Summer Camp: GROUPS
I had the privilege of attending our Youth Summer Camp with 2000+ students and 1100+ adults.One of the most powerful aspects of this event were the different opportunities for students to reflect, discuss, and pray together. Here are a few ways this was accomplished well and at the bottom I’ll include a few tips that were very helpful for discussion.
Community Groups of students met. A youth pastor spoke then students went into grade specific groups of just their peers to discuss the topic. This was great because it gave students an opportunity to lead each other and it gave leaders an opportunity to get a break to just relax for a bit or to meet to discuss important issues and opportunities.
Leader Led Groups happened after the sessions where they asked questions and discussed what the session was about. We provided discussion questions for the leaders but they also had the freedom to lead as they saw fit. This created an opportunity for leaders to ensure that everyone shared.
Tips for Small Group Discussion:
Don’t Fix: Small Group discussion is an opportunity for leaders to get to know the students and continue the conversation through the week and even afterwards. We can be quick to try to solve someone’s problems in the moment, but that can close the door for discussion in the future. Oftentimes someone knows what the right thing to do is and first needs support. When we tell someone what they should do, we’ve created a fork in the road. If a student feels like the leader is saying “Do what I say” then the student can feel pressured by the leader and group to follow those instructions, and judged or ostracized if they don’t. We don’t want to shortcut someone’s process of considering their options and motives and making a decision for themselves. Creating an environment where someone feels like they have to simply follow instructions minimizes their responsibility to process and make their own decisions.
Everyone Shares: The extroverts in the group (oftentimes the leader) will want to talk for a long time which stifles the conversation from other people. By simply saying, “Thank you for sharing, we want to hear more about that. We also want to make sure everyone has a chance to share, so we’ll have to go back to that”. Can help transition to allowing others to share.
Acknowledge, Ask Questions: It’s a big step to share struggles in a group. The first response should be one of acknowledgement, like “Thank you for sharing that with us, that’s a really tough thing to go through.” Then, asking questions can help the person to go deeper in their thoughts and process. You’ll actually find that someone can begin to resolve their own issues by taking a little time to go a little deeper. When someone answers questions and begins to state what they know they should do, then you can begin to help them live up to the person they want to be (as opposed to just doing what you say). WARNING: Asking them followup after followup question can become pestering. If they begin to provide short answers, you should evaluate whether you are asking the wrong questions or if that person simply isn’t ready to share more in depth at that time.
