A few years ago, I was encouraging youth to bring their Bibles to Bible study. (Novel idea, I know.) I made a big deal about it, even gave kids candy when they had a Bible with them. It worked . . . sort of. Within a few weeks, most of the kids had a Bible with them for Bible study. Some of them would go find a pew Bible and bring it into class. A couple of guys came up with a more creative solution. They just left their Bibles in a cabinet in the classroom. When I asked how they were studying the Bible at home if their Bibles were always at church, they just gave me a blank stare.

In the research for my dissertation, youth leaders all over the world agreed on 7 essential objectives for youth ministry. It should probably not be any surprise that this was an essentials:

Essential 3: Guide youth to spend time with Jesus in prayer and Bible study as a way of developing their relationship with him.

Teenagers today are about as religious as American teenagers have been for as long as we have been measuring such things. The disappointing thing is few of them know the truths of the Bible, can identify the stories of Scripture, or spend any time perusing (let alone studying) the Word of God. That’s a pretty big disconnect. So, how do we instill the essential disciplines of prayer and Scripture in their lives?

1. Help them understand the purpose. Few of us really get excited about new routines to add to our lives. Teenagers feel full-up with studying. While prayer and Bible study are disciplines, they are not the cold, dead routines teenagers may imagine. How many of them would let a love letter (er . . . romantic Facebook message) from a boyfriend/girlfriend sit around for weeks before they read it? When they see the goal of prayer and Bible study as being the deepening of their love relationship with Christ, they are on the right track.

2. Acknowledge that prayer and Bible study take effort and time. It’s okay for teenagers to begin doing Bible study by looking at a few verses a day or spending about 10 or 15 minutes. However, don’t short-sell the importance of time alone with the Lord. Help them to understand that spending time with God needs to be a priority in their lives.

3. Give them a plan. Often teenagers look at the Bible and get overwhelmed. Where do you start if you really want to hear from God? Give them tools to use in both praying and studying. Help them to find a time and place to spend with Jesus. Answer their questions, but also help them to learn to find the answers for themselves.