Teaching Teens the Bible Through Drama

Teaching Teens the Bible through Drama

Teens are a hard group of people to crack. They easily see through lies and sugar coating. Why? They are on a path of self discovery until they reach adulthood. If you want to reach a teen with the Bible, use drama and role playing.

Parents often feel that sugar coating issues will make them go away or seem less frightening. While we mean well, this is not exactly the truth. Burying our heads in the sand makes problems worse. This is as true now as it was when biblical events were being lived.

In the Bible you’ll find murderers, thieves, prostitutes, liars, disabled people, teenagers, children, and false god worshippers. It sounds a lot like the world of today. If God didn’t spare us the truth of these people’s existence back then, why should we try to do so with our children now?

What the Bible also shows us is that He can use these people and change their hearts. We don’t have to stay where we are or who we are right now. God can turn us into the person we were always meant to be. He loved them and He loves us - in and out of our sin.

Role playing has been used in a variety of arenas. In counseling it can teach people to understand each other. For teens, they can act out their feelings about certain issues and themselves. How will drama and role playing do that?

For starters, ask them about a Bible story that they remember. Let them tell it in their own words. If they get something wrong correct them by reading the scripture passages. Ask them to interpret the scriptures in their own way through role playing. A group of teens can take a Bible story, then create and act out a play.

This will give the kids a chance to tell you how they see the bible story and interpret it. On a more modern note, ask the teens to link a story in the Bible with an everyday situation in their lives. Then, they can discuss their current situation and how they believe God is working or not working.

For teens, the Bible can be used to show parallels between their lives and the life of those who lived thousands of years ago. Using the responses of God in the past, they will see that they can count on God in their circumstances right now.

Drama is a major part of the life of a teenager. Use that to encourage them to learn about the Bible and God’s teachings through their own lives.