Bible Journaling with Teenagers

When your children were younger, you probably had a much easier time reading to them about the many heroes from the Bible that overcame impossible odds. That’s because Bible stories were presented to them in such a new and exciting way, that it captivated their hearts and minds. They wanted to hear more. Stay tuned to learn how to do bible journaling with teenagers!

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How to Do Bible Journaling With Teenagers

Now that your kids have grown into teenagers, you may be facing a few new challenges that are keeping your teenagers from engaging in reading scripture. Whether it’s because they find it boring, or they simply cannot comprehend what they have read-only moments prior, it’s important that we as parents help them find the right tool to help develop faith in our teens.

Bible art journaling has been found to be an effective method in bringing scripture to life for teenagers, but most importantly, helping them have a more personal relationship with Jesus. Here’s a more in-depth look at how to do Bible journaling with your teenagers. Did you know that bible journaling can develop faith in teens?

Bible Verse Art

Bible verse art is a great way for your teenager to memorize scripture in a more creative way. When you are reading your Bible there are certain verses that tend to stick out more than others. Encourage your teen to focus on those particular verses and go from there. They can highlight the verse, or even rewrite it off in the margin in a fun and creative way. Some people like to use cursive, bold or italic letters or different sized fonts on keywords.

Bible Stories

Just because your teenager is older, doesn’t mean that they don’t have a Bible story that they enjoy or can relate to. Encourage them to return to those chapters and reread them, and think about drawing or painting a picture in their Bibles that depicts the story. But they don’t have to draw anything if they don’t want to. Again, there could be a particular verse that stood out to them that they could focus on and get creative with colors that way.

Ideas for Bible Journaling

Your teenager doesn’t have to be an artist that can draw amazing pictures. By simply adding color to their Bibles can be beautiful enough on its own. There are those that are even brave enough to paint or use colored pencils to add color around that particular Bible verse, but that’s okay if you don’t feel comfortable enough to do so. Afterward, they can reflect on their artwork and finish up by praying for God to help them apply his word to their lives.

Sermon Notes

Bible journaling doesn’t just only have to happen while your teen is doing their own quiet time. It can also be done while taking notes at church. Sometimes we can get lost in note-taking and never take the time to go over those “boring” notes ever again. Drawing pictures that relate to the sermon, or even adding stickers to brighten it up, can bring your teenager back to reflect on that particular sermon.

Bible Journal Alongside Them

Bible journaling alongside your teenager may not only give them some ideas but may also inspire them to continue on in their faith journey. It’s something that many parents even enjoy too. After all, your teenagers need to be seeing you spending time in God’s word if you ever hope for them to do the same.

Maybe as an adult, you don’t find Bible journaling to be your thing. It doesn’t have to be. You can still spend time in God’s word and prayer as you are sitting close by your son or daughter. You may be surprised how much easier it is for your teenager to open up to you, where spiritual conversations may come up because you are approaching the heart of God together.

Getting the Right Supplies

When your teens are first starting out with Bible journaling, I’d recommend that you start them out simple as far as supplies go. You want to make sure that Bible journaling will be something that they will continue to enjoy before you get fully invested into it. All they really need is a Bible, a pen, and a few colored pencils to get started.

After they’ve proven to have a real interest in it, it’s time to consider purchasing the right supplies. You can find all of your Bible journaling needs at your nearest craft store. If you’re looking for colored pencils that are of better quality and what the professionals use, these are a number of different options that will do the trick.
When you’re choosing paints and pens that your teenagers will be using in their Bibles, make sure that they don’t have a tendency to bleed through the pages.
Gelatos pens are fun and easy to use, creating color that looks pretty much like watercolor.
They’ll also need to think about purchasing a set of highlighters to zero in on certain verses and keywords that have a deeper meaning to them. These highlighters are zero bleed through.
To add more of an artistic element to their Bible art journaling I’d recommend that you also think about stocking up on washi tape, decorative stickers, stamps and colored ink pads, watercolor paints, and even acrylic paints.

Finding the Right Bible to use for your Journal

Your teen also needs to have the right Bible for journaling as well. You probably won’t feel comfortable with your teens painting and covering up words in their only study Bible, so they may need a separate Bible for that. Lifeway has a number of different options and translations that are suitable for notetaking and journaling. That way they still have a Bible that they can take to church and study, without worrying about words that may be painted over.

Bible journaling is a wonderful tool to help teenagers have a more meaningful relationship with their savior. Some people are hesitant when it comes to Bible journaling, along with writing in their Bibles, but remember that creativity is something that comes from the Lord. It’s about growing and worshiping God in a fun and whole new way. And don’t think that Bible journaling is only geared towards teenage girls because it’s not. Your teenage son can enjoy it too.