By Kyle Wiltshire
When Jesus started His ministry, one of the first things He did was call disciples to follow Him. The invitation wasn’t by accident. Jesus knew He could communicate the gospel to many people by teaching to masses and traveling from place to place. But to launch a movement that would endure (the church), He would need to pour directly into a small group of people, who would then repeat this process with others.
But just because small groups are woven into the fabric of our faith doesn’t mean they’re easy to create or automatically healthy. It takes planning and intentionality to make and lead groups well. Here are three questions to keep in mind as you plan small groups for your students this fall:
1. What are you teaching and who is teaching it?
It’s easy just to say, “The Bible”! Technically, that’s the best answer. But it’s important to give careful thought to what you’re teaching students within the Bible. You can’t just plop open the Word and point your finger on the page and start teaching. Nor can you only ask your students what they want to learn about: most likely they will say the end times or sex (or if there will be sex in the end times!). These topics have their time and place, but there’s more that students need to learn from the Word.
Ask yourself these questions when considering what you’re teaching: What are my spiritual goals for my students? Where do I want them to be spiritually by the end of this year? Should I write the teaching myself or use a curriculum? How will this teaching help my students grow to be more like Christ? However you approach the content, take the time to analyze how your teaching aligns with your discipleship goals and your church’s goals.
Who is teaching your students is also extremely important. Ask yourself as you seek out volunteers to lead this fall: Do we have a current background check on this individual? Does he or she exhibit godly character that I would want my students to mimic? Does this person love teenagers? Does he or she love God’s Word?
Notice I didn’t ask, Is this person young and cool? There’s nothing wrong with being young or cool, but teens need godly influences from multiple generations. Let godly character and an abiding love for students and God’s Word direct you to those you ask to teach.
2. Are you caring for students well?
One of the most important functions of a small group is to care for the people within it. Small groups make a larger student ministry more personal. They help individuals be known and loved and not slip through the cracks.
Connect students with students. As a leader, simply learning students’ names helps students feel known. But it can’t stop there. Students within the group need to know each other’s names. This is especially true when a group has students from different schools or types of schooling. Helping them know each other breaks down walls and unites them in a healthy way.
Don’t show favorites. Create an environment where everyone one is known and cared for equally. When adults begin working with teenagers they’re typically most drawn to the type of student they would’ve probably been friends with when they were teens. The adult who was a band kid will probably connect more easily with band kids. Even though it might be a little awkward, seek to connect with every student in the group, not just the ones that remind you of you.
Plan an off-campus activity. Spending one hour (or less) with your group each week will only connect people so far. However, if you can go off campus and plan something fun for students in your group to do together, it bonds the whole group together. Off-campus activities help students feel more comfortable with you as a leader and opens up opportunities to care for them beyond the time you spend together in the church building.
3. Is your group welcoming?
There are two types of small groups: open and closed. By design, some groups are intentionally closed, meaning the point of the group is to help a specific group of people walk with the Lord and grow in their faith together. Closed groups are not designed to grow.
However, most small groups are designed to be open, welcoming visitors and new members into the group at any point. So, do people feel welcomed into your small group? Here are a few questions to ask: Does anyone in the group normally sit alone? Are there groups within the group that ignore each other? What happens when a new person walks through the door?
You can’t force people to like each other, but you can model inclusion. You can be welcoming to everyone and give your full and undivided attention to each person. You can also plan ways for people within the group to spend time together by putting them in random groups. A creative way to do this is to group people by birth month or by eye color. Often, students don’t talk to each other simply because they don’t know each other. Give them chances to get to know one another better.
Small groups should serve as an outreach tool and be a place where new students can easily integrate into the group. Students should feel encouraged to invite their friends to their small group so that spiritual growth opportunities are available to every student, regardless of how long they’ve been a follower of Christ and especially if they don’t know Jesus yet.
Jesus knew what He was doing when He picked His disciples. He took men from various walks of life and poured Himself into them. Our job now is to help our students know Jesus and walk with them as they grow in spiritual maturity. Creating small groups that faithfully teach the Word, by faithful men and women who love students, care for their needs, and create safe spaces of welcome, will lead to health in your student ministry and help teenagers grow closer to Jesus.
When Jesus started His ministry, one of the first things He did was call disciples to follow Him. The invitation wasn’t by accident. Jesus knew He could communicate the gospel to many people by teaching to masses and traveling from place to place. But to launch a movement that would endure (the church), He would need to pour directly into a small group of people, who would then repeat this process with others.
But just because small groups are woven into the fabric of our faith doesn’t mean they’re easy to create or automatically healthy. It takes planning and intentionality to make and lead groups well. Here are three questions to keep in mind as you plan small groups for your students this fall:
1. What are you teaching and who is teaching it?
It’s easy just to say, “The Bible”! Technically, that’s the best answer. But it’s important to give careful thought to what you’re teaching students within the Bible. You can’t just plop open the Word and point your finger on the page and start teaching. Nor can you only ask your students what they want to learn about: most likely they will say the end times or sex (or if there will be sex in the end times!). These topics have their time and place, but there’s more that students need to learn from the Word.
Ask yourself these questions when considering what you’re teaching: What are my spiritual goals for my students? Where do I want them to be spiritually by the end of this year? Should I write the teaching myself or use a curriculum? How will this teaching help my students grow to be more like Christ? However you approach the content, take the time to analyze how your teaching aligns with your discipleship goals and your church’s goals.
Who is teaching your students is also extremely important. Ask yourself as you seek out volunteers to lead this fall: Do we have a current background check on this individual? Does he or she exhibit godly character that I would want my students to mimic? Does this person love teenagers? Does he or she love God’s Word?
Notice I didn’t ask, Is this person young and cool? There’s nothing wrong with being young or cool, but teens need godly influences from multiple generations. Let godly character and an abiding love for students and God’s Word direct you to those you ask to teach.
2. Are you caring for students well?
One of the most important functions of a small group is to care for the people within it. Small groups make a larger student ministry more personal. They help individuals be known and loved and not slip through the cracks.
Connect students with students. As a leader, simply learning students’ names helps students feel known. But it can’t stop there. Students within the group need to know each other’s names. This is especially true when a group has students from different schools or types of schooling. Helping them know each other breaks down walls and unites them in a healthy way.
Don’t show favorites. Create an environment where everyone one is known and cared for equally. When adults begin working with teenagers they’re typically most drawn to the type of student they would’ve probably been friends with when they were teens. The adult who was a band kid will probably connect more easily with band kids. Even though it might be a little awkward, seek to connect with every student in the group, not just the ones that remind you of you.
Plan an off-campus activity. Spending one hour (or less) with your group each week will only connect people so far. However, if you can go off campus and plan something fun for students in your group to do together, it bonds the whole group together. Off-campus activities help students feel more comfortable with you as a leader and opens up opportunities to care for them beyond the time you spend together in the church building.
3. Is your group welcoming?
There are two types of small groups: open and closed. By design, some groups are intentionally closed, meaning the point of the group is to help a specific group of people walk with the Lord and grow in their faith together. Closed groups are not designed to grow.
However, most small groups are designed to be open, welcoming visitors and new members into the group at any point. So, do people feel welcomed into your small group? Here are a few questions to ask: Does anyone in the group normally sit alone? Are there groups within the group that ignore each other? What happens when a new person walks through the door?
You can’t force people to like each other, but you can model inclusion. You can be welcoming to everyone and give your full and undivided attention to each person. You can also plan ways for people within the group to spend time together by putting them in random groups. A creative way to do this is to group people by birth month or by eye color. Often, students don’t talk to each other simply because they don’t know each other. Give them chances to get to know one another better.
Small groups should serve as an outreach tool and be a place where new students can easily integrate into the group. Students should feel encouraged to invite their friends to their small group so that spiritual growth opportunities are available to every student, regardless of how long they’ve been a follower of Christ and especially if they don’t know Jesus yet.
Jesus knew what He was doing when He picked His disciples. He took men from various walks of life and poured Himself into them. Our job now is to help our students know Jesus and walk with them as they grow in spiritual maturity. Creating small groups that faithfully teach the Word, by faithful men and women who love students, care for their needs, and create safe spaces of welcome, will lead to health in your student ministry and help teenagers grow closer to Jesus.
Kyle Wiltshire is the Content Editor for Students Short Term and has been with Lifeway since 2011. He has his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ethics from Union University and a Master of Divinity from Samford University. Kyle is the co-author of a fiction novel, The Dead Rock Stars, which he wrote with his college best friend. He loves being able to write and edit resources for students and has written several Lifeway Students devotionals and studies. In his spare time, Kyle golfs, paints, writes, and watches movies with his family—especially at the movie theater. He lives in Hendersonville, Tennessee with his wife and three children.
For more resources like this, check out lifeway.com/students.
