7 Family Devo Ideas for Families with Teens
Though not perfectly consistent with it, we are big advocates of family devotionals. However, when the kids are a little older, it can be more difficult to find ideas. Many websites, blogs, and books are out there with ideas for little children or elementary-aged kids, but what do you do when you are dealing with teenagers?
Since that’s the stage of life we are in, I thought it might be helpful to give a few ideas that you might want to try. We’ve tried all of these. Some have worked better than others, but all have been a great encouragement.
Appian Media Videos
We love the work done by Appian Media. Their videos are filmed in the Middle East in an extremely high-quality production. They tell of the Bible events, showing the terrain in which they would have occurred.
Our family has watched three of their series that are currently available and have gained so much from each one. All of them are free on YouTube, or you can order a workbook. Our two teenagers have loved these videos and, I think, have learned quite a lot from them.
Check out their webpage here, or their YouTube channel here.
Sing on Saturday
We started this when the kids were little, but why stop just because they get older? If it’s Saturday night, we are singing. It doesn’t have to sound good–after all, it’s just your little family–and it is a wonderful way to help begin to prepare your minds for Sunday worship.
We typically each pick a song and sing it from memory, but there are times when we will need some help, so we will get out a song book or my computer with Paperless Hymnal and sing. No matter what, it is the easiest possible “prep work” you’ll ever do, and it is so encouraging.
Lads to Leaders Materials
Even if your family is not involved in Lads to Leaders, there are some materials they produce that make for excellent home studies, and can easily be used for family devotionals.
One of our favorites is the “Defender” series of books, which are written by Kyle Butt and Eric Lyons. These books are meant to help young people defend the faith, and each lesson also includes two or three short videos (usually about 5 minutes each) by Apologetics Press that help reinforce the material.
Also, you can check out “Sower,” which is a book about personal evangelism, or any of the “PEARLS” books, which are on various topics.
Check out the Lads to Leaders Store page here.
Those Famous “13 Chapter” Class Books
I like to call them “famous” because nearly every class book you get for Bible school is 13 chapters (since most Bible school quarters are 13 chapters). Many congregations use some of these books in Bible classes, but they can also make tremendous devotional material for families, especially with teenagers.
Even some older and slightly outdated books can be used in the home since your goal is simply to instill the basic ideas in your children. We’ve used Out with Doubt, Real Life Lessons for Teens, and several others.
I would suggest calling a Christian bookstore for recommendations, or, when you have a chance, visiting one and buying a few to have at the ready.
Margin Notes
Okay, so this is a shameless plug, but we have used these for our family devo time, and I know my sister has with her kids, as well. If you are unfamiliar, I release a video every two weeks that simply gives notes from the margin of my Bible. I aim to make each video about 20 minutes in length.
Our daughter especially enjoys these and you might find them helpful, too.
The playlist of all videos on YouTube can be found here.
What Does That Song Mean?
This post was originally going to be 6 items long, but I had to come back in and edit it with this 7th because we tried this just a couple of days ago and it was a great success.
I simply asked the kids, “What’s a song we sing at church that you aren’t sure you understand?” After thinking for a second, our son named a song (“Let the Lower Lights be Burning”) and then said, “I mean…what is that talking about?”
That led to a wonderful discussion of the lyrics and the meaning behind them. You may want to select a song or just throw it out there like we did. Either way, the discussion was great, and you may find yourself learning something, too!
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
