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God has called us to love and care for the least of these, and that includes one of His most precious gifts to us: kids! Often covered in cereal or suspicious goo, kids bring us so much joy … and maybe a little trepidation.
If you’ve been asked to lead a small group in kids ministry, you’re stepping directly into child discipleship. It’s one of the most rewarding things you can do, but it can also feel overwhelming at times. Here are four things that will help prepare you each week to lead well.
1. Pray for the kids in your small group and their families.
Take time each week to pray intentionally for the kids in your group and their families. Pray for them by name. Bring to God the things they’ve shared with you. Pray that they would know and love Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Pray that they would feel the love and peace of God in their hearts and homes. Ask God to help your small group be a place where every kid feels safe and seen and where they truly know they belong to Him. Ask God to help them learn to walk in His ways through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, as much as you love and delight in them, our heavenly Father loves them even more. Ask Him to give you the exact words each kid needs to hear about His love.
2. Read the Bible passage and meditate on God’s Word.
No one expects you to hold a Ph.D. in biblical studies to lead a small group. If kids ask a tough question, you don’t know the answer to, it’s OK to tell them you’ll follow up with them later or even invite them to discover the answer with you.
However, you can’t teach what you don’t know. So take time to read the Bible passage a couple times in a few different translations and prayerfully meditate on God’s Word. The more you understand and love Scripture, the more you can confidently help kids grow in their faith. Let the lesson first shape your own heart. Listen to what God wants to teach you before you teach it to kids.
3. Read the lesson plan early in the week.
We want kids to know that church is a place where they belong. We want them to feel loved by God and us. But it’s hard to communicate that when you’re hastily skimming the lesson for the first time in the corner prior to your small group time.
If you’re reading the lesson for the first time with kids sitting in front of you, you may miss meaningful moments of child discipleship. But when you read the lesson ahead of time, you allow the authority of Scripture to speak and the Holy Spirit to work through you.
Read the lesson during the week beforehand. This should take no more than 15 minutes, and it will allow you to arrive confident and ready to give kids your full attention. You don’t have to memorize the lesson word for word, but knowing it ahead of time gives you flexibility. You can think through what will work best for your environment, your time frame and your specific group of kids.
4. Gather and prepare supplies ahead of time.
No one wants to glance at their lesson five minutes before group time and suddenly remember they were supposed to practice making elephant toothpaste or prepare 24 frozen figurines.
Save yourself unnecessary stress by gathering and preparing supplies ahead of time. When you take the time to prepare, you communicate something powerful: These kids are worth your time and effort. Preparation isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up ready to serve and removing any obstacles to the proclamation and application of the Gospel.
Leading a small group requires preparation, prayer and presence—not perfection. When you prepare well, you create space for kids to belong, grow in what they believe and become like Jesus. Every activity, conversation and moment is an opportunity to point kids toward Jesus. Thank you for all you do each week to remind children that Jesus is better than anything else.
Kerri Muir serves as a Curriculum Developer on the Brite team at Awana. Before joining Awana, she spent eight years as a Children’s Director in Southern California. Now based just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, Kerri and her husband, David, are raising two precocious kids and an energetic puppy. She grew up as a missionary kid in Vienna, Austria, and is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute. Kerri is passionate about helping kids know and love Jesus and loves connecting with others who share a heart for discipling the next generation.
