New Discipleship Course for the Youth Ministry

Through our partnership with the Amos Biblical Institute, we received a series of six discipleship books for our Horizons Youth. Our staff are now using these books, which have eight chapters each, as the basis for our current discipleship course. The teachers explain each lesson with them, do a study of the verses, and at the end the youth take a small quiz to see how well they understood the lesson.

The Horizons Youth have now started with the first of the eight books, entitled Teach Me How to Live for You. So far the Horizons Youth staff have taken the group through the first four sessions. 

Session 1: Studying the Bible and Obeying It

In the first session, the youth discussed their experiences with reading the Bible and the challenges of having a quiet time with Jesus. The Horizons Youth staff discussed with the kids different ways to make studying the Bible easy and exciting. Altogether there were eleven youths, two helpers, and one teacher in the first session. Since then, the size of the group has grown steadily.

Session 2: The Obedience of Jesus 

The youth discussed how hard it is for them to obey their parents and to be like Jesus, who was obedient until death. At their age they want to have their freedom, but our staff discussed how there is actually freedom in obedience to Jesus. In the second session there were two new students who took session one separately in order to stay on track with the group.

Session 3: Prayer 

The youth shared their previous experiences with praying and the challenges they face in their prayer life. Our staff said it was very exciting to see how they were discussing what prayers are acceptable to the Lord. There was one new student named Aya, who is the sister of one of our youth, Mohammed. She is a strong believer in Islam, wears a hijab, and is completely against Christians, but she still came to explore this new faith.

Session 4: The Prayer of Jesus 

In the fourth session, the youth discussed the prayer that Jesus prayed before raising Lazarus from the dead. They were amazed at how Jesus gave thanks before taking any action. They also discussed how having the spirit of Christ in them gives them the opportunity to work miracles through their own faith. The youth had an open discussion and began actually citing Bible verses to prove their points. There was another new student this session named Jian and our new student from the previous session, Aya, also returned this session. She was very happy to be participating in our discussions, and she asked deep questions.

One specific highlight of this session was that the youth received their own Bibles! Now they all have the same Bible, which makes it easier for the team to do the Bible study. 

Upcoming Lessons

• Session 5: Good Deeds
• Session 6: The Good Deeds of Jesus
• Session 7: God’s Family
• Session 8: Jesus and God’s Family

Concluding Thoughts and Prayers

The Horizons Youth staff is very pleased with how the students of the study are growing and pursuing faith. Please be praying for them to continue pursuing God and their faith with all of their hearts. Pray as well for God to reveal Himself to them and to comfort them in their difficult situations. Lastly, please pray for the staff as they work hard to prepare for the lessons as well as for them to be full of energy, love, and Godly wisdom throughout.

To donate to the Horizons Youth fund, you can do so here.