This Bible study is written as part of our church's RSVP 2001 church worker recruitment initiative a recruitment effort to encourage more people to enter full-time church work professions. This encouragement is largely the responsibility of our congregations. We can all identify and encourage those around us whom God has gifted for professional ministry.

We are in the middle of the RSVP program's three-year plan. Last year, the focus was on the role of the family in nurturing church workers. This year's focus is on the role of the congregation in this process. Next year, the focus will be on our church's institutions of higher education (our seminaries and university college).

This Bible study is written for the young people of our congregations, specifically those between the ages of 13 and 18. As the youth leader, you have a unique position. You spend time building relationships with the young people in your group. You see their God-given gifts. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities to encourage your young people. Remember the different church professions: pastor, teacher, and director of parish services (DPS). Talk about them and pray for your young people if you see that God might be gifting some of them to enter the full-time professional ministry of our church.

Study Objectives:
By exploring God's Word in a collaborative setting, each youth will...
- know that God has brought each of us into His body (the church) through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
- understand that all of us in the church are important and need each other.
- realize that some of us are called to be leaders in the church.
- identify ways we can support each other as we work to build up the body.

Materials needed:
Bibles
Blindfolds
Masking Tape
Large Paper
Markers
Post-It Notes

The Week Before the Study:
Telephone or e-mail each young person in your group and let them know that you hope to see them at the Bible study. Arrange any rides that might be needed.

Before They Arrive for the Bible study:
On each Post-It Note, write the name of a body part (i.e. arm, elbow, biceps, chin, eye, little toe, finger nail, knee, heart, liver, eyebrow, ear, shoulder, wrist, nose, hair, etc. Make sure there is one for each person in your group.

On the large piece of paper, draw the outline of a person's body and hang it on the wall with masking tape. You may choose, if your time with the young people is longer, to actually trace someone's body in the class time with those who arrive early or just before you read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.

Think about the obstacles the groups will have to navigate around in the Body Challenge. These obstacles may be a route around the church, a maze of masking tape, or around furniture (or any combination of the above). You should also have a task during the obstacle which the hands have to perform. Examples: shake someone's hand, open a door, or (for the more ambitious) tying a shoe.

If possible, talk to the pastor or church secretary to get a list of the youth and their baptismal birthdays.

Pray that the ears and hearts of your young people will be open to hear God's Word, and that He will use you to accomplish His will in the lives of all who attend.

As They Arrive:
Welcome each person by name as they come in, and find out something exciting or interesting that happened to them during the week. Did they see any movies? Have any tests in school? Work at a job? Show interest in their lives. Also, put a body part Post-It Note on the back of each person.

Part 1: The Body is Brought Together
Opening activity:
Once all the youth arrive, their task is to figure out what their assigned body parts are by asking yes/no questions of each other. They should keep track of how many questions they have to ask before they figure out their identity.

Introduce the topic:
Today we're going to be talking about body parts. God's Word describes the church as the body of Jesus. We're going to look closely at what God's Word has to say about this. First
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

How many bodies are there? One body.
How did we become part of the body? Through our baptism.
Be sensitive if there are young people there who haven't been baptized. God brings people into His body through faith, which is a gift at baptism, but faith is also worked in our lives through the hearing and believing of God's Word - Romans 10:17. This is your opportunity to really hit home the fact that God loved each of us enough to chose us to be part of His body, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Activity:
Have all the youth, with a favourite coloured marker, write the year (and date, if you have the list) they were baptized or came to believe in Jesus on the large body outline. They can do it on the body part they were given when they walked in, or they may choose another, as long as they can tell the group why.

Read Ephesians 4:15

Who is the head of the body? Christ.

Activity:
Have a volunteer put the name of Jesus around the head of the body outline.

Part 2: The Body Works Together

Activity:
Form groups of 4 or 5. If you don't have even groups, you can either vary the tasks, or repeat the activity with different groups, making sure all youth participate at least once:

1. The brain: he/she is blindfolded, and can't use hands, but can talk to and hear any of the other three team members.
2. The eyes: This person can talk to the brain, but can only tell what he/she sees. This person cannot use hands.
3. The hands (two people): These people are blindfolded and can only use their hands when the brain tells them what to do. One person should be the left hand, and the other the right. If you prefer groups of 4, have one person be both hands.
4. The feet: This person is blindfolded. The group can only walk where this person leads them. The feet will lead the group only in the direction the brain says.

Objective: To navigate the obstacle set out by the leader. There should also be some task for the hands to accomplish.

Follow up questions:
What made this activity a challenge?
Why was each member of the team important?
Who was most important? (No one was, but let them debate it and come to this conclusion.)
If all members of the team were brains, hands, feet, or eyes, could you have accomplished the task?
Could you have accomplished the task if you were missing one of the team members?

(Make sure that the youth realize that although the team members were different, they all needed each other to accomplish the task. No one is more important than another.)

Let's see what God's Word says about this. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-26
(either use provided script or have group read straight from scripture)

Questions:
Who made the parts of the body how they are? (God did. It's His plan).
When one part of the body is stronger, the whole body is better for it.
Give an example of how we as a church are stronger because one member has special gifts.
What are the rest of us suppose to do when one part of the body (the church) receives special honour? (rejoice!)
What would Satan want us to do? (become jealous and tear the other down to make us look better.)
Why did God give us our gifts? What are we suppose to do with them?
Ephesians 4:12 We serve together to build up the body, which is a transition into Part 3.

Part 3: The Body Builders

Activity:
Take a marker and write your name somewhere which represents how God might be able to use you. For example: write your name by the mouth if you like calling people on the telephone to remind them about youth class, or your hands if you can draw well and make posters, or with your feet if you can play basketball well and can be a positive role model on your team.

Questions:
How do our bodies stay healthy? (good food, exercise, sleep)

How does the Body of Christ stay healthy? John 6: 26-27 and 35 (Feast on God's Word and sacraments); Hebrews 12:1 (Exercise = running the race, using our faith and our gifts to help build up the whole body.); Psalm 46:10 (Resting in God and His promises.)

How can we make sure we are staying personally healthy in our faith lives?

What are some personal habits we can develop to keep ourselves grounded in God? (Personal devotion time/prayer time/regular worship/sacraments etc.)

How can we make sure we are helping each other stay healthy in our faith lives? (Provide mutual encouragement and accountability.)

If someone doesn't show up for youth, what can we do? If someone has bad habits, how can we help in a loving way?

How can my gift help build up the church? (Answers depend on gifts, but help them see how they can fit into the ministry of the congregation.)

How might you know if God is calling you to full time church work? (God sometimes calls people to become full time workers in His church. Our church has pastors, teachers and directors of parish services who work full-time in the church to help others know more about Jesus.)

How do I know if that's for me? (God gives gifts which fit the job, a desire in our hearts to do the job, and He uses other people to encourage us.)

Closing prayer:
Thank God for making us all part of the body and ask God to make clear to us how He might use us to build up the church.

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Part 1: The Body is Brought Together

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

How many bodies are there?
How did we become part of the body?

Read Ephesians 4:15

Who is the head of the body?

Part 2: The Body Works Together

The Body Challenge

What made this activity a challenge?
Why was each member of the team important?
Who was most important?
If all members of the team were brains, hands, feet, or eyes, could you have accomplished the task?
Could you have accomplished the task if you were missing one of the team members?

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 and Ephesians 4:12

Who made the parts of the body (Christians) how they are?
When one part of the body is stronger, the whole body is better for it.
Give an example of how the church is stronger because one member has special gifts.
What are the rest of us suppose to do when one part of the body (the
church) receives special honour?
What would Satan want us to do?
Why did God give us our gifts?
What are we suppose to do with them?

Part 3: Body Builders

How do our bodies stay healthy?
How does the Body of Christ stay healthy?
John 6: 26-27 and 35, Hebrews 12:1and Psalm 46:10
How can we make sure we are staying personally healthy in our faith lives?
How can we make sure we are helping each other stay healthy in our faith lives?
How can my gifts help build up the church?
How might you know if God is calling you to full-time church work?