POSTED BY KATIE EDWARDS
I’m sitting in Starbucks thinking about my small group. On Wednesday nights I lead a small group of 14 7th grade girls. Let me rephrase that, I lead a group of 14 sweet, crazy, loud, don’t want to do anything serious whatsoever 7th grade girls. They are wonderful. As I sit here reflecting on our time last night, I find myself giggling out loud just thinking about some of the things they say and do. I thought I would share them.
- They like to scream. And hug.
- They love any excuse to wear pajama bottoms outside their house.
- Makena texts ahead of time to let us know what she is wearing to group.
- Sugar is the enemy. We don’t show them any sugar until they are leaving.
- Julia brings a stuffed snake named Frank that answers questions during bible study.
- Did I mention they like to scream?
- Half of my group looks 10 and the other half looks 18. However, everyone acts 13.
- The big things and the little things really matter to them. When they walk in the door, they each have 18 very important things to tell me.
- When we start our bible study time there is a constant hum in the room. They literally cannot all be quiet and paying attention at the same time.
- I write down a lot of prayer requests regarding sick dogs, tests at school, and friends of friends.
- Even though they are all teenagers, they are still such little girls in so many ways.
I love these girls. We have not gotten to the point in our small group where tons of deep stimulating conversation about Jesus is happening yet. But I know the time we are spending together and the relationships being formed are eventually going lead us toward something amazing.
My girls modeling the Armor of God
1
Kurt Johnston leads the student ministries team at Saddleback Church in Southern California. His ministry of choice, however, is junior high, where he spends approximately 83.4% of his time. Kurt is also the founder of www.simplyjuniorhigh.com, and he writes, speaks and looks for opportunities to encourage other youth workers. He likes to surf, ride dirtbikes and hang out in coffee shops. He is married to Rachel, and they have two teenage children, Kayla and Cole
Latest Tweet
Scott Rubin is the Director of Elevate, the junior high ministry of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. He's mostly a middle school pastor, but he also writes some, speaks some, and blogs some. He's the co-author of the book Middle School Ministry, and a few other titles too. He likes sports, summer, his wife Lynette, his 3 sons, and often wishes that Lake Michigan was actually an ocean.
Hey Katie, I am sure you know this, you’ve probably mentored this age before. It does come…the deep conversations that is. My current small group was once a group of 5 – 6th grade girls. They are all now sophomores…and it has come. Holding each other during boyfriend breaks, going to grandparent’s funerals and prayer requests for relationships with broken parents. Keep investing…it is going to be so worth it!