when youth dig deep: how the eyewitness bible series surprised me

When Taelor first asked me to help with youth, I said yes because I love our students (especially the middle to high school variety; I fare much better with them than the small children). Sorry, Karri.

I love their questions, their honesty, (their crazy), and their desire to make sense of faith in a world that doesn’t slow down.

But I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting deep biblical study. I wasn’t expecting context, ancient geography, and prophetic connections. I certainly wasn’t expecting them to sit down with Scripture in a way most adults never do.

And I certainly wasn’t expecting to be surprised by what God was already doing in the room.

Growing up, the youth group for me was fun and relational. Definitely a core memory of my childhood, but it wasn’t the kind of space where we opened Scripture with this kind of seriousness.

We didn’t explore the cultural world of the prophets. We didn’t trace the Messianic promises through Isaiah, or sit with the emotional weight of Elizabeth’s story, or talk about how John the Baptist fulfills Malachi. We didn’t handle the Bible the way Derek and Taelor are teaching these students to do: with curiosity, accuracy, and a desire to see Jesus clearly.

I actually started helping with the youth as they were wrapping up the Matt Chandler study on The Apostle's Creed. (I'm sorry, what's that?) I did not hide the fact that they were light years ahead of me in studying the New Testament.

As we finished the study (which was such a rich learning experience for me!!), Taelor shared that we were to be moving into the Eyewitness Bible Series Christmas study. I had never heard of any of this.

Click the image to navigate to the Eye Witness Bible Series Christmas study.

Let me tell you, friends. This video study, with its narrative storytelling, historical framing, and attention to Scripture, I felt something I didn’t expect.

Awe.

Gratitude.

And honestly, pride.

Not the showy kind, but the deep kind. The kind that forms when you watch young men and women wrestle with the Word of God in a way that isn’t watered-down or “youth-group-light.” They’re not being spoon-fed. They’re being invited.

And they’re rising to it.

The Eyewitness Bible Series has been a surprise gift to me. The more I watched (starting with the Christmas Series in preperation for youth group), then spending an entire weekend falling down the rabbit hole of the Kings and Prophets playlist, the more grateful I became for resources that are both creative and biblically anchored.

This series tells the story of Scripture through the eyes of people who were there — Isaiah, a Magi, Elizabeth, Mary’s mother, Joseph, a shepherd — weaving the biblical text with historical and cultural context in a way that makes everything feel more human. More real. More connected to the world Jesus stepped into.

And for students (and me!!!!!), that matters.

The Christmas Series alone spans 10 episodes, starting with prophetic anticipation and ending with the angels’ announcement. It’s not sensationalized. It’s not detached from Scripture. It doesn’t rush through the story like it’s something we’ve all heard a hundred times.

Instead, it slows us down. It gives students back the gift of wonder.

I’ve watched them discover things I didn’t learn until much (much) later in life.

Things I am STILL learning.

I’ve watched them ask questions about priestly divisions, Old Testament prophecy, cultural shame, village dynamics, Roman census demands, and how God weaves purpose into ordinary lives.

I’ve watched them recognize that Elizabeth and Mary weren’t characters but rather women with real fears and real faith.

And I can’t help but feel so proud of them. Proud of the ways they’re choosing to engage Scripture with open minds and open hearts. Proud of the leaders in our church who are guiding them to this place.

I love resources like Eyewitness that stay faithful to the text while providing the cultural and geographical background Scripture assumes we already know.

These aren’t “extra-biblical distractions.” They’re tools that help us understand what the original audience understood.

This is what I want for our students:

To know Scripture.

To love Scripture.

To be shaped by Scripture.

Not the watered-down version but the real thing.

So if you had told me a few months ago that saying yes to helping with youth would lead me into some of the richest biblical conversations I’ve ever had, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are.

God is doing something beautiful in our young people.

And somehow, in the process, He’s preparing us too.

PS: The series below is 20 episodes, traveling through the era of the kings and prophets in scripture. If you watch it, let me know your thoughts!!