taking, body image, and abusive relationships as represented in the phenomenally popular movie New ...

(Youth Study)

How do we learn tolerance? The surprising answer offered by the documentary Paper Clips is that you begin counting. In 1998, a group of twenty five middle school students at Whitwell Middle School in Tennessee began a course of study on intolerance a...

Using Technology Wisely
(Youth Study)

There is no doubt our lives have radically been changed by technology. Yet, with new gadgets and communicative tools being created daily, we seldom stop to consider how to use them for the greatest good.This one-session study invites youth to conside...

(Youth Study)

How should you handle receiving a text at the dinner table or receiving a call while waiting in line at a store? Is it "okay" to breakup with a girlfriend or boyfriend via e-mail? Via text? Via Facebook? What are the rules for using technology? Are t...

A Study for Youth
(Youth Study)

A study on a movie about . . . vampires? That's right! As Christians we are called to be in a world filled to the brim with cultural phenomena and if Twilight does not count as a phenomena, nothing will.Based on the first book in a four book series b...

Journaling, Blogging, and Other Tools for Reflection
(Youth Study)

In an age of soundbytes, it can be hard for all of us to take the time to really reflect on our lives. For teens with busy schedules, giving themselves the opportunity to think about their feelings, their lives, their faith, and their dreams may be r...

Is It All Just a Game?
(Youth Study)

Video games continue to develop and offer an expanding array of options. One can be entertained for hours alone or with friends.What is the purpose of playing games? How should Christians make decisions about what games to play or avoid? Can violent ...