Small group ministry invites youth into a relational and spiritual focus in the context of your congregation. It can serve youth as an invitation to and preparation for broader, long-term congregational connection and involvement....

This is a model for using small group ministry within a youth conference. The theme for this example is "Same, But Different." Sessions can be facilitated by teams of a youth and an adult or by two youth. Session facilitators will need to review their sessions ahead of time. Weekend Schedule,...

Use this model for a service project involving multiple ages. Session A, The Project, and Session B provide the framework for planning, implementing, and processing a Christmas service project for a nursing home. Adjustments can easily be made to use the model for other holidays or different...

This two-part training is based on the work of Eric Dawson and adapted by Jessica York. The training sessions, 90 minutes each, may be used with facilitators of any age. If the group plans to rotate facilitation among all participants, consider conducting training for the entire small group.

Once you have chosen to explore small group ministry with youth, you will have decisions to make about several aspects of the program. In this chapter, we will discuss some of these decisions. How and where will sessions be used? Some options are: As weekly curriculum for a religious education or...

Many of our congregations have embraced the use of small group ministry or covenant groups with adults. Small group ministry can be a way to help individuals build relationships, experience a greater sense of belonging, and feel supported in their spiritual journey in the congregation. The...

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Paper and pens/pencils DESCRIPTION Opening Use your established opening ritual. Check-In Focus Share the poem "The Place Where We Are Right" by Yehuda Amichai, translated from the Hebrew by Chana Bloch and Stephen Mitchell. Copyright 1996 by Chana...

Visit the nursing home (or other service project location) the same day as Session A, or as soon as possible thereafter. Carpool to the nursing home. Remember to bring all supplies needed, such as tape, musical instruments, words to carols, and plates, cups and napkins if you will serve snacks....

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Nametags and markers Optional: A copy of the episode "Witch Lady" from the TV show My Name Is Earl, and player DESCRIPTION Opening Use your established opening ritual....

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle A copy of the movie Monsters, Inc., and a player For Optional Activity: Note cards and envelopes; pens/pencils; postage stamps Optional: A copy of the Michael Jackson song "Man in the Mirror," and a player PREPARATION Watch the movie....

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle A copy of the movie The King of Kong, PG-13, 83 minutes, and a player Optional: A copy of the soundtrack from the Disney movie The Lion King, and a player PREPARATION Watch The King of Kong....

Materials Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: A copy of an episode of the Animal Planet documentary Whale Wars, and a player Preparation Visit both the Japan Whaling Association to make sure you are using current information and to obtain more than is...

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle DESCRIPTION Opening Use your established opening ritual or light the chalice and share the following quote: It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely. --Albert Einstein Check-In Focus A LiveScience...

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Optional: Computer with Internet access PREPARATION Choose and plan a way for participants to experience worship. DESCRIPTION Opening Use your established opening ritual. Or, light the chalice and share this quote: An authentic life is the most...

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Computer with Internet access Optional: Music recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Glazunov's The Seasons, and player Optional: Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook...

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers, and tape PREPARATION Print out the four skits (below). Make enough copies for volunteers who will read an actor part or share the BIG IDEA in each skit Post newsprint for recording members' ideas for a covenant....

MATERIALS Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers, and tape A calendar Timepiece (seconds) Bell or chime DESCRIPTION Opening Share this quote by reading it aloud or asking several volunteers to read it with you. Come in. Come into this place which we make holy by our presence....

You might use the format of the sample sessions here to create your own small group ministry sessions for youth. Find additional sessions for youth in Small Group Ministry for Youth by Helen Zidowecki (UU Small Group Ministry Network, 2005), along with suggestions for ways youth can create their...

While small group ministry uses various formats, it must provide (1) a time dedicated to checking in and (2) questions that invite participants to speak to their individual experiences. By sharing stories and reflecting, with others, on how we, as individuals, make meaning of our experiences, we...

Often small group ministry or covenant groups include a service component, which Peter Bowden calls "inspired group action." Service to the congregation or larger community helps keep the small group from becoming self-absorbed, too heady, and disconnected....