We love our Bibles… that’s why they’re falling apart!

This is our box of Bibles. They’re not all that old, only a few years, but they have been well used, as you can probably see! Most have been repaired, and several still have pages falling out.

Someone once told me that when they get to heaven they’d rather show Jesus a Bible that’s falling apart, than one which is pristine. The first one has obviously been read. I love that idea, so even though we mostly work with young people that have no connection to Christianity or churches whatsoever, we still get our Bibles out at every opportunity we can.

At the end of Luke’s gospel, in Chapter 24, we read about Jesus appearing to two disciples and sharing with them everything the scriptures said about himself (v.27). At the end of that story these two followers said:

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (v.34).

I love that! So we at Youth for Christ believe that there’s nothing wrong with the material. We don’t need to hide it until young people are ‘ready’ for it later. We’re charged to know it deeply, so we can teach it clearly, and bring young people’s hearts to life with it. Then God’s word will burn within them. We think that God’s word is living and active and every time we read it, something is made in us. So why wouldn’t we use it with young people – whether or not they’ve ever picked one up before?

The trick, however, is doing it well!

The more you know God’s voice, the more you can recognise it and help others to understand it. That’s what Eli did in 1 Sam. 3 right? He helped little Samuel hear God’s voice, recognise it for what it was, helped him respond to it – and then he got out of the way!

We don’t whack young people around the head with the Bible, we don’t hammer away with mega-dense theological language, and we don’t expect them to behave like if they already know anything about it – but we do teach it. We love to open our Bible’s with young people – and we read it with them. We ask lots of questions, we talk, we share, we discuss, and we facilitate a conversation between them and God using the Bible. Our job after-all is to encourage young people to grow their own relationship with God – we can’t have that relationship for them.

I’ve not heard a young person complain yet!

So sure, we love the games, the stories, the silly talks, the nerf battles, and the lock-ins. But we’re never, ever, going to be shy about sharing God’s word with them.

That’s why our Bibles are falling apart!

We’re recruiting new volunteer team members at the moment. If you love God, love young people, and display a teachable spirit with a good sense of fun, then you could fit right in. If you would like an obligation-free chat, please do email us at llandudnoyfc@gmail.com.

Thank you!