Attendees participate in the Youth Bible Curriculum training hosted by DMAH and Salt & Light.

Saturday, June 27 marked an important milestone for youth discipleship in Lebanon as Thimar-LSESD’s Dar Manhal al Hayat (DMAH) and Salt & Light ministries officially launched a new Youth Bible Curriculum, the fruit of nearly five years of development by author and Executive Director of the Lebanese Evangelical Society Toni Haddad.

The launch gathered 55 participants representing 19 churches from across Lebanon, including Brethren, Baptist, Apostolic, and non-denominational congregation leaders. Church leaders, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, Bible teachers, parents, and disciple-makers came together with one shared conviction: the next generation needs more than programs; it needs intentional, biblical formation.

More than simply introducing a new curriculum, the day served as a Training of Trainers, equipping those who minister to teenagers with both practical tools and a renewed vision for discipleship in an increasingly complex world.

A Curriculum for a Critical Season

Designed for young people between the ages of 14 and 19, the curriculum addresses the defining questions every teenager asks while navigating one of life’s most formative stages. Rather than beginning with behavior, the curriculum begins with identity and God’s redemptive story. Students journey through three interconnected units:

• From Where – Discovering our origin and creation story, understanding who we are because of the God who created us.
• To Where – Looking ahead to our eternal hope and everlasting life with Jesus Christ.
• How to Live in Between – Learning to navigate morality, values, relationships, identity, technology, and the everyday challenges facing today’s youth.

Together, these three units help students understand not only where they come from and where they are going, but also how to faithfully follow Christ in the present.

Raising Leaders of Conscience

Throughout the training, Haddad repeatedly emphasized that the Church’s calling is far greater than helping young people simply fit in or behave well.

“We are not raising followers of trends,” he said. “We are raising leaders of conscience.”

In a culture constantly shaped by social media, digital influence, and shifting values, Christian leaders are called to develop young people whose convictions are grounded in God’s truth rather than the latest cultural movement.

Drawing from Proverbs 27:23, Haddad reminded participants that effective ministry begins by truly knowing the people entrusted to our care. Understanding today’s teenagers as well as their fears, questions, struggles, and aspirations is essential if we are to disciple them well.

“Youth are not problems to be solved,” he said. “They are stories waiting to be understood.”

From Behavioral Modification to Spiritual Formation

One of the central themes of the day was the distinction between behavioral modification and spiritual formation. Rather than focusing merely on changing outward behavior, Christian discipleship seeks the transformation of the heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. Haddad explained that adolescence is a unique developmental season. Because the frontal cortex continues developing well into early adulthood, teenagers often experience emotions intensely before they are able to process situations with mature reasoning. This reality calls for patience, wisdom, and grace from those who disciple them.

Some young people need us to speak to their hearts. Others need us to engage their minds. Effective discipleship requires both compassion and discernment.

Living Faithfully in a Digital Babylon

A recurring image throughout the training was that of “Digital Babylon.” Today’s youth are surrounded by an environment saturated with technology, constant connectivity, competing worldviews, and endless digital voices. Rather than retreating from this reality, the Church must prepare young people to live faithfully within it.

The conversation naturally extended to the rise of Artificial Intelligence. While AI offers remarkable opportunities, Haddad reminded participants that it is ultimately a tool that amplifies what already exists. Technology itself is not neutral in its effects. It can strengthen wisdom or amplify deception.

In an age where information is abundant and attention spans continue to shrink, young people need more than access to knowledge; they need well-formed consciences capable of discerning truth from subjective realities. AI can easily give sophisticated language to false ideas, making discernment more necessary than ever. The Church’s task, therefore, is not simply to provide information but to cultivate biblical wisdom so that young people are not carried away by alternate truths.

Ministering in the Post-Truth Era

The training also explored the realities of what many describe as the post-truth era: a culture where feelings increasingly become the final authority and objective truth is often questioned. When feelings replace truth as the ultimate reference point, identity becomes unstable, belonging becomes measured by appearance and popularity, and relationships risk becoming numerical rather than deeply personal.

Haddad highlighted the connection many studies have found between heavy social media consumption, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Ironically, while today’s generation has unprecedented digital connectedness, many young people feel profoundly unknown. The curriculum responds to these realities by continually directing students back to the unchanging truths of Scripture and the secure identity found in Christ.

As participants reflected together, one powerful observation emerged: if our origin is viewed as accidental, our destiny inevitably becomes uncertain and fearful. But when young people understand that they are intentionally created by God and called according to His purposes, they discover hope, direction, and confidence.

Redeeming the Time

Another major emphasis came from Paul’s exhortation to make the best use of the time because the days are evil. Young people were never created merely to consume content or chase temporary happiness. Scripture teaches that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.

True happiness, Haddad explained, is not found in endless self-gratification but in discovering and living out God’s calling. Rather than simply asking how to make teenagers happy, Christian leaders are called to help them align their desires with God’s purposes for their lives.

Preparing Hearts Before Lessons

The day concluded with a reminder that effective teaching begins long before entering the classroom. Curriculum matters. Sound theology matters. Good teaching methods matter. Yet above all, God works through leaders whose own hearts have first been prepared in prayer. The greatest lesson students receive is not merely the material that is taught but the life of the one who teaches it.

As participants left equipped with new resources, practical tools, and renewed vision, there was a shared sense that this curriculum is far more than another educational resource. It is a strategic investment in the next generation, helping young people understand where they come from, where they are going, and how to live faithfully for Christ in the challenging years in between.

Through this partnership between Salt & Light and Dar Manhal al Hayat, the prayer is that churches across Lebanon will be increasingly equipped to raise not merely knowledgeable young adults, but faithful disciples and courageous leaders of conscience for the glory of God.

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