Leader’s guide · 13 weeks
Leader’s guide: The Imitation of Christ (For Teens)
Using this guide with a class? See Ochorus for schools or homeschool families
This guide leads a group of teenagers, aged about 13 to 18, through “The Imitation of Christ (For Teens)” in thirteen weeks, one chapter a week. Thomas à Kempis wrote his little booklets in the 1420s for the young novices in his monastery, so this is a book that was written for young people from the start: blunt, kind and very practical about gossip, temptation, friendship, criticism and peace. It suits a youth group, a homeschool or a small group of any size.
Each session takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Open by saying the memory verse together. Read the chapter, either aloud together or beforehand at home if your group prefers to come ready. Talk through the chapter’s three questions, which come with answers to help you guide the conversation. Do the activity, which takes about ten minutes. Close by praying the chapter’s prayer, or your own.
To prepare, read the chapter yourself during the week and think about which line will land hardest with your group; most activities need only paper and pens. Thomas wrote in strong monastery language, and the teen edition already softens a few places, so follow its lead: we are not asked to go looking for suffering or to give up friends, and the chapters on temptation, other people’s words and death need a gentle hand. Never ask anyone to name a sin, a struggle or a hurt aloud; keep personal reflection private. If a teen mentions bullying, self-harm or anything that is hurting them, thank them for telling you and make sure they get help from a trusted adult. In the last week, be ready to talk calmly about death, and to say simply that Christians from different churches understand Communion differently.
Week 1 — Written for Young People
We meet Thomas à Kempis, who joined the monastery of Mount St Agnes at about nineteen, stayed for about seventy years, and wrote short booklets of advice for its young novices that became The Imitation of Christ. His opening idea is that if you want to see clearly, you imitate Jesus, and he borrows Ecclesiastes to call everything else “vanity”: money, admiration and endless cravings are bubbles that never fill us up. The big idea: only God can fill the emptiness that more seeing and hearing never will.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” — Ecclesiastes 1:2 (KJV)
Memory verse
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
Talk together
Who did Thomas à Kempis first write The Imitation of Christ for?
For the novices, the young men who had just joined his monastery and were learning to live for God. He was in charge of training them.
What does the title “The Imitation of Christ” mean?
Following Jesus by copying his life: studying how he lived and patterning your own life on his, so you do not walk in darkness.
What does Thomas mean by “vanity of vanities”?
That everything is empty, like a bubble, except loving God and serving him. Money, fame and pleasure do not last or satisfy.
Activity
Bubbles and Treasure
You will need: Paper and pens
- Give each person a sheet of paper and ask them to list, on their own, ten things people their age chase to feel full: things to own, ways to be noticed, ways to fill time.
- In pairs, sort the list into two columns: things that last and things that fade, like a bubble.
- Come back together and ask: which ‘bubbles’ are hardest to see through, and why?
- Read Thomas’s line aloud, “Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone,” and ask each person to write down privately one bubble they will give a rest this week.
Week 2 — Smart Isn’t the Same as Wise
Thomas, a man who spent his life with books, warns that knowledge without love and humility can puff us up, and that you can win every argument about God and still not know him. He says that on the day of judgment we will be asked not what we have read but what we have done, and that the Bible should be read with humility, simplicity and faith. The big idea: being wise means doing what God says, not just knowing a lot about him.
“Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” — 1 Corinthians 8:1 (KJV)
Memory verse
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22
Talk together
Was Thomas against studying and learning?
No. He said learning and knowledge are good in themselves and given by God. He warned against knowledge without humility and love, and against learning just to look clever.
What does Thomas say we will be asked on the day of judgment?
Not what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.
How does he say we should read the Bible?
For truth rather than fine words, paying attention to what is said rather than who says it, and with humility, simplicity and faith, without trying to look learned.
Activity
Know It or Do It?
You will need: Bibles, paper and pens
- Choose three short, familiar verses that ask us to do something, such as Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:44 and Philippians 2:3.
- Split into small groups and give each group one verse to read slowly together.
- Ask each group to answer one question only: “What does this ask me to do?” and to name one specific, ordinary way a teenager could do it this week.
- Share the answers, then ask each person to choose one action and write it down for themselves to try before next week.
Week 3 — Talk Less
Thomas admits he often wished he had kept quiet, and asks why we gossip when we so seldom part “without a troubled conscience.” He does not condemn all talk, praising good conversation about God, but he warns against curiosity about other people’s business, echoing Jesus’ words to Peter: “What is that to thee? follow thou me.” The big idea: speak to build people up, and leave other people’s business with God while you follow Jesus yourself.
“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” — James 1:19 (KJV)
Memory verse
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
James 1:19
Talk together
What question does Thomas ask about gossip?
Why we talk and gossip so much when we so seldom come away without a troubled conscience.
Does Thomas think all conversation is bad?
No. He says devout conversation with like-minded friends greatly helps spiritual growth, and that when it is the right time to speak, we should say something that builds others up.
What does he say about being curious about other people’s lives?
That we will not have to answer for others, but we will have to give an account of ourselves, so we should not meddle in their affairs.
Activity
Does This Build Anyone Up?
You will need: Slips of paper with short scenarios
- Before the session, write six short scenarios about group-chat or lunch-table talk, for example: “Someone posts a screenshot of a friend’s private message” or “The group starts discussing why a classmate was absent.” Use made-up situations only.
- Read each scenario aloud and ask the group to decide together: does joining in build anyone up, tear someone down, or just fill the silence?
- For each one, ask what a person could say or do instead: change the subject, stay quiet, or say something kind.
- Finish by asking everyone to remember Thomas’s test for the week: before talking about someone who isn’t there, ask, “Does this build anyone up?”
Week 4 — Close the Door
Thomas talks about the monk’s cell, a small plain room for being quiet with God, and says that if we cut out idle talk and gossip we will find enough time to pray. Being alone with God can feel boring at first, but he promises that if you keep returning, your quiet place will become “a special friend and a very great comfort.” The big idea: Jesus invites us to shut the door and meet with our Father in secret, and it gets easier with practice.
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” — Matthew 6:6 (KJV)
Memory verse
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
Talk together
What was a monk’s “cell,” and what might it be for you?
A small private room in the monastery. For a teenager it might be a bedroom, a quiet corner or a walk alone: a place to be quiet with God.
Where does Thomas say we can find time to pray?
By cutting back on unnecessary talking, idle running about, and listening to gossip and rumours. Then we will find enough time.
What does Thomas say happens if you keep going back to your quiet place?
It becomes dear to you, “a special friend and a very great comfort,” whereas if you avoid it, it becomes wearisome.
Activity
Two Minutes of Quiet
You will need: A timer and paper
- Explain that the group is going to practise what Thomas describes: put phones out of reach and sit quietly for two minutes. Anyone may close their eyes or simply look at a window.
- Afterwards, ask: what did the silence feel like? Restless, awkward, peaceful? There are no wrong answers.
- Talk about where each person’s ‘cell’ could be this week: a bedroom, a bench, a walk.
- Ask everyone to write down for themselves a time and a place for ten quiet minutes with God each day this week.
Week 5 — Shut the Door Early
Thomas says no one is so holy that they are never tempted, and that temptation can humble and strengthen us: “Fire tempers iron and temptation steels the just.” He traces how temptation grows from a mere thought to imagination, pleasure and consent, and urges us to shut the door while it is still knocking, to seek counsel, and to be gentle with others who are tempted. The big idea: fight temptation at its first knock, and remember God always makes a way out.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
Memory verse
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
Talk together
Does Thomas think holy people are free from temptation?
No. He says no one is so perfect or holy that they are never tempted, and no place is so holy that temptation cannot come.
What steps does temptation grow through, according to Thomas?
First a thought, then a strong imagination, then pleasure, evil delight, and finally consent.
What is his main advice for fighting temptation?
Resist it at the very beginning, before it gets into your mind; seek advice from others; and pray to God more fervently, trusting him to give a way to bear it.
Activity
The First Knock
You will need: Paper and pens
- Draw Thomas’s five steps on a board or sheet: thought, imagination, pleasure, delight, consent.
- Using an ordinary, low-stakes example everyone shares, such as wanting to copy homework or staying up scrolling, ask the group to describe what each step might look like.
- Ask: at which step is it easiest to say no? Talk about practical ways to ‘shut the door’ at the first knock.
- Give everyone a moment to write privately, for themselves only, one temptation they face and a simple plan for its first knock. Nobody shares what they wrote.
Week 6 — Other People’s Faults
Thomas warns that we often judge others wrongly and want them perfect while excusing ourselves: “We wish them to be severely corrected, yet we will not correct ourselves.” He urges patience, because “you also have many a fault which others must endure,” while making clear that if someone is hurting you, you should tell an adult who can help. The big idea: God made us imperfect together so that we would learn to bear one another’s burdens.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2 (KJV)
Memory verse
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Talk together
Why does Thomas say we should be careful about judging others?
Because when we judge others we work in vain, often make mistakes and easily sin, and our own feelings bend how we see things; examining ourselves is always more useful.
What unfairness does he point out in how we treat other people’s faults?
We want others to be perfect and strictly corrected, but we don’t correct our own faults; we want rules for them but freedom for ourselves.
Why should we be patient with other people’s faults?
Because we also have many faults that others have to put up with, and God wants us to learn to carry one another’s burdens and support each other.
Activity
My Annoying Habits
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to call out, light-heartedly, the kinds of habits that tend to annoy people in families, teams or classes, without naming anyone.
- Now turn it round: ask each person to write down privately two or three habits of their own that other people probably have to put up with.
- Discuss together: why is it so much easier to see other people’s faults than our own? Read Thomas’s question, “If you cannot make yourself what you would wish to be, how can you bend others to your will?”
- Ask everyone to think of one person they find hard to be patient with and to pray for them by name each day this week.
Week 7 — Words Are Just Words
Writing as Christ speaking to a disciple, Thomas says not to let our peace depend on what people say, because their opinion “does not make you different from what you are,” and it is impossible to please everyone. He asks whether harsh words could pluck one hair from your head, while also saying that if criticism is true we should use it to change. The chapter is clear that bullying or threats must be told to a trusted adult. The big idea: God knows the truth about you, so other people’s words do not get the final say.
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” — Proverbs 29:25 (KJV)
Memory verse
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 29:25
Talk together
What does Thomas say about other people’s opinions of us?
That we should not let our peace depend on what people say, because their thinking well or badly of us does not change who we really are.
What does he mean by “words are but words”?
That words fly through the air but do not have to harm us; even if every bad thing were said about us, it could not pluck a hair from our head. We do not have to let them have the last word.
What should we do if criticism of us is true?
Consider how we can gladly change and put it right. If it is not true, bear it for God’s sake and trust him as the judge.
Activity
True or False?
You will need: Index cards
- Read out a few made-up comments a teenager might hear, some fair and some unfair, such as “You never finish anything” or “You’re only friends with them because they’re popular.”
- For each one, ask the group how they could tell whether it contains any truth, and what Thomas would say to do in each case: change, or let it go.
- Give each person a card and ask them to write privately one thing said about them that keeps going round their head, then mark it ‘true’ or ‘false’ for themselves. They keep the card.
- Close by reading together: “God, you know the truth about me.”
Week 8 — A Friend Who Stays
Thomas points to Jesus as the friend who will not leave us, saying that when Jesus is near all is well, and that “It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus.” He is not against other friendships; his point is order, because when Jesus is first we can love our other friends better and survive it when they let us down. When Jesus feels far away, Thomas says to wait and trust, “for after winter comes summer.” The big idea: Jesus is the friend who stays, and putting him first makes every other friendship stronger.
“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends.” — John 15:15 (KJV)
Memory verse
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15
Talk together
Why does Thomas say Jesus is a better friend than any other?
Because other friends can leave or let us down, but Jesus will not leave us as others do. With him near, all is well.
Does Thomas mean we should not have other friends?
His main point is that Jesus should come first: love everything for Jesus’ sake and Jesus for his own sake. Friendships grounded in him are stronger and can last.
What does Thomas say when Jesus seems far away?
To wait calmly and trust, because after winter comes summer, after night the day, and after the storm a great calm.
Activity
What Makes a Good Friend?
You will need: A large sheet of paper and markers
- As a group, brainstorm the qualities of a really good friend and write them on the sheet.
- Go through the list and ask: which of these does Jesus show in the Gospels? Ask for a story or example for some of them.
- Talk about how friendships with Jesus and with others grow in the same way: time together and honest conversation.
- Ask everyone to decide privately on one friend to thank God for this week, and one moment each day to talk to Jesus about their day.
Week 9 — The Cross Is Everywhere
In “The Royal Road of the Holy Cross,” Thomas says some suffering comes to everyone and that we cannot escape it by running away, “for wherever you go you take yourself with you.” If we carry the cross willingly, “it will carry and lead you,” while fighting it makes it heavier; the teen edition adds that we should never seek out suffering and should always get help for anything that is hurting us. The big idea: when hard things come, we do not carry them alone, because Jesus carried his cross first.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” — Luke 9:23 (KJV)
Memory verse
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Luke 9:23
Talk together
What does Thomas say about running away from problems?
That wherever you go you take yourself with you, so you cannot escape every cross just by changing where you are.
What happens, according to Thomas, if you carry your cross willingly or unwillingly?
If you carry it willingly, it will carry and lead you to the goal. If unwillingly, you make the load heavier, and if you throw one away you will find another, perhaps heavier.
What good can come from hard times, according to Book I?
They remind us that this world is not our final home, and when people don’t think well of us, we are more inclined to seek God, who sees our hearts.
Activity
Carry or Drag?
You will need: A heavy bag or backpack
- Ask a volunteer to drag the bag across the room by one strap, then to pick it up and carry it properly on their back. Ask them which was easier.
- Read Thomas’s line: “If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal.” Discuss what it might mean to ‘carry’ a hard thing rather than ‘drag’ it.
- Talk about the difference between hard things we cannot change and things that need help: illness, pain, or someone hurting us should always be told to a trusted adult.
- Give everyone a quiet moment to name, privately, one hard thing they cannot change, and to ask Jesus to help them carry it with him this week.
Week 10 — Love Is an Excellent Thing
In one of the book’s most famous passages, the disciple breaks into a song about love: it “makes every difficulty easy,” bears burdens without being weighed down, and is “never self-seeking.” Thomas says this love is born of God and rests only in God, and the teen edition reminds readers that it begins with God loving us first. The big idea: real love comes from God, and the moment love becomes all about me, it stops being love.
“We love him, because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 (KJV)
Memory verse
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19
Talk together
What does Thomas say love does to difficult things?
It makes every difficulty easy, bears burdens without being weighed down, and makes what is bitter sweet.
Where does Thomas say love comes from and where it rests?
Love is born of God and cannot rest except in God.
What is the one thing love never is, according to Thomas?
Self-seeking. Whenever a person seeks himself, he falls from love.
Activity
Love Is…
You will need: Bibles, paper and pens
- Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 aloud together.
- Read it again, this time putting the name “Jesus” in place of “love,” and ask the group what changes when they hear it that way.
- In pairs, pick one of Thomas’s lines, such as “Love feels no burden” or “Love is never self-seeking,” and think of an everyday example of it from home, school or sport.
- Ask each person to write down privately one person they will love in a practical, unselfish way this week, and how.
Week 11 — You Are Not an Angel
Christ tells the discouraged disciple, “You are a man, not God. You are flesh, not an angel,” so falling is human and the point is not to stay down. Thomas tells of an anxious man who heard God say, “Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure,” and suggests uprooting just one bad habit each year. The big idea: God does not expect us never to fall; he helps us get up and follow him faithfully today.
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.” — Proverbs 24:16 (KJV)
Memory verse
For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
Proverbs 24:16
Talk together
What does Christ say to the discouraged disciple in Book III?
That all is not lost even if he is troubled or tempted more often: “You are a man, not God. You are flesh, not an angel.”
What answer did the anxious man in the church receive?
“If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” He stopped worrying about the future and simply did God’s will each day.
How quickly does Thomas suggest working on bad habits?
One at a time: if we uprooted just one vice each year, we would soon become perfect.
Activity
One Habit, One Step
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read aloud the story of the anxious man in the church and God’s answer, then discuss: why do we worry about the far future more than we act on today?
- As a group, list some common habits teenagers might want to work on, such as procrastinating, snapping at family or too much screen time, without anyone sharing their own.
- Ask each person to choose privately one habit for this year and write one small step for this week.
- Teach the group Thomas’s quick prayer for when they slip: “I’m not an angel, Lord. Help me up.”
Week 12 — Four Things That Bring Peace
Thomas says we would have much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, and in Book III Christ gives four short rules: do the will of others rather than your own, choose to have less, take the last place, and want God’s will above all. The disciple notices that whenever he feels troubled, he has drifted from this teaching. The big idea: much of our lost peace comes from pushing to win, to have and to be first.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” — Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)
Memory verse
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Talk together
What does Thomas say would give us much peace, in Book I?
Not concerning ourselves with what others say and do, because those things are not our concern.
What are the four things that bring peace?
Doing the will of others rather than your own, choosing to have less rather than more, seeking the last place, and always wishing and praying for God’s will to be done in you.
What did the disciple notice about times when he felt troubled?
That whenever he was troubled and dejected, he had moved away from this teaching.
Activity
Rank the Four
You will need: Paper and pens
- Write the four rules where everyone can see them, put into everyday words: let others have their way, don’t grab for more, don’t fight for first, want God’s will most.
- Ask each person to rank the four privately from easiest to hardest for them.
- Without asking anyone to reveal their ranking, discuss which rule the group thinks is hardest for teenagers today, and why.
- Ask: what is the difference between these habits and being a doormat? Then encourage everyone to check the four each evening this week.
Week 13 — Live Ready
Thomas, writing for young people, urges them not to count on “later” but to become now the person they want to be at the end: “How happy and prudent is he who tries now in life to be what he wants to be found in death.” He says we need two things above all, “food and light,” which he saw in Communion and in God’s word, and the chapter notes that Christians understand Communion differently. Thomas died at Mount St Agnes in July 1471. The big idea: follow Jesus today, and live now the way you would want to be found at the end.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12 (KJV)
Memory verse
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
Talk together
What does Thomas mean by trying “now in life to be what he wants to be found in death”?
Becoming now the person you want to be at the end of your life, instead of putting off following God until later.
What two things did Thomas say we need most in this life?
Food and light: the bread of Communion as the Bread of Life, and the word of God as the light of the soul.
How do Christians differ about Communion, and what do they share?
Thomas, a Catholic priest, believed Christ is truly present in the bread and wine; other Christians understand it differently. But all can agree that we need God’s word to light our way and Christ himself to give us life.
Activity
Letter to My Future Self
You will need: Paper, pens and envelopes
- Read Thomas’s line about trying “now in life to be what he wants to be found in death,” and ask the group what it might mean for someone their age.
- Give each person paper and ask them to write a short private letter to their future self: the kind of follower of Jesus they hope to be when they are old.
- Ask them to add one thing they will start doing this week to become that person.
- Have everyone seal their letter in an envelope and write a date on it, perhaps a year from now, to open it. Nobody reads anyone else’s.