Moments I will always remember from youth group: •All-girl slumber parties. •Conversations with the cool college girls that were youth interns during the summer. •My first all-girl conference with a speaker that talked about real issues and some singer I had never heard of, named Natalie Grant.…
Today, we are wrapping up our ideas for leading better discussion. DONT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS….too quickly Silence is uncomfortable for most people and most youth workers seem to want to quickly fill the void. Set the tone for your teenagers by letting them know that there will be times when silence appears and it’s within the silence that everyone has a chance to think without listening to others.…
Conversations can be the “meat and potatoes” of discipleship since they build community and develop spiritual understanding. We’re picking up where we left off yesterday and exploring a few ideas for leading better discussions: ASK GREAT QUESTIONS Asking good questions is a science and an art.…
Discipling teenagers is a critical element of a healthy youth ministry. Part of dis-cipleship is helping teenagers learn to make decisions that will impact their lives for decades. It’s our experience that good discipleship happens best within the context of a caring and accepting relationship.…
Leading a small group of teenagers can be rough: It’s impossible to be “on” week after week and not hit some kind of a roadblock: • Our teaching can feel flat • Our personal lives can become too overwhelming • None of our students seem to “get it” Of course there are other roadblocks…these were just a few.…
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mt 22:37–38) We know you’ve read and heard this passage many times.…
This week, when we refer to a small group, we’re not talking about the size of your overall youth ministry. We’re referring to the few teenagers that have been entrusted to your care (assuming some have). When an adult leader shepherds/guides/coaches/leads/etc… a small group of teenagers…that’s great youth ministry!…
If Small Groups are a vital aspect of your youth ministry, then healthy small group leaders need to be a vital aspect as well. Those leaders need to feel trained and encouraged, and that their role is vital to the ministry.…
Small Groups don’t always work. Instead of just ignoring it we need to face some questions to find out why. At times subtle changes can be made to fix an issue. While not exclusive, here are some issues I’ve run into that have caused some small group problems.…
One of my biggest challenges in ministry has been keeping a high standard for the spiritual direction and focus of our student ministry small groups. When you have different leaders with various opinions and personalities, getting them all on the same page can be a trying adventure.…
