Transformed by Truth: Why and How to Study the Bible for Yourself as a Teen, a new book by Katherine Forster, releases from Crossway today!
Forster wrote Transformed by Truth in response to a lack of resources for serious Bible study for teens. More importantly, however, she wanted to combat the low expectations that the world and sometimes even the church has for teens and their Bible reading. She writes,
What the world doesn’t tell you is that “right now” is exactly when Bible study is important. We can’t wait until we’re older. These teen years are formative. They’re the foundation for who we’re going to be for the rest of our lives.
Teens need to be seriously engaged and invested in God’s Word now. We can’t just wait until we’re older.
From Bible Memory to Book Publishing
Transformed by Truth was years in the making.
While Forster started writing the book in early 2018, the seeds were planted long before that. From 2009 through 2017, she participated in the National Bible Bee, a yearly competition involving intense Bible study and memorization. In 2013, she won first place in the Junior division (she wrote about that experience, and her other years competing, on TheReb here).
Memorizing and studying that much Scripture changed her life. It taught her how God uses his Word to change lives. And she realized she wanted that for other teens, too.
The Reb and The Young Writer
In early 2017, having only published a few articles on TheReb, Forster was asked to join the team as an editor. She was thrilled, and accepted.
Around the same time, she also joined Brett and Jaquelle’s program, the Young Writer’s Workshop. She was working on a proposal for a book on Bible study for teens, and reached out to Brett and Jaquelle for help. Brett took an interest in the project, and coached her through the complex processes of book publishing. With his and Jaquelle’s help, Forster eventually signed a book deal with Crossway.
She credits her position at TheReb with helping her grow as a writer, editor, and a person, and her participation in YWW with helping her gain the skills and knowledge she needed to publish a book. Ultimately, however, God gets the glory for all of it. “God could have picked anyone to write this book, but he decided to use me, and I’m thankful.”
Lifelong Journey
At TheReb, our team is passionate about teens’ spiritual growth. An essential part of that is God’s Word. We need to be reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible now–and for the rest of our lives.
The Christian life is a journey, and we need Christ every second of the way. The Scripture you memorize and study now is not only the spiritual food you need for today, but it’s transforming you more and more into Christ’s likeness, affecting the person you’ll become.
You can pick up a copy of Transformed by Truth from Crossway, Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or your favorite online retailer.
