• Can you give me a brief summary of the features in the Intersection Teaching Guide?

• The Teaching Guide provides so many options. What is the best way to take advantage of all the material?

• My young people are so different. How can I reach all of them with just one book?

• In a media-driven culture that sells instant gratification, how do I maintain the interest of my teens?

• Our church uses Intersection because the lesson content and themes are so relevant to our youth. Do you ever revisit some of the more important topics?

• How can I best use the Teaching Guide on Sundays when I haven’t had much time to prepare?

• Some of my teachers struggle to draw life applications from the lessons. Can you make suggestions?

• Does Intersection offer daily devotional readings for my youth?

• What does it mean that Intersection is Access-linked?

• The scope and sequence for Intersection covers a wide range of topics and Scripture. How is it developed?

• What are the upcoming units for Intersection?

• What is Smyth & Helwys Premium and why does my church need it?

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Can you give me a brief summary of the features in the Intersection Teaching Guide?
Click here to see an overview of the Intersection Teaching Guide.

The Teaching Guide provides so many options. What is the best way to take advantage of all the material?
The Teaching Guide is structured to provide you with an array of options from which to choose, based on the individual needs of your class. Simply select the options that support your preferred teaching style and the ways your youth best learn.

My young people are so different. How can I reach all of them with just one book?
Intersection recognizes that youth are at different stages in their physical and emotional development. With this in mind, the Intersection Teaching Guide provides flexible teaching options for both older and younger youth that vary in their level of activity and reflection. This allows teachers easily to customize lessons. Whether your group is large or small, younger or older, more active or more reflective, Intersection is flexible enough to fit your needs.

In a media-driven culture that sells instant gratification, how do I maintain the interest of my teens?
Guiding youth toward a deeper faith is a challenging call. Intersection is designed to guide young people on a journey that deepens their faith and prepares them for the future. Many teaching approaches lead youth to view the Bible like they do their parents’ old record albums—boring and of no importance. Often, teenagers lose interest. Other techniques attempt to maintain interest, but in doing so they sacrifice content.

Intersection solves this problem by offering teachers resources that do not force them to choose between strong content and sustained interest. Through its range of relevant topics and meaningful activities, Intersection offers youth the variety they need to deepen their understanding of Scripture and to strengthen their faith. Each Intersection lesson immediately establishes relevance in two ways. In the teacher preparation phase we begin by asking, “Why Does this Matter?” In the actual lesson, we begin with young people so that we gain their interest before moving on to talk about the Bible. The “Talk about Life” portion of the lesson draws teens into the topic and keeps their attention by focusing on their lives and their issues.

With Intersection, youth discover that the experiences of people in the Bible and the decisions they often faced actually are similar to life today. This awareness brings a strong biblical perspective and fresh insight to bear on their issues, equipping teens to make informed and intelligent choices.

Additional relevance can be fostered using the current event connections offered through a NextSunday Premium subscription.

Our church uses Intersection because the lesson content and themes are so relevant to our youth. Do you ever revisit some of the more important topics?
A youth group is like a revolving door that takes six years to complete one rotation. At most, a teen will be active in youth Sunday school for six years, depending on how age groups are divided. In light of this, we’ve developed a curriculum cycle that reflects this rotation by covering a wide array of Scripture readings and related topics that repeats over the course of a cycle. Veteran teachers often recognize and appreciate this approach, which takes some of the guesswork out of teaching. Youth, whether they are in the group for six years or enter somewhere along the way, enjoy the relevant studies that address their issues and needs, while also benefiting from periodically revisiting some of the more important core topics and Bible passages.

How can I best use the Teaching Guide on Sundays when I haven’t had much time to prepare?
The Teaching Guide provides several options for such occasions:

• Use the Teaching Plan located at the bottom of the first page of each session. It offers concise instructions to help you prepare a lesson quickly.

• Use the options with the footprint symbol. We outline a four-step plan in advance for the inevitable occasions when your preparation time is limited.

• Choose the Lo-Prep options located throughout the Teaching Guide.

Some of my teachers struggle to draw life applications from the lessons. Can you make suggestions?
In keeping with our core values, we believe our role is to provide quality biblical content and creative teaching ideas that support and encourage Christian growth. While our team of writers and editors is certainly capable of making life applications, we think that caring adults who work with teenagers know more about their young people and the youth culture in their communities. Developing life applications is best left to parents, caring teachers, and other spiritual mentors whom teens trust and who know their particular needs and issues.

Does Intersection offer daily devotional readings for my youth?
The Youth Pages are the perfect connection between lessons at church and life during the week. In addition to the in-class activities, daily Bible readings followed by insightful questions are provided on the Youth Page for devotional time during the week. The Youth Page consistently offers your teens daily devotional readings without the need to purchase a separate devotional guide they may easily misplace.

What does it mean that Intersection is Access-linked?
Smyth & Helwys is proud to be a distributor of The Access Bible ™. It is the first resource of its kind that is specifically designed for use with a youth Bible study curriculum. Based on the highly-acclaimed New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), The Access Bible ™ offers young people outstanding biblical scholarship, concise Bible notes, and other user-friendly features that bring added meaning to a Bible passage under study. In each lesson the Access-link symbol points teachers and students to Bible notes relevant to that week’s focal Scripture text(s).

With its valuable study tools, The Access Bible ™ maximizes the potential of Intersection and helps youth and teachers discover how rewarding Bible study can be.

The scope and sequence for Intersection covers a wide range of topics and Scripture. How is it developed?
Many factors influence the scope and sequence development. Intersection draws heavily on themes of Advent and Lent during these important seasons in the Christian calendar. Character studies, Old and New Testament book studies, and relevant topical discussions fill out the scope and sequence, making Intersection a broad, well-balanced program of study that provides exceptional variety and outstanding content.

What are the upcoming units for Intersection?
Click here to see future units.