Youth Bibles Road Test

The Soul Survivor Bible (New International Version - NIV )

Hodder and Stoughton

For many young people, Soul Survivor is more important to their spiritual journey than reading their Bible! The Soul Survivor Bible seeks to help young people connect with scripture and affirms their commitment as an organisation to connecting young people with the word of God. This is a youth Bible that has everything you would expect - with contributions from Andy Croft, Jason Gardner, David Westlake, Danielle Strickland and many other names associated with the Soul Survivor festivals. There are also comments from young people, identifying favourite verses.

The NIV is a widely used translation but feels most appropriate for use with young people seeking to move forward in their faith and grapple seriously with God’s word. The design gives a contemporary feel though the lack of colour inside does make the text feel intimidating in places.

there are three ‘guided tours’ – story-lines, journeys and threads – which offer hugely helpful starting points for navigating the Bible

Each book is introduced with information about when it was written, who we believe wrote it, a brief summary and an explanation of the importance of reading it. The book is then interspersed with reflections, comments and explanatory commentaries which are useful both for personal study and for the youth worker preparing for Bible-based teaching.

For an individual tackling the Bible for the first time there are three ‘guided tours’ – storylines, journeys and threads – which offer hugely helpful starting points for navigating the Bible. Several ‘life issues’ are identified such as sexism, natural disasters and depression, and the reader is directed to parts of the Bible that can help us think about these things. While this Bible does not offer anything particularly new for group study, I have seen it be highly effective in encouraging individuals to engage with scripture. This Bible has become our gift to all young people who join our youth ministry as we see it as an important tool in our aim to effectively equip young people to engage with the word of God.

Dan Crouch is a youth worker in the Parish of Keynsham.

Anglicized Student St udy Bible (ESV version)

Harper Collins

This is a beefy Bible! At first I have to admit I was put off by the size of it – it’s massive. This is probably because I am so used to my pocket one which comes with me e v e r y w h e r e . Looking at this one, I knew that within two weeks it would be scuffed and ripped.

New Christians or young people who want to get stuck into the Bible would love it as it gives the answers to a lot of questions they may have

However, I do like it. I used it within a few settings: one-to-one discipleship, a group session, and preparation for preaching. During all these occasions the Bible had something different to give: the study notes in the oneto- one session, the ‘did you know’ bits for the group discussion or the maps, concordance and introduction of the books for the preach. I think all these sections would be excellent for teenagers. New Christians or young people who want to get stuck into the Bible would love it as it gives the answers to a lot of questions they may have. It looks great too - easy to find what you’re looking for and having the other sections in colour helps bring it alive. My only concern is the ESV translation. I personally find the ESV hard to read; I would prefer to use the New Living Translation. However, I did a quick survey and eight out of the ten young people I asked would swap their current Bibles in favour for this one.

Aaron Smith is the youth worker at Duke Street Church, Sutton Coldfield.

New Living Translation State of Grace metal Bible

Tyndale

The New Living Translation has been around for a while now and, in my mind, it sits mid-way between p a r a p h r a s e d Message and the fairly standard NIV. That’s a good thing. I’ve owned my own NLT for a year, and although it’s not the translation I personally choose to use, it is my go-to Bible people (15-and 16-year-olds) prefer the NLT over the NIV / CEV, recognising that it is easy to read without over-simplifying and losing meaning.

The Bible itself looks as though it would be completely at home in the hands of an 11-year old boy in any youth group in the US with its metal cover, license plate image on the front (‘4-GVN’) from the ‘State of Grace’ and citing 1 Corinthians 13:7: ‘Love never gives up’. That said though, it seems quite cool, and I haven’t seen one like it in the ‘youth and teen’ Bible section before. My young people weren’t exactly besotted with the style, but at least it isn’t all black leather and gold-gilded pages. It’s worth noting that the metal cover isn’t great; any pressure on the Bible (being in the bottom of a bag, for example) causes the edges to slide past one another and the metal to bend.

Although it’s not the translation I personally choose to use, it is my go-to Bible for anything youth-oriented!

Other than that, the Bible is a Bible, A5-sized, nice pages, clear text but not much room for notes.

There are no ‘special’ sections that teens might find useful and no suggested reading plans either. I found it quite hard to enjoy reading it as the pages are hard to turn in their metal casing. I’d give the Bible to a 12- or 13-year-old new Christian young man, along with some advice on how and what to read. Hopefully the novelty of a ‘cool-looking’ Bible, and the clear language it uses, would entice him to get to know the word of God, to love it… and then to buy a leather version.

Claire Stoney is a youth leader for a church in the north of Bristol.

NLT Teen Life Application Study Bible Tynd ale I used this Bible on a daily basis for about a month in groups, drop-ins and Bible studies, and I can’t really fault it. It’s a departure from text-on-top, noteson- the-bot tom study Bibles: the editors have done a stellar job at creating notes that complement rather than eclipse the biblical text. There are short paragraphs at the bottom of every second or third page which draw out ideas in the text, as well as answers to common questions, half-page character profiles, and testimonies. The great thing about these features is that they consistently aim to provoke questions in the reader, rather than just provide easy answers and Bible trivia. All of this is on the foundation of the excellent New Living Translation text, which strikes a pleasing balance between readable and accurate.

the editors have done a stellar job at creating notes that complement rather than eclipse the biblical text

The only issues I had were purely aesthetic. I didn’t really like the font - it’s sans-serif and gets taxing on the eyes the longer you read. The cover made some of my teenagers think it was more of a girls’ Bible – however, other covers are available with the same content inside. And from time-to-time in the notes, you catch a whiff of middle-aged evangelicals trying to sound like they’re totally hip and down with the kids – though it’s impressive how rarely that comes across. This is a great youth Bible, one of the most convincingly compiled ones I’ve seen. I would cheerfully give it five stars, and I’ve already ordered a bunch of them for my home Bible study.

Daniel Sturgeon is the youth pastor at Alva Baptist Church, Scotland.

NIV Backpack Bible

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

I found the Backpack Bible easy to carry around and small and light enough to take anywhere. I liked the references at the bottom of some of the pages that link different passages together because it helped me understand what I was reading more. Jesus’ words are in red – it shows that they are important, but it was sometimes annoying because it can be hard to read something that is written in different colours. The Bible is also quite tough – I can be really clumsy and I haven’t managed to damage it (yet). It’s mostly easy to read but it would help if there were a few notes at the bottom or at the back of the book to explain the meaning of some things instead of just references. I liked the ribbon that’s used as a bookmark because it’s really useful to have. It’s also easier than a normal bookmark as it’s attached to the Bible so you really can’t lose it. My mum says lots of Bibles have that sort of bookmark, though.

I can be really clumsy and I haven’t managed to damage it (yet)

The design on the outside is cool because it related to its purpose. The ‘ichthus’ symbol in the camouflage design was really clever but some people might think the camouflage design is a little corny. However, it’s available in different designs which means more people will be likely to buy it. Two criticisms, though: it claims to be a ‘lay flat’ Bible, but it doesn’t. Maybe I need to read it more and wear it in but it only lies flat when I read the middle pages. And it is expensive: £20. In the US they are advertised at about $16. Hmm… I still like it, though.

Lucy Hicks is a year 9 at Emmanuel Church in Guildford.

Soul Survivor Bible in a year

Hodder and Stoughton

For those who don’t know – the Soul Survivor Bible In a Year is like a normal Bible, but remixed. For example, on day one (September 1st), you have Genesis chapter one, an extract from the beginning of Matthew, and a Psalm. It follows on from this, with each day giving you an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage and a Psalm.

this is a fantastic tool for introducing young people to the Bible

When I first handed out the Bibles to the group, the resounding feeling was: ‘This is a bit weird’. It does certainly take a bit of getting used to, seeing the Bible re-jigged in this way. But after a few minutes, and having explained about the way it is structured, they seemed less concerned – and happily got on with reading the passages for day one.

A couple of months in, and I am delighted to say that the two boys in our group are still going strong. I’m not sure why the boys have taken to it (and not the girls) – this could be mere coincidence, or something to do with their personalities perhaps. It could also be to do with the straightforward structure, and the challenge element to keeping it up. I must admit that I have spectacularly failed in working my way through it – but this has more to do with the fact that I was in the middle of a different book when I began (honest!).

There is little to distinguish this ‘youth’ version from other NIV Bibles in a year – apart from a few jazzy pictures on the front cover, and an introductory page from Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft. It would be amazing to see the Soul Survivor Youth Bible and the Soul Survivor Bible In a Year combined at some point. All in all – I’d say this is a fantastic tool for introducing young people to the Bible, and for providing them with a simple format for daily reading.

Phoebe Thompson is the editor of Youthwork.

New Living Translation Backpack Bible

Tyndale

When I first saw this Bible I have to confess that the superficial girl inside me got excited by the funky little zip it has going on! And, more significantly, the fact that, finally, here is a Bible that I know the boys among our youth group would actually consider being seen with! At the risk of gender-stereotyping, the colours are the manliest I’ve seen on a ‘modern’ Bible in a while; there are many pink, sparkly versions but fewer it seems for the boys.

finally, here is a Bible that I know the boys IN our youth group would actually consider being seen with!

The translation is great – a personal favourite of ours for ease of understanding and relevance without straying too far from the more well-known (to my generation anyway) NIV. We often choose to use the NLT along with The Message, the most accessible. This particular little Bible has very few extra features, it is the Bible: plain and simple. The only exception is the short ‘historical journey through the Bible’ overview and the ‘You can know God personally’ page at the front. The lack of any extra side-notes, illustrations or explanations beyond this perhaps makes it a less attractive option to give to young people for their own personal reading. Our experience is that having those added extras helps to expand their understanding of, and interest in, what they’ve read, and even guides them to what to read on their own. The font is tiny too - you’ve got to have pretty decent eyesight to read it from far away.

I guess appearance isn’t everything. The zip and cover pattern are eye-catching and fun and the cover is durable. Ultimately though there are probably more youth-friendly Bibles out there for what’s really important: content.

Vicky Miti is A youth worker on a council estate in South Wales.

THE GOSPEL TRUTH

About 50 Bibles are sold every minute.

The Bible, the world’s best-selling book, is also the world’s most shoplifted book.

The last word in the Bible is Amen.

Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible.

Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not contain the word ‘God.’

The word ‘Christian’ appears only three times in the Bible.

Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, and lions 55 times, but domestic cats are not mentioned at all. (This may or may not be theologically significant.)

Authentic Youth Bible

Authentic

Up and down the nation, Bibles are gathering dust on bookshelves. This is not a dustgatherer. From start to finish the Authentic Youth Bible packs a punch. From the start, the c ont empor a r y language of the easy to read translation is flawlessly accessible. Page-by-page, the reader is invited in and given helpful hints along the way to help ‘map the adventure’; never once does this come across as patronising.

At the beginning of each book the context is crucially outlined in a punchy ‘who - when – what’ format, enabling the young people to understand and engage with the text as a whole. Readers are then given unprecedented access to thought provoking Bible studies which vary in depth from ‘dig in’ to ‘dig through’ and finally ‘dig deeper’. The opportunities to lose oneself in scripture are endless.

The topical pages are particularly noteworthy and crucially engage with relevant issues

Never fear – for those Bible reading novices out there, an overview of the Bible is given, in addition to advice on how to get the most out of reading it. A dictionary neatly packs in all those unfamiliar phrases, and both the biblical currency and the weight and measure converters are a great touch.

The topical pages are particularly noteworthy and crucially engage with relevant issues such as peer pressure, the cost of discipleship and prayer. The Authentic Youth Bible is an unmistakably helpful resource, abounding in endless opportunities for your young people to sink their teeth into the word of God.

Ed Wyeth is the youth and students pastor at One Church Brighton