Let’s just come right out and say it: YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY WILL FADE AND DIE WITHOUT THE INCLUSION OF SMALL GROUPS. I’m not sure if anyone will say it as plainly as that, but it is time we acknowledged this blunt truth. The last thing we need is a youth ministry that treats all students as spectators of our incredible ability to put together a big program. Everyone knows the value of the big program is to attract students to the ministry or to the church and to create a thirst in them to know more. It is the role of small groups to connect and keep the students once they have arrived.

WHY SMALL GROUPS?
“In a society filled with dysfunctional homes; technology that promises instant and continual pseudo-intimacy through television, movies, and computer forums; and a youth culture that is increasingly isolated from significant intergenerational relationships, many students find themselves in defective, unsatisfying relationships. These students look for love but soon despair of discovering a friend’s love that will touch them at their deeper, personal levels. In such a barren relational desert, a small group can be an oasis standing in stark contrast to the mirages that have promised but failed to deliver the relief and refreshment of interpersonal intimacy.”
    What is so special about small groups? Why does a youth program need them? What exactly is it that small groups are trying to accomplish? What makes them so important in the context of youth ministry? These are important questions and will be answered by looking at the various contributions that small groups make to the lives of students.

     BELONGING. Students are given the opportunity to connect with others. There is a strong need for “belonging” among teenagers, and being a part of a small group, even if it is for only a short while, gives students the security of fitting in. “Kids need a place to talk, a safe place where they can say whatever is on their minds without fear or ridicule or retaliation. They need a place where they can ask any question and find answers, express any feeling and find acceptance, and share any secret and find trust.”

     BLENDING. Small groups also allow for blending together students who might never have met one another. There can be a blending together of high school seniors with freshmen, drop-outs with “A” students, athletes with kids who could care less about sports of any kind. All too often we stick to what and who we know, never venturing out of our comfort zone in the people we meet. It’s amazing how much more you can learn from people that are not just like you.

     RELATIONAL INTIMACY. We long to know and to be known. We want to feel like someone cares, and that feeling comes in a small group as opposed to a large congregation or crowd that can feel impersonal.

     LEARNING AND LIFE APPLICATION. Through discussion and shared thoughts, a group can give insights and personal application that an individual might never think about.

     SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT. Upon learning that one of your group members is going through a difficult time, the group should seek ways to encourage and lend a hand. If a student had never been in that small group, there is a good chance no one would have even known he or she was hurting.
    
     ACCOUNTABILITY AND HEALTHY CONFRONTATION. As a group gets to know one another, they can discern when a friend needs to be confronted and pushed to get his or her life on track.

     MENTORING. Adults leading small groups are given serious opportunities to do real ministry, rather than just straightening chairs, fixing snacks, or running tech stuff. They will have the opportunity to help shape lives. Teens need significant godly adults in their lives to steer them into the will of God.

     PRAYER. In a small group, a guy can share a need and receive prayer support from others. How often do needs remain unspoken when you are in a large group?

    Small groups are not just one of the things a youth ministry should incorporate, they ought to be the foundation for the entire program. It is the best possible use of adults for doing ministry and meets more individual needs than a large spectator program ever will.