September–December 2018
Unit 1: First Peter
During adolescence, youth grow in so many ways, including spiritually. This unit finds in 1 Peter five elements of Christian life to help youth travel through through these changes—hope, holiness, love, suffering, and humility. Peter advised churches in the first century to abide in these attitudes and actions during times of uncertainty and opposition. Through time with Peter’s teachings, youth can explore their own experiences of uncertainty and suffering, learning to engage difficult people and circumstances with a spirit of love, hope, and holiness.
Unit 2: Jonah—The Reluctant Servant
When God calls the prophet Jonah to bring a word of condemnation and redemption to Nineveh, he packs his bags and heads in the other direction before God and a fish turn him around. These four lessons ask youth to consider their own stories in light of Jonah’s. In the process, they will consider the tensions inherent in God’s commandment to love all people. Reflecting on their lives as God’s people will invite participants to remember gratitude and regret in their own discipleship, ultimately challenging youth to look at their communities with the same eyes of restoration.
Unit 3: Micah Speaks
Youth often seem particularly hardwired for fairness, so the prophets’ commitment to justice may resonate deeply with them. This four-lesson unit brings youth to see the prophet Micah up close as an example for following God in the world. As youth reflect on the role of justice, peace, law, and forgiveness in Micah’s preaching, they may even grow to recognize their own place as leaders who challenge their communities and church to practice peace, love, and kindness for all people.
Unit 4: Immanuel—God with Us
This five-lesson unit welcomes youth to join the Church in waiting for and celebrating Jesus’ birth. During Advent, youth will spend time with Isaiah considering the kingdom of God—the path that leads to it, the peace that characterizes it, God’s strength that establishes it, and the Messiah who inaugurates it. In the weeks before and after Christmas, readings from Matthew and John will challenge youth to confront the great mysteries of God’s presence in the world.
January–April 2019
Unit 1: Stewardship—Managing God’s Gifts
What does the word “stewardship” mean? While many youth and adults alike may immediately think of money, practicing stewardship is about much more. This unit explores the role of stewardship across four distinct aspects of youth’s daily lives. Across four sessions, youth will discuss and learn how stewardship applies to friendships, schedules, possessions, and creation as they embrace God’s call to a life of caretaking and caregiving.
Unit 2: Pillars of Character
Teenagers are leaving childhood behind, looking forward to adulthood, and searching for stability in their lives. During this time, they are discovering and adapting the tenets of their individual characters as dynamic Christians. These four sessions will study examples of fairness, responsibility, caring, and respect through gospel texts and Paul’s letters. Youth will have the opportunity to explore how these examples of character fit into their own lives.
Unit 3: Missions—Risk Yourself for God
What do teenagers risk when they commit themselves to God’s mission in the world? This unit invites youth to consider how they can embrace the risk that comes with missional experiences. As youth grow in their faith, texts from Matthew and Paul’s letters to the Corinthians will provide examples of ways youth can encounter change in their lives as they embark on any mission they undergo.
Unit 4: Easter—Luke’s Account
Luke’s account of the Easter story reviews the events of Jesus’ earthly ministry in four sessions of exploration and discovery. Teenagers who are familiar with the Easter Sunday celebration often encounter these episodes lumped together. In this five-lesson unit, however, youth will have a chance to spend time in the details of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension and explore how these events can empower them today.