The following is part of the on the go training that I’ve begun to give our adult leaders in our youth ministry. The principles should be transferrable to other youth ministries with small group programs.
You’re Busy
Life is busy. And as adults it seems that like continues to get busier as time goes by. You have the nine to five job, the home improvement projects, weekly chores, and the list goes on. And for those with parents, there are diapers to change, papers to help write, and games to drive to. Responsibilities are legion.
So it’s no surprise when we get intimidated by the idea of connecting with teens outside of our normal small group meetings. After all, who has more time to give a bunch of freshmen boys when you can’t even fit everything in your schedule right now?
But here’s the thing. Most people have two minutes that they can spare. Two minutes are like those two kernels of popcorn that you stole out of your friend’s bowl of popcorn. Who’d notice two minutes?
Your teens would notice two minutes.
It Only Takes Two
Get on Facebook. Get on your phone. Get on your email. And just write a little 30 second message for a few of your teens. “Hey, just wanted to let you know that you’re great!” “Really appreciated your input in small group!” “Wanted to let you know I’m praying for your breath.”
Whatever the short message might be, it’s doesn’t need to be long. Just take two minutes. And what you’ll find is that two minutes invested consistently over time will reap great relational dividends. Because they’ll say, “that was two minutes they spent on ME!”
You don’t need another hour in the day. You just need two minutes.