SMALL GROUP:

Small Group-

My small group project comes from RealLife youth group at Glad Tiding Assemblies of God church in Sinking Springs, Pa. I have been the seventh grade boy’s leader for about two years. The name of our group (chosen by the boys) is the Steel Toe Burger Bro’s. Doing small groups and getting to know people on a different level has been really neat and has taught me a lot about how to relate to people. Seventh grade boys are a challenge in themselves, but I love every minute of it. They are very full of energy and excitement which makes small groups a bit difficult at times but also makes it very fun and interesting. I have found that every guy has a different story, home life, personality, idea of God, and attitude. The variety of guys in the small group makes relating to them hard to do sometimes. One thing I have learned though is that as we grow together as a group, and as they learn to trust me more, and I understand them better, we all can become unified. There are usually about five core guys that come every week and sometimes we can get up to about twelve. Pastor Erin Holt is the youth pastor and our small group focuses on the message using a small group packet that guides our discussions. We meet for about 45 minutes and our night goes as follows: go over announcements, discuss our weeks and anything new, fool around and have fun, go over our small group packet, discuss and talk about ideas from the message, and end in a short time of prayer. Growing with the guys and praying with them has been a great experience for me. They have challenged me to think differently and I pray that they have also learned form me. I have noticed that most of the seventh graders in the group are very influential and watch what others do; I pray that my example as a leader in the group will reflect positive things to them. The neat thing about small groups is that in such a small group you are able to notice everything. Some of the boys really step out and show character of a future leader in the group; others show posture or an attitude that reflects pain or frustration from there week or family. I feel that my role there is not to be so much of a leader as much as a director. I do not want to lecture or preach more then I have to, I really enjoy hearing them talk about issues and ideas that they have. My goal for the group is to be unique, energetic and open. I have gotten to know the boys pretty well and I am able to pray with them and be open with them about things that take place in there lives. I think that our time in small group has been very effective and has help every individual person in the group grow and understand each other and Christ in a deeper way.