Leader’s guide · 13 weeks
Leader’s guide: C. T. Studd (For Teens)
Using this guide with a class? See Ochorus for schools or homeschool families
This guide helps you lead thirteen weekly sessions on C. T. Studd (For Teens), the true story of Charlie Studd: a rich young England cricketer who played in the Test that gave the Ashes its name, joined the Cambridge Seven to go to China, gave away his whole fortune, and at fifty-two went to the heart of Africa to found the mission now known as WEC International. It is written for teens aged about 13 to 18, and works well for a youth group, a homeschool or a small group. The book is honest about both his courage and his faults, so it gives teens a great deal to wrestle with: what gets our best energy, what wholehearted faith looks like, how to give, how to lead and how to disagree without breaking relationships.
Each session takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Open by saying the memory verse together (3 minutes). Read the chapter, either aloud together or at home beforehand (5–10 minutes). Talk through the chapter’s three questions, which come with answers to help you (10–15 minutes). Do the activity (about 10 minutes). Then close by praying the chapter’s prayer, or one of your own (2 minutes).
To prepare, read the chapter yourself beforehand and look over the activity; most weeks need only paper and pens. The book deals frankly with hard history: the indigo trade behind the family fortune, the opium trade, the atrocities of King Leopold’s Congo, colonial forced labour, the deaths of missionaries and Chinese Christians in the Boxer uprising, and the death of two of the Studds’ baby sons. The last chapters also describe bitter quarrels in the mission and Studd’s long use of morphine for pain, which the book handles fairly and without scandal. Speak about Chinese and Congolese people as the book does, as the real builders of their churches rather than a backdrop, keep the group from turning Studd into either a pure hero or a pure villain, and never press anyone to share family conflicts or losses in front of others.
Week 1 — The Squire Who Sold His Horses
Charlie Studd is born in 1860 into a wealthy family whose fortune came from indigo planting in India, worked by peasants often kept in debt. His horse-racing father is changed after hearing D. L. Moody, sells his racehorses and holds meetings at home, to his Eton-schooled sons’ embarrassment, and dies after only two or three years as a Christian. The next summer a visitor asks Charlie whether he is a Christian, and he sees that doubting God’s promise would mean calling God a liar, kneels and gives thanks, and his brothers come to faith too. The big idea: God loves to work through families, and prayers don’t stop counting when the person who prayed them is gone.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.” — Acts 16:31 (ASV)
Memory verse
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31
Talk together
Where did the Studd family’s money come from?
From indigo grown in India, worked by peasants who were often kept in debt. Charlie grew up on money other people had sweated for, and later gave his own share away.
What changed after Edward Studd heard Moody?
He gave up racing, sold most of his horses and opened Tedworth for gospel meetings. His sons were embarrassed and tried to avoid him.
How did Charlie become a Christian in 1878?
A visitor asked whether he believed Christ had died for him and trusted God’s promise of eternal life. He saw that doubting it meant calling God a liar, knelt, and thanked God.
Activity
Who Prayed for You?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Explain that Edward Studd never saw his sons come to faith, but his prayers opened a door.
- Ask everyone to think about who might have prayed for them, and write those names down privately.
- In pairs, plan one question to ask an older Christian this week about how they came to faith and who prayed for them.
- Close by having each person write the name of one family member they will pray for by name every day this week.
Week 2 — Mr Studd at the Oval
After his conversion Charlie goes cold for about six years, letting cricket, not wickedness, crowd out Christ. He becomes one of England’s best cricketers, completing the double in 1882 and playing in the famous Oval Test that Australia won by seven runs, which gave the Ashes their name. The chapter notes how a professional called him “Mr Studd,” a sign of the class deference he took as natural. The big idea: good things are not wrong, but Paul asks why Christians won’t train as hard for a crown that lasts as athletes do for one that fades.
“Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” — 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (ASV)
Memory verse
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
1 Corinthians 9:24–25
Talk together
What happened to Studd at the Oval in 1882?
He was bowled for nought in the first innings and left not out, without facing a ball, when England lost by seven runs. The mock obituary that followed gave the Ashes its name.
What does Peate calling him Mr Studd show?
That English cricket was split by class. Gentlemen were called Mister, and Studd grew up taking deference from older, poorer men as natural.
What was wrong with Studd’s faith in these years, by his own account?
Not unbelief. He never doubted he was saved, but for about six years he let cricket and comfort crowd Christ to the edge of his life.
Activity
Where Does My Best Energy Go?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask everyone to draw a circle and divide it into slices showing roughly how their best hours went last week: sport, games, study, phone, friends, God and so on.
- Without showing their circles, discuss as a group which slices tend to grow without us noticing.
- Read the chapter’s point that Studd never called games sinful but saw that cricket had taken the place of Christ.
- Have each person choose one small, regular thing to give God with the same seriousness, and write it down.
Week 3 — At George’s Bedside
When his brother George falls desperately ill in 1883, Charlie sits at the bedside and realises fame cannot help anyone face God, and is ashamed of how little he has given Christ. George recovers; Charlie hears Moody again, returns to joy and starts telling his friends about Christ. He offers himself to Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission, despite the pleading of his widowed mother and his family, whose fears the chapter treats as loving and not entirely wrong. The big idea: a faith that is never allowed to cost anything is more common than unbelief, and maybe more dangerous.
“But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.” — John 11:4 (ASV)
Memory verse
But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
John 11:4
Talk together
What did Charlie realise at his brother’s bedside?
That fame couldn’t help George at all, and that he himself had given cricket his strength and Christ almost nothing.
Why did his family object to him going to China?
His widowed mother, his brother Kynaston and his friends feared for his life and thought it a waste. They were loving fears, and not foolish ones.
What was the real problem with his faith before 1883, as he later described it?
He had been truly converted, but his faith had never been allowed to cost him anything.
Activity
Fame or Glory?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Write “Fame” and “Glory” as two headings and read the chapter’s line: “Fame is what people give you. Glory is God being seen.”
- As a group, list things people chase under each heading.
- Discuss how Charlie’s family’s fears could be both loving and an obstacle, and how he handled it.
- Ask everyone to write down privately one thing they would want to have done if they had only a year left, and one small step toward it.
Week 4 — Seven Young Men
Seven well-connected young men, among them Studd, the rower Stanley Smith and the officer Dixon Hoste, offer themselves to the China Inland Mission and become known as the Cambridge Seven. Their farewell tour packs halls, and Kynaston’s retelling later helps inspire John R. Mott and the Student Volunteer Movement. The chapter reminds readers of the hundreds of ordinary, uncelebrated missionaries who went too, and notes that early fame may have made Studd trust his own judgement too much. The big idea: “Here I am! Send me” comes from someone who has seen God’s holiness, and God’s work runs mainly on people nobody writes books about.
“And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.” — Isaiah 6:8 (ASV)
Memory verse
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isaiah 6:8
Talk together
Who were the Cambridge Seven?
Seven young men from Britain’s ruling class, including Studd, who joined the China Inland Mission and sailed for China in February 1885.
Why was Hudson Taylor careful about their fame?
He didn’t want them made into heroes or young people to go out of excitement, so he made them ordinary beginners like everyone else.
What risk did the publicity carry for Studd?
From the age of twenty-four he was admired in public, which made it easy to start trusting his own judgement too much.
Activity
The Unsung List
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to list every job that has to happen for your church or youth group to meet each week.
- Next to each job, write the name of the person who does it, if anyone knows.
- Discuss why the Cambridge Seven were celebrated and the hundreds of others were not.
- Have each person choose one name from the list to thank in person this week, specifically.
Week 5 — In Chinese Dress
In Shanghai the Seven put on Chinese clothes and the men wear the queue, following Hudson Taylor’s belief that missionaries should come as guests and learners. The chapter explains the shame of Britain’s opium trade and introduces Pastor Xi Shengmo, a former opium addict who ran refuges for addicts, showing that Chinese Christians were already leading the work. Studd, a star at home, becomes a beginner who struggles with the language, and he takes some of Taylor’s ideas but not enough of his patience. The big idea: like Paul, a messenger should be willing to change his own ways so that nothing gets in the way of the gospel.
“For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.” — 1 Corinthians 9:19 (ASV)
Memory verse
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
1 Corinthians 9:19
Talk together
Why did the Mission’s workers wear Chinese clothes?
So they would come as guests and learners, not as a ruling race. Many Europeans mocked it, which was partly the point.
Who was Xi Shengmo?
A Confucian scholar and former opium addict who became a Christian, ran refuges for addicts and was recognised as a pastor. The church in Shanxi was being led by Chinese Christians like him.
What did Studd not take enough of from Hudson Taylor?
Taylor’s patience and his willingness to consult others, including Chinese colleagues.
Activity
Being the Beginner
You will need: Nothing
- Ask if anyone in the group can teach a skill, a few words of another language, or a game from another culture that others don’t know.
- Give two or three volunteers two minutes each to teach the group something while everyone else is a beginner.
- Discuss how it felt to be the learner, and why Hudson Taylor wanted missionaries to come as learners.
- Talk about one place this week where each person could listen more than they talk.
Week 6 — Treasure in a Field
When Charlie inherits his share of the family fortune, he takes Jesus’ words to the rich young man as meant for him and, around January 1887, gives nearly all of it away. The best-known gifts go to D. L. Moody, George Müller, George Holland in Whitechapel and Frederick Booth-Tucker of the Salvation Army in India, all men who lived by faith among the poor. He keeps about £3,400 for a future wife, and the chapter notes he still had family connections that money couldn’t give away. The big idea: the man in Jesus’ parable sells everything “in his joy,” because he has found a treasure worth more.
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” — Matthew 13:44 (ASV)
Memory verse
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44
Talk together
Who received Studd’s best-known gifts?
Moody, George Müller, George Holland in Whitechapel, and Frederick Booth-Tucker of the Salvation Army in India, about £5,000 each. All of them lived by faith among the poor.
What couldn’t Studd give away?
His position as an English gentleman with a well-connected family behind him, which later made it harder for him to understand people without that safety net.
What do the words “in his joy” tell us about Studd’s gift?
He didn’t see it as a loss but as the best bargain of his life, and he never regretted it.
Activity
Wise or Reckless?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Divide the group into two sides: one argues that giving away the whole fortune was wise, the other that investing it would have been wiser.
- Give each side three minutes to prepare its best case from the chapter, then present.
- Discuss: what does it mean that the man in the parable acted “in his joy”?
- Challenge everyone to give something away this week that actually costs them, quietly and gladly, without posting about it.
Week 7 — Scilla
Priscilla Stewart, called Scilla, is one of the Hundred who sail to China in 1887, a missionary in her own right before she becomes a wife. She and Charlie marry in Chinese dress before a Chinese pastor, and she gives the money he kept for her to the Salvation Army. They work in hostile Lungan, where Scilla reaches women Charlie cannot, four daughters are born and two baby sons die, and in 1894 broken health sends them home before the Boxer uprising kills many missionaries and far more Chinese Christians. The big idea: like Priscilla and Aquila, Scilla was a fellow worker with her own call, not just someone’s helper.
“Salute Prisca and Aquila my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” — Romans 16:3-4 (ASV)
Memory verse
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
Romans 16:3–4
Talk together
What did Scilla do with the money Charlie set aside for her?
She gave all £3,400 to the Salvation Army, so that they would start married life depending on God alone.
Why is it important that she came to China before she married?
She was a missionary with her own call and gifts, one of the Hundred, not just a missionary’s wife.
Who carried the greatest risk for the church in Shanxi?
Chinese Christians. They ran refuges, worked with foreigners at their own risk, and in 1900 many died for their faith, while missionaries could go home.
Activity
What Each One Brings
You will need: Paper and pens
- List together what Charlie brought to their work and what Scilla brought.
- Discuss why the partner who is noticed less often gets left out of the story.
- Ask each person to think of a couple, a pair of friends or a team they know who carry something together.
- Have them write a short note to those people naming what each one brings, to give or send this week.
Week 8 — Why Not Go Himself?
Back in England in poor health, Studd serves faithfully for years, speaking on American campuses and pastoring a church in India. In 1908 a missionary speaker in Liverpool leaves him asking why no Christians had gone to central Africa, and why he shouldn’t go himself. Against medical advice and with Scilla opposed, he goes, parts ways with the Africa Inland Mission within weeks and forms his own Heart of Africa Mission, while Scilla bravely takes over its work at home. The big idea: sending is not a solo act, and common sense and the counsel of others can be God speaking too.
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?” — Romans 10:14-15 (ASV)
Memory verse
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:14–15
Talk together
What did Studd do between leaving China and going to Africa?
He toured American colleges for about eighteen months and pastored a church for the British at Ootacamund in India, then came home ill in 1906.
What happened when he joined the Africa Inland Mission?
He was accepted, then asked for changes to its constitution. When the council refused, both sides agreed to end his membership within weeks.
How did Scilla respond after he went?
Though she had opposed it and was ill, she ran the mission at home, its letters, money and recruits, and spoke all over Britain.
Activity
Two Honest Opinions
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read out the reasons Studd had not to go: his age, his asthma, no money, no mission, and his wife’s opposition.
- In pairs, one plays Studd and the other plays a wise friend who disagrees; have them talk it through for three minutes.
- Swap roles and repeat.
- Ask everyone to write down two people they trust whom they could ask for an honest opinion before their next big decision.
Week 9 — Bwana at Niangara
In 1913 Studd and young Alfred Buxton make a nine-month journey to Niangara in the Belgian Congo, a land scarred by King Leopold’s regime of forced labour and killing. The diary of Hayes Perkins records Studd calling himself Bwana, “master,” and suggests mission workers were required to attend prayers, while Buxton did the preaching in the local language. The chapter stresses that the people of the Uele made their own choices about the gospel, and that Congolese believers became evangelists themselves. The big idea: we preach Christ as Lord, not ourselves, and you can give away a fortune and still expect to be in charge.
“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” — 2 Corinthians 4:5 (ASV)
Memory verse
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2 Corinthians 4:5
Talk together
Why did the people of the Uele have reason to be wary of Studd?
They had suffered slave raids, conquest and the terror of Leopold’s Congo Free State, and white men had arrived uninvited before.
What did Hayes Perkins notice about Studd’s name and preaching?
Studd called himself Bwana, meaning master, and it was Buxton, not Studd, who preached in Bangala.
Who decided whether a church would grow?
The Congolese people themselves, who chose whether to listen and believe, and some of whom became evangelists.
Activity
Boss or Servant?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to name settings where teens are sometimes the one in charge: a team, a group chat, a younger sibling, a project.
- For each one, describe together what “acting like the boss” and “acting like a servant” would look like.
- Discuss why the chapter says faith has to be freely chosen, not required in return for wages.
- Have each person pick one setting this week where they will do one thing that serves instead of directs.
Week 10 — The Chocolate Soldier
Home in wartime England, Studd writes The Chocolate Soldier, a fierce tract against Christians who melt at the first touch of hardship, and also the gentler Christ’s Etceteras. The chapter weighs the tract’s real power against its troubling borrowing of the recruiting sergeant’s contempt, and its lack of any word for ordinary believers with families and debts. In 1916 he returns to the Congo, never to see England again, working exhaustingly and with little patience for weakness in others. The big idea: a good soldier of Christ serves a Saviour who came to serve, and Jesus also loves ordinary, scared, slow Christians.
“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.” — 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (ASV)
Memory verse
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
2 Timothy 2:3–4
Talk together
What is a chocolate soldier, in Studd’s tract?
A toy that melts in the heat: a Christian who looks like a soldier of Christ but gives way at the first hardship.
What is troubling about the tract?
It uses the shame of wartime recruiting to recruit for Christ, praises the war without its horror, and shows no understanding for ordinary people with families and debts.
How was Christ’s Etceteras different?
It was humble, describing his mission as small helpers filling the gaps. It became the seed of the mission’s rules.
Activity
Courage and Compassion
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read out the idea of a “chocolate soldier” who melts as soon as things get hot.
- In small groups, write one sentence of the tract’s message that you agree with, and one thing you would add for Christians who are scared or struggling.
- Share and discuss how courage and compassion can go together.
- Ask everyone to think privately of someone they have judged as weak or lazy, and plan to ask them one honest question this week.
Week 11 — The Church in the Forest
Studd moves to Ibambi among the Budu people, in a land weighed down by colonial taxes and forced labour, where many hear the gospel as good news for themselves. The chapter tells the story from the Congolese side: most people heard from relatives, neighbours and Congolese evangelists, who were paid by their own churches, and unnamed Congolese speakers helped put the Bible into their own languages. The church survived war and rebellion and today is a large church led by Congolese Christians. The big idea: the word of the Lord sounded forth from the Congolese believers themselves, not just from the missionary.
“For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything.” — 1 Thessalonians 1:8 (ASV)
Memory verse
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
1 Thessalonians 1:8
Talk together
Who did most of the preaching that spread the church in the forest?
Congolese evangelists and believers, who walked to distant villages, often supported by their own churches.
Why did Studd want the Congolese church to pay its own evangelists?
So they would belong to the Congolese church, not be employees of the mission. It was also a real burden on poor Christians under colonial tax.
What does it mean that the church learned to survive his severity?
Studd’s harshness reached Africans too, yet the Congolese church kept the gospel and grew, and still lasts as CECCA 16.
Activity
Retell It the Other Way Round
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group how most missionary stories they have heard are told, and from whose point of view.
- In small groups, retell part of this chapter in a few sentences from the point of view of a Congolese evangelist or a believer who helped put the Bible into the local language.
- Read the retellings aloud and discuss what changes when the story is told this way.
- Pray together, thanking God for believers around the world whose names we will never know.
Week 12 — A Sharp Contention
In the 1920s the mission, now the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade, spreads to new countries but is torn by conflict as Studd demands total commitment and treats disagreement as disloyalty. He dismisses his devoted son-in-law Alfred Buxton for trying to make peace, though their bond of love was never broken. Separated from Scilla for twelve years, he sees her only once more before she dies in 1929. The big idea: like Paul and Barnabas, Christians can have sharp disagreements, and disagreeing with someone you love isn’t betrayal; sometimes it’s the most loyal thing you can do.
“And there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus” — Acts 15:39 (ASV)
Memory verse
And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
Acts 15:39
Talk together
Why did Studd dismiss Alfred Buxton?
Alfred thought some criticisms were fair and went to America in 1927 to repair friendships. Studd saw that as disloyalty.
What did the twelve-year separation cost Studd and Scilla?
She carried illness and heavy work without him, and he lost the one person who could tell him the truth and be heard.
What does the story of Paul, Barnabas and Mark suggest about Christian quarrels?
They happen even among good people, and God is not defeated by them. Mark, once refused, later became useful to Paul.
Activity
Disagree Well
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read out a few low-stakes disagreements, such as which film to watch or how to split a group project.
- In pairs, act out disagreeing about one of them in a way that keeps the friendship strong.
- As a group, list what helped: tone, listening, words used.
- Ask everyone to consider privately whether there is someone they’ve fallen out with, and to write a short message saying the relationship still matters, to send if it is wise.
Week 13 — Hallelujah
In his final years Studd suffers asthma, illness and severe pain, and takes morphine regularly on a doctor’s advice; the chapter weighs the criticism fairly. The London committee moves to remove him, the mission splits, and he loves the lines “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” He dies at Ibambi in 1931, reportedly saying “Hallelujah,” and is buried by a great crowd of Congolese Christians, after which Norman Grubb rebuilds the mission. The big idea: Studd stumbled and hurt people but kept the faith, and we can give our one life to Christ with his courage and more love than he managed.
“For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” — 2 Timothy 4:6-7 (ASV)
Memory verse
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:6–7
Talk together
How does this book judge Studd’s use of morphine?
Fairly: he took it for real, severe pain, never hid it, and long use brings physical dependence that isn’t a moral failure. It may have affected his temper, but that can’t be known.
Was the London committee simply wrong to try to remove him?
No. They had real reasons and real responsibility. But Studd, who had never learned to be led, could not accept it, and the mission split.
What does his funeral show?
That the Congolese Christians he served, who had known his severity, also knew his love and came in great numbers to honour him.
Activity
Only One Life
You will need: Cards and pens
- Read out the two lines Studd loved: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
- Discuss the chapter’s warning against remembering him only as a hero or only as a problem.
- Give everyone a card to copy the two lines onto.
- Underneath, have them write privately one way they want to give their life to Christ and one person they need to love better while they do it.