By Johnny Scott
Have you ever come home from a convention with great enthusiasm about your new small group master plan? You have the best volunteers ever, and you”ve communicated to parents and fellow church staff in meticulous detail how the program will be a success.
The curriculum was field-tested by the leaders and chosen by the student leadership team. Everyone is excited.
But somewhere between the “back-to-school kickoff” and Christmas break the impact you envisioned fizzles out. What went wrong? It just didn”t seem to add up.
Let me propose you take a step backward. Ask yourself, “How did I define the “˜win” for my junior high small group program?”
UNDERSTANDING EXPECTATIONS
You must define the win for junior high small group ministry, communicating your goals to both student and adult leaders. When everyone understands expectations, junior high small groups can cultivate environments for positive experiences.
Youth leaders everywhere are working to see life change in students. Many junior high youth ministry leaders work to assimilate caring adults into their program, leaders who value “doing life with students.” Small groups are often an important strategy in achieving this vision.
We know that small group interaction can be effective. But after being inundated with the vast amount of curriculum and tools for small group leaders, some of them hardly know where to begin.
We must help volunteer leaders see what a great small group meeting looks like. And we must draw the same picture for students in a way that resonates with them.
One characteristic of junior high ministry is its dynamic makeup. Eighth-grade girls and seventh-grade boys are worlds apart! And most programs use volunteer leaders from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. Fitting all the needs and matching all the leader capabilities in one small group program can be a big challenge.
That”s why we need to define the win for leaders of early adolescents. Otherwise, we leave the door open for them to feel like failures, especially when they have unrealistic expectations for how these students will respond.
The fact is many seventh- and eighth-graders are not capable of articulating what God is doing in their hearts and minds. The fruit that results from seeds planted in small groups may not be seen for years.
Some leaders want to see a breakthrough moment where God”s Word “comes alive” in some tangible way in their students. When that doesn”t happen, volunteers leave small-group time disappointed.
More realistic is the goal of simply creating an environment where these students can process faith issues with caring adults. When this happens, we”ve achieved a win.
WINNING MOMENTS
How do we define such a win? Each of these moments qualifies:
“¢ Define the win as pairing caring adults with students.
“¢ Define the win as trusting the Holy Spirit that more is sinking in than meets the eye.
“¢ Define the win as students coming back for more.
“¢ Define the win as listening without thinking of what you”re going to say next.
“¢ Define the win as asking (not answering for students) questions that cause students to consider God”s perspective.
“¢ Define the win as looking back and knowing they were loved and not manipulated.
“¢ Define the win as looking students in the eye and simply listening as long as the student needs to talk.
“¢ Define the win as students being honest in the group.
“¢ Define the win as students just showing up! Be sure to tell each one, “We”re really glad you came.”
“¢ Define the win as developing a pattern for life where healthy adult mentoring relationships are valued in the church.
WINNING STRATEGIES
You can achieve this win by trying some of the following strategies:
“¢ Ask yourself, “Do I emulate with student leaders the type of mentoring I want them to have with other students?”
“¢ Pair up younger volunteers with a parent who may not connect with students. Allow the parent to take care of arranging rides, baking snacks, and communicating with parents of new students to the group.
“¢ Consider using different curriculum for a “core student” small group that may need something deeper.
“¢ Place a time limit on some initial hangout time, and then do the lesson. Promise students more hangout time after lesson time.
The defining “win” for every small group may vary. Remember that the faith journey for early adolescents is a process of sorting through many incoming messages. Our time is never wasted as we”re investing in students for Christ.
Johnny Scott is associate director of Christ In Youth, Joplin, Missouri.
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