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no one, other than Jesus Himself, has taught me more about falling in love with Jesus through His Word than anne graham lotz. billy graham’s daughter, anne, is hands down my favorite Bible teacher, mainly because she stands on the truth of God’s Word alone. her personal stories are few, her opinions are kept to herself, and her goal is to simply make much of Jesus.

i have attended her workshops around the country and spent a long quality weekend with her at the billy graham training center, the cove. it is through her Holy Spirit inspired teaching that i developed my version of reading and studying God’s Word. (you can find out more about her method here.)

it was after leaving my last session with her at the cover i thought, why do we wait for adults to learn this. why don’t we teach this method to kids. the questions i get second to what Bible a parent should buy their child, is what devotional book i think is best. well, my answer these days is God’s Word alone, and the C.L.A.P. method.

anne totally doesn’t call it that, she calls it three questions (because she is classier than me), but as i began to teach it to a senior high small group of girls, these are the abbreviation letter i gave and instantly one of them said “CLAP.” it was such an amazing time of digging into God’s Word with the senior high girls, i knew it is something i wanted to teach families. so, i have been doing so for years now.

i schedule this as a two week class where families attend together. they bring their Bible and i provide the practice sheets which i have attached below. i walk through step “C” and “L” in week one and step “A” and “P” in the last class. we usually do a passage together and then the other sheets are for them to practice at home.

as i lead this class i am constantly amazed afresh about the living nature and personal power of God’s Word. i am also blown away by how he can speak so specifically different to each family all while staying true to the passage. i think i get more from teaching this class than others do attending. it is a mini reveal each time.

i am attaching the sheet that explains how i teach C.L.A.P. and then two practice sheets i give families. i print these sheets on 11×17 paper (front side only) and fold them in half and put them in a 3 brad pocket folder. this gives them plenty of room to word.

 

C.L.A.P. explanation worksheet
practice worksheet #1
practice worksheet #2

 

i hope this is helpful. i would love to know how you help families study God’s Word. share in the comment section.

over a year-and-a-half ago, the dawson kids team began to contact and pray through our kids ministry investors and families. the truth this, we can only connect so much in a hallway on a sunday morning or at an event. our goal was to reach people where they are (whether they are consistently attending or haven’t been in a while) and ask “how can our staff lift up your family?” it’s a simple question. not all respond, but when they do we are allowed an opportunity for greater impact.

in our weekly dawson kids staff meeting we share the prayer requests and then pause to specifically pray for each of them. we follow up each prayer time with a hand -written note.

i understand this isn’t revolutionary, but it has greatly deepened the conversations we have with parents and volunteers in our busy hallways. i would love to hear how you surround your families and leaders in prayer. share ideas in the comment section.

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