wanted: awesome small group leaders

I am so blown away by small group leaders. There are so many different leadership styles associated with small group leaders, but their passion is always the same, for kids to love and follow Jesus with all they've got!

Watching a small group leader recently, I noticed two students who tested this leader and they passed with flying colors! In just less than an hour, this leader impacted two students' lives in a huge way!!

Student 1

This student found five dollars at the bus stop and was thinking about what to buy with it. This awesome leader took the time to talk to him about what is important to him. Games? Fast food? Clothes? God? The student then began to ask questions like "What could I give this money to that would help someone?" The questions continued for about 5 minutes with the leader constantly putting the decision back on the student. How easy it is to just tell kids what they "should" do instead of leading them to think about their priorities and values. Several more questions later, the student decided to give it all to God. The student felt that he had everything he needed and because there are people out there who don't, maybe the church could help them. The win here is not that the student gave the money to the church to help others, the win here is that the student thought about what matters to him and to God. His decision was based on his faith in God and his priorities.

Student 2

This student keeps to himself. He never misses a week but he sits hunched over in the back of the room during the initial small group time trying to be invisible. This same volunteer strikes up a conversation with him. Shows Christ's love by accepting him and engaging him. The student responds with a slight smile and eventually decides to sit next to the leader during large group time. That is huge!! There are so many students we see each week that want to hide and sometimes we let them!! Not this leader! There was no way he was going to let him fade into the woodwork, he was going to do whatever he could to get him connected and on this day all it took was a conversation filled with love! I noticed that when this student sat in large group next to his leader, he sat up a little straighter and looked a little more at ease. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

Thank you small group leaders for your heart and passion for kids to love and follow Jesus!! You are AWESOME!