Hello again, this is Matt Rupert and this is the road kids ministry training where our
goal is to empower leaders to disciple a generation.
This is video number three of how to lead a small group, and we're going to be talking
about structuring your unique small group.
So in structuring a small group, the first thing that you really want to remember is
to know your kids, know your specific group.
What is their age?
What are the things that they enjoy?
Are they, is it more of an active group?
Is it more boys than it is girls?
Is it more girls than it is boys?
That is going to term to determine a lot of what you do in your small group.
Once you know that, once you feel like you have a pulse for that, it helps you to go
in a lot of different directions.
And I'm going to be talking about the specific structure of small groups.
So to start off with, I believe there's two different directions that I typically go to
intro my small group.
I will either, I will usually, I'll put it this way, open with some form of activity,
something energetic, something that is fun for the entire group just to get some of the
wiggles out to get them engaged right away.
But I will say that a tactic that I use to in small groups is the first activity I do,
I try to do something that will cause them to have to focus on me.
A few examples Simon says is a great example of that.
They're having to listen very intently to what you're saying.
Another example would be red light, green light.
This is good for like younger kids or musical chairs when you're the one singing the song.
They're listening for your voice.
They're listening for the tone alterations.
They're listening for when you're going to stop, when you're going to start.
Another one is hot potato when you're the one saying something or singing something
that they're having to pay attention to.
That way right off the bat, they're knowing I'm listening for the leader's voice.
I'm listening to what they have to say and I'm paying attention to the leader, but it's
in a fun way.
It's something that's really enjoyable and that's the key.
The other option is to just dive right into conversation right away.
Depending on the different activities that you have planned, you might want to get the
conversation out of the way right at the beginning while they're more focused.
I don't typically like this just because usually when they leave large group, they've been
sitting and paying attention and we've been telling them to be quiet for 15 minutes or
so already, so I like to start off with something a little bit more active, but it really does
depend on your small group.
The second thing is when you enter the conversation part, remembering that conversation, getting
kids to talk about what they're learning is so important because what they're doing is
it's causing their minds to process what they've learned and to articulate it with words.
And that's so important for it to become a memory or to become digested in their heart.
The other thing is, is that they are having to answer questions most of the time on how
the lesson applies to their life.
So it gets them actively thinking and processing, how do I apply what I've learned to my day-to-day
life?
So that's really important.
So cultivating conversation is the primary goal of the small group, is to get kids talking
and engaging with what was taught to them.
So you want to ask questions in two specific ways.
You want to ask open-ended questions.
This is so important.
If you've ever been in a small group that this wasn't done, then you know what is happening
or you know you've experienced it before where someone says, that was a really interesting
message, wasn't it?
Everyone says yes, and the conversation dies.
Whatever the question was, you want to make sure that it's open-ended.
So I'm going to give you a few examples.
So example number one, did you enjoy the Bible story today?
Yes or no.
Not really getting anywhere with that question, but with this question, an open-ended question
causes them to have to think and answer with more than one word.
And that question is, what did you enjoy about the Bible story today?
It's very hard to answer this question with one word.
And another example, do you think Samuel was scared when he heard God's voice in the Bible?
Answer yes or no.
But a different question would be, what do you think Samuel was feeling when he heard
the voice of God?
Very hard to answer with just one word, which leads me to the next point, which is
Answering or asking questions, avoiding questions that are one-word answers.
Here's an example of one-word answer.
How was your week? Good.
It doesn't go anywhere, and that's, I think, comical of parents.
Parents sometimes aren't good at asking open questions.
They'll ask a question that doesn't require a lot of answer.
Instead of tell me about something that happened in your week,
it asks them to think about their week and to articulate to you something that happened.
So, very important.
Another is allow questions about the lesson.
Sometimes we can become so focused on getting through the small group,
getting through our questions, that we miss the questions that students may have about the lesson.
Why did God tell Samuel that?
Why did God choose this person?
And some of the best conversations I've had in small groups have been from questions that the students asked.
And I think that's so important, to make sure that you're leaving space for students to ask questions.
And even making that a ritual or a routine of your small group.
Hey, what was one thing that you have a question about from our lesson today?
And then number five, which is obviously keep the focus with kids.
It's so funny, it's not even kids.
It's like everyone.
We can have a hard time keeping focus on a given topic in a small group that we're a part of.
Someone goes down a bunny trail and says, you know, this isn't very relevant.
But, and then they share this long drawn out story that has nothing to do with your small group.
You want to avoid that.
You want to keep a focus on what your conversation topic is.
And how I like to do that is reiterating the question.
I will ask the question sometimes two times and three times before I even choose a person with their hand raised.
Because I want them to understand what the question is.
Another point is to think through the question.
Is the question too complex for that age group?
You know, sometimes even in curriculum that's provided, the question's just too deep for that young age group.
Or maybe the question's too shallow.
It's a boring question for the older age group.
Think through the question and think about how you're going to ask the question.
And another point, don't be afraid to redirect the conversation.
Kids a lot of times want to share a fun story.
Or they want to share something that happened to them.
Let me tell you that if done the right way, if done in a polite way, it is not rude to interrupt a child and to redirect it.
There are times where a child starts on a bunny trail and they're telling a long drawn out story about something.
And how I like to interject is I say, hey, Jimmy, this sounds like a really fun story.
Can you save it for the end of class?
Right now we're asking the question about what you felt like Samuel thought when he heard the voice of God.
Does anyone have an answer to that question?
What do you think Samuel thought?
And I'll reiterate the question again.
Just redirecting the conversation, keeping it on point, keeping it focused.
And if someone answers, even a short answer that's not on point, you can answer with a kind and loving statement that says, you know, that is a good answer.
But that is not what we're talking about today.
We're talking about what Samuel felt when he was spoken to by God or whatever, keeping it on point.
Another thing to be reminded of is to point to the Bible, is to remember that the point of the small group is not to talk about what you think or what you feel necessarily.
And there's definitely a place for that.
But most of the time it's pointing back to the Bible.
So if a child asks you a question that has to do with truth, very strongly avoid answers that start with, well, I think, or from my perspective.
If the question has to do with truth, then answer by saying or starting with, well, the Bible says, or if you don't know the answer to that question, then you can just be honest with them and say, that is a great question.
And I don't know the answer to that, but you know what I'm going to do is I'm going to read the Bible because the Bible has all of the answers to our tough questions.
Obviously, if the question has to do with how you feel or how your experience is, you don't always have to point to the Bible.
But the main purpose of small groups is to point to the Bible.
So making sure that our conversation is centered around God's word.
Also touched on in another video is to help kids navigate through the Bible.
If you have an answer to a question that is a scripture verse, have the students turn to that scripture verse.
Say, you know what, Jimmy, that was a great question.
We're going to look at what the Bible says.
And so I want you to turn to John 3, 16.
Let me help you all get there.
And then you have a volunteer, or maybe you read it out.
God loved the world so much that he gave his only son.
See, this is why God loves us, or this is how God came to rescue us, pointing to the Bible through everything.
Lastly, parent pickup is an important structure element of small groups.
groups. The appearance that you have to parents is important,
though it's never possible to have a perfect small group that
looks like a room full of angels when parents come to pick up.
It is important to try and have some form of structure to avoid
chaos when a parent comes to the room.
We want them to see that their kids are learning that they
are engaging with God's word.
And so always think through what you're doing for parent
pickup. Am I doing a circle game that looks calm and is
collective and is more organized? Am I trying to have conversation
end while parents are picking up?
What am I doing during parent pickup to help the small group
go smoothly? And that really depends a lot on your group on
what your kids think are fun.
They might think that coloring a picture is the most fun thing
in the world and they can be coloring pictures while parent
pickup is happening. Know your small group and work at creating
a structure that works well for you.
Well, that is all that we have for this video and we'll see
you in the next one.