The preteens in your ministry can’t follow Jesus alone.

They need to be in relationship with others their age who are following Jesus.

They need to be in community.

I like to define community as “Doing life together with God in the picture.” I got this terminology from Willowcreek Church many many years ago. It communicates the essence of Biblical community.

In the context of a preteen ministry, community means…

Students are in relationship with peers and leaders (doing life together).

God is the center of those relationships (with God in the picture).

Community is a place where preteens…

Know others and are known

Accept others and are accepted

Pray for others and are prayed for

Celebrate others and are celebrated

Encourage other and are encouraged

When students are in community, their relationship with God flourishes.

So, in order to help your students get the idea of community, we came up with a free lesson on the subject.

It includes a fun activity, teaching and discussion questions.

Enjoy!

Youth Group Lesson on Community

Topic: Community

Bible Passage: Ephesians 2:19

Activity: Blindfolded Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course/maze that all students can go through.

Play 3 rounds of the obstacle course race.

Round 1 — The participants must navigate the course blindfolded on their own.

Round 2 — The participants may choose a friend to be a “guide” and shout directions from the finish line, but they cannot make contact.

Round 3 — The “guide” can lead the blindfolded participant any way they choose. This includes holding their hand, pushing them from behind, or even carrying them through the course on their back.

After the activity, ask the following questions:

• 1. For those of you who were blindfolded, which round was the hardest and which round was the easiest?
• 2. What made Round 1 so difficult?
• 3. What was the major difference between Round 2 and Round 3?
• 4. For the whole group, what worked best to navigate the course in Round 3? Was there anything that would’ve worked better than what our guides did? (Holding hands, walking beside them, walking behind them, picking them up and carrying them)
• 5. What are some other real-life activities that can be easier with help? (homework, chores, studying the Bible, serving others)
• 6. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being not important and 10 being VERY important), how important is it for God’s followers to serve and grow together?

Teach – Community

As Christians, we are wired to be a part of a family.

Not just a family with moms and dads, but a bigger family—the family of God.

We are brothers and sisters who share the same Father, God. We all need one another.

In fact, the phrase “one another” is used at least 58 times in the New Testament.

Love one another, serve one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, teach one another, submit to one another, and bear one another’s burdens—all of these are mentioned in the New Testament as it talks about the Family of God.

Listen to this passage.

Ephesians 2:19 says:

“You are a member of God’s very own family and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” [paraphrased]

God has called us to assist one another and encourage one another as brothers and sisters.

We need to belong to a community like this.

Being in community means we’re doing life together with God in the picture.

We’re connecting with friends and making new friends…all who are following Jesus.

We’re connecting with our leaders at church, who help us grow closer to our relationship with God.

However it’s more than just hanging out and having fun. We’re placing God the center of our relationships.

We’re praying for our friends (and getting prayed for).

We’re encouraging and uplifting our friends (and getting encouraged and uplifted).

We’re accepting each other as-is (and being accepted as-is).

We’re celebrating the good stuff happening in each others lives.

There are many reasons why being in community is so important, but we’re just going to highlight three of them.

1. I need to be in community because…I need to grow spiritually.

God has called each of us to grow in wisdom and knowledge of Him. This is impossible to do alone. We need to be with other believers who can encourage us and hold us accountable.

Read Hebrews 10:24

This verse instructs us to think of ways that we can encourage each other in our spiritual growth. We should be thinking of what we can do or say that will encourage others to live according to God’s will.

Read Hebrews 3:13

This verse calls us to hold one another accountable to sin. Being in community means that we encourage one another to live a life that is pleasing to the Father.

2. I need to be in community because…more can be done together than can ever be done alone.

There is always strength in numbers. This is true for Christians. There is power that comes in community. 

Read Matthew 18:19-20

The power of God is unleashed when meet together in community.

This verse shows us that Christ is there with us, and He is listening to us pray together.

There is power in this promise.

Read John 13:35

The world sees the love that we share as a group of preteens in community.

When we encourage one another and pray with one another, the whole world sees it and knows that we are part of God’s family.

Think about this, being in community is a testimony to the entire world that Jesus Christ has changed your life and He can do the same for them.

3. I need to be in community because…God designed me that way.

Being in community is not just a good idea; it’s the way God designed us.

Scripture tells us that God gives us spiritual gifts when we become a Christian, and these gifts are to be used to serve other believers.

Read 1 Peter 4:10

Read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14

God has given every believer a set of gifts, and He wants us to work together, by using our gifts, so that we can accomplish His mission.

We need to be in community so that we can fulfill our role—our part—in the body of Christ

Galatians 6:10 says:

“Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” We should be thinking of how our words and our actions build up other believers. God had commanded us to be a part of a small group community. We need to obey His command because we need to grow spiritually and there is so much power that comes through our community.

 End in prayer