I want to share you some reasons that I love small groups for children’s ministry.
- Kids need community too. Small groups provide kids with a vehicle for building friendships. I think the reasons that some kids leave the church when they get older is because they don’t have any friends in church. We make room in our groups for kids to build relationships with one another. Kids need someone who has the same belief system they do. Fellowship and community were integral parts of the church of Acts. We need a return to that.
- Kids need someone who knows them and knows their name. The bigger our church gets, I can’t remember all the kid’s names. I am good, but I’ll never be that good. 60 plus small group leaders however, can remember at least 20-30 names each. The bigger a church, the more important small groups are.
- Small groups provide a channel to develop leaders. I honestly believe that if you can effectively mentor and lead 8-12 boys and girls in spiritual development, you can do just about anything. My calling (and yours if you are a minister) is to equip saints. (Ephesians 4:12)
- Small groups are a great time for kids to review and further apply the message we are trying to convey. Some kids need time to process or learn better with different methods of teaching. Small groups provide that.