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.
Awkward…
Have you ever been at a party and made a comment, immediately after which the whole room goes silent? Sometimes silence is the loudest noise that we can hear. In the five seconds of silence that pass your mind begins to do some sort of Matrix-esque time-deceleration as you begin to soak in the atmosphere of awkward.
Sometimes when we facilitate discussion in small groups, silence creeps in. You ask a question, and it appears to fall flat before teenagers who either are deaf or don’t speak English as their first language. You have been stonewalled.
Don’t Panic
In those few seconds that pass before a response, don’t panic. Silence can be your friend in small groups. And more often than not, the length of the silence is shorter than your perception.
So the next time you’re faced with a silent response, relish the quiet. Give your teens a second to let the question sink in. And wait for a response. Once your teens have had a chance to think, you’ll find that they may have an insightful response.
Don’t fear the silence.