Last week, one of our small group leaders told me this story, and I wanted to share it with you:
“We’ve been in small group with this same set of students for multiple small group sessions now. And these students have known each other for quite some time now, but more often than not, small group was about rallying students together, quieting them down to pay attention, and attempting to herd them in the right direction.
Well this week, our group FINALLY opened up!
We’ve been attempting to get the students to go deep and open up, but this week, our group finally turned a corner, and we had that moment.
During the group members shared deeply impactful and important moments with other members of the group and even indicated that they were trusting the others with this information, because it could be used against them in the future, if it wasn’t handled with care.
At the end, our group all said how much more they appreciate it when our group went like this, and how they felt like they could really trust each other after this night.”
And this, parents, grandparents and guardians is the reason why we do what we do.
Students live in a world where friendships and hollow and temporary, and where most people in their lives are untrustworthy.
In addition to solid friendships, a good small group will also challenge, point and direct students to a deeper walk with Jesus.