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Today's Kids in the Word Wednesday post is a guest post from Dana Byers. I went to college with Dana at Anderson University. Dana has been affiliated with LifeChurch.tv for many years and is passionate about church online. She lived overseas for a while and homeschooled her two young children for part of that time. Dana tweeted the other day that she uses YouVersion with her kids. In case you're not familiar, YouVersion is a free Bible app available for use in your web browser, mobile phone, or tablet. Many translations and languages are available as well as many reading plans. I asked her if she'd share with us some ideas for using YouVersion to keep kids in the Word.
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I love using YouVersion for many reasons. When our family traveled through a dozen countries with minimal belongings, I was never without God's Word. Recently I was on the phone with a troubled friend and was able to look up a passage to share with her related to her situation. I highlight and bookmark verses the Holy Spirit illuminates for me as I read – bookmarking them under headings that I can search in the future when I need direction, encouragement, and wisdom.
As my kids grow (they are ages 5 and 8 now), my husband and I have begun searching for ways to help them engage in God's Word. We never want Bible study to be strictly rote, and we've seen that being in His Word daily is one of the best ways to know Him better.
Here are a few tips for introducing your kids to God's Word through YouVersion:
YOUNG KIDS (non-readers)
- Invite them on your lap to “search” God's Word (using your mobile phone, laptop, or iPad) for letters they recognize. When they've spotted one, cheer and read the entire word to them. If it's a verse that's applicable, share it.
- Show your child the list of books of the Bible in the YouVersion menu and let them scroll down each one as you read them out. This is a great tool for visual learners.
- Ask him or her which Bible story they want you to read, then let them click in YouVersion to locate it. I like this idea for helping kids combine Bible stories they've heard at church with their exact location in Scripture.
ELEMENTARY AGE KIDS
- Using two mobile or iPad devices, challenge your child to a Bible search contest. Who can get to John 1:1 first and read what it says?
- Have a morning devotion time at breakfast and let your little reader read the passage to be discussed before Mom or Dad explains to the family what it means.
- When your child is faced with peer pressure, confusion, sadness, or even success, teach them to journal or take notes in YouVersion about their feelings and compare them to what they're reading in God's Word.
TEENAGERS
- Pray for and locate a same-gender mentor for your child. Ask the mentor to share Scriptures with your child via YouVersion's email feature when they come across passages that come to mind when praying for them. Your child can bookmark these verses in his or her personal account as an encouragement on tough days.
- Invite your teenager to read part of the Parenting plan with you and discuss your role versus theirs. Let this study be an opportunity to have a heart to heart conversation to remind your child that you value highly your role as parent, you'll always strive to obey God, and you are his or her #1 supporter in life.
- Instead of telling your teenager what to do when they come to you for advice or face a problem at school, sit down and go through the YouVersion Youth topical reading plans together to dive into God's Word for a solution. You only have a few years left to help them develop the habit of going to God's Word and valuing it more than man's opinions!
Dana Byers is a mom, runner, the president of BlueDoor.tv & author of The Art of Online Ministry. Learn more at DanaByers.com.
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It's your turn! Have you ever used YouVersion? I use it on my iPhone and my iPad all the time. How have you kept your kids in the Word this week? {See guidelines here.}
