Groove: School Leader Guide

By Michael Adkins

Nearly all youth are involved in school and educational pursuits for a majority of their day. Even if they are not attending a traditional school, there are ways to encourage them to live out their faith as they follow Jesus and at the same time grow in their academic knowledge.


School is designed to help teenagers consider how their faith affects their lives at school. From the lessons studied each week, combined with the daily devotions found in the Groove: School Student Journal, teens will be encouraged to pause and reflectively engage as their academic and spiritual lives collide.


Over the course of the series, youth will be encouraged to make a place of belonging for everyone in their school, to set and keep priorities that reflect their faith in Jesus, to find joy even at school, and to know that our worth ultimately lies in who Jesus is and what he has done for us.


The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The leader guide contains everything needed to lead teens through a Groove study, including teaching outlines, leader notes, Bible background, reflections, and parent communication.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781501809392

Michael Adkins

Mike Adkins graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2009with a degree in Psychology. He has been in youth ministry for a decade,serving as an intern for two years at Cornerstone UMC in Newnan, Ga., beforestepping into full time ministry at Shepherd of the Hills UMC in Douglasville,Ga. He is currently at Forest Hills UMC in Macon, Ga., where he has served asthe youth minister for four years. He has unhealthy levels of love for reading,survival methodology, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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About This Groove Study

Nearly every youth in your ministry is involved in school and education pursuits for a majority of their day. Even if the teens in your group are not attending a traditional school, there are ways that we can encourage them to live out their faith as they follow Jesus at the same time they are growing in their academic knowledge.

Groove: School is a four-week Bible study designed to help teenagers consider how their faith affects their lives at school. From the lessons that they will hear each week at youth group to the accompanying daily devotions (in the Groove: School Student Journal), teens will be encouraged to pause and reflectively engage as their academic and spiritual lives collide.

Over the course of the series, youth will be encouraged to make a place of belonging for everyone in their school, to set and keep priorities that reflect their faith in Jesus, to find joy even at school, and to know that our worth ultimately lies in who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

Thank you for using Groove: School to engage teens as we help them consider how they act, live, and love in a place where they may just spend most of their time!

How to Use Groove

The Groove curriculum was designed to help you lead a great gathering of teens, providing enough material for you, as the youth leader, to choose the pieces that work well for your group and that guide the teens into discussion, helping to integrate their faith into their daily lives. The format is designed to teach and engage as well as to prompt teens to wrestle with and ask hard questions. To that end, below are some explanations about the format, layout, and ways to best use the resource.

The Key Format Components

Gather Up

As the teens arrive for each session, first impressions say everything about how you are prepared to welcome them. In addition to creating a warm, teen-friendly environment, most lessons will include an activity to engage teens directly and move their mindset toward the more organized structure of the lesson. Because teens occasionally arrive late, this activity is intentionally designed so that a teen may arrive during or after it without being lost or behind during the remaining session time.

Warm Up

As you and your group transition from the active or welcoming part of Gather Up, you want to prime the pump of your teens’ hearts and minds. This usually happens in an activity that helps them to focus on the subject of the lesson. The activity is meant to be short and to engage and set up what comes next.

Look Up

This section is the direct teaching time of the lesson. Included is the teaching outline, which correlates with the student journal activities, as well as some background and additional information to help teach a concise lesson. You will notice that the Look Up section rarely ever finishes a lesson or puts a bow on it, so to speak.