General Conference 2013 Youth Week of Prayer

Every year the Youth Department of the General Conference produces a Youth Week of Prayer study guide intended for use in youth groups right around the world. 

This year, Nathan Brown (from Signs Publishing Company) was asked to create the 2013 study guide. I was thrilled when he phoned and asked if I would be interested in writing the Junior Study Guide - based on his Youth Sermons. I love working with Nathan. And I love writing for the Junior/Teen age group. Honoured and exited, I said yes! 

(explore my Junior studies here)

As the deadline loomed, Nathan was pressed for time and asked me to produce the Small Group Discussion Guide as well. I happily agreed. Little did I know what a blessing it would be to do both the small group and the junior/teen guides. The small group guide needed to be based tightly on the youth sermon. And the junior/teen guide is supposed to be on the same topic, but loosely connected. I realised the best strategy would be to do the small group guide first, as this would require careful study of each youth sermon. Then, when I wrote the junior/teen guide, the topic would be fresh in my mind and would inform the content of each junior/teen story. 

The 2013 study guide provides:

Youth Sermon - A thought provoking and inspiring sermon style reading. This can be read to the youth as a sermon or read "around the circle" by a youth group. Depending on the style of your church youth, you may choose how to use it.

Small Group Discussion - For those groups who know each other well and are small enough to engage in an active discussion, the small group guide will lead your conversation. It is based on the Youth Sermon and thus I encourage each young person to read the Youth Sermon before or after they come to the youth meeting.

Junior/Teen Study Guide - A story-based presentation of the information that will engage the younger youth. Juniors and Teens are the target of this study guide. In the middle of each, there is a short discussion guide, which will engage the junior/teens in conversation.

I would challenge you to use all three resources. On your own time, at home or school, read the two which are not presented during your group meeting. 

The General Conference Youth Department has published the working files (for translation and preparation purposes) on their website. The Youth Sermon is in one file and the Junior/Teen and Small Group Guide is in another file.

Over the next week, I will publish the junior teen story – one each day.  Feel free to click on the link below to receive the entire document! If you wish to use the small group discussion guide, please download the document and read it there, as I wont be posting it here. 

Please let me know what you think!

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The entirety of this series can be found on the General Conference Youth website on the Youth Week of Prayer page.