In Luke 9, Jesus’ Disciples came to him and asked him to send the crowds into the local towns to find a McDonalds. I suppose the Disciples were showing some concern for the people, but I wonder if the stomachs they were most concerned about weren’t their own. Of course, Jesus had another plan in mind. He told the Disciples to feed the crowd themselves. And the story goes on to show an amazing picture of Jesus as God; just as God provided manna in the wilderness, so Jesus, God in flesh, provided bread for the crowds. But the tendency of the disciples to send the crowds away may be similar to a problem faced by many small youth groups.

Small youth groups can become very inwardly focused. When you ask your students talk about what they would like to do as a group, do the activities begin to sound pretty self-serving? Does Bible study ever feel more about your group feeling good about itself rather than driving your group members to become missional servants of God? It is not unusual for a youth group to become inwardly focused, and it is important that students develop close relationships with each other. But, Jesus’ plans for his disciples seemed to be that they reach out to those lost and without a shepherd all around them, and I think that is the same plan he has for your youth group.

Help your students to see your youth group as on mission with God. Most teenagers get involved in youth groups because of their friends. They come to Bible studies and activities to be with their friends. However, students need to grow to see their youth ministry as something more than a group of friends. God’s mission in the world is to reclaim those who are lost. He uses many ways to accomplish that purpose, but his desire is to forgive and redeem the lost in your community and around the world. How can your students begin to see their part in God’s plan? How can you paint that picture for them?

Guide your students to understand what it means to be lost. We never want to talk about the futility of life without Christ. It feels better to say things like: Everyone just has to find his or her own way. But the truth is, without Christ, people are missing the deep relationship with God that fulfills their very purpose of life and they are in danger of spending eternity separated from God. Lostness is not a lifestyle choice; it is a blindness that is caused by our own sin clouding our sight of what is right and true and good. The cure is the dazzling revelation of Jesus Christ and his forgiveness. How can you help your students understand what it is really like to be without Christ? How can you help them to care?

Encourage your students to pray for their lost friends. There is nothing that will open their hearts to the things of God like praying for the salvation of their friends. Look for your prayer times at youth group to be more about people who need Jesus and less about the list of ailments of everyone they can remember. Invest in times of prayer in which students are able to lift up their friends (perhaps without mentioning their names), and asking God to lead them to faith.

Lead your students to make your youth group a place where all people feel welcomed, included, and loved. Regardless of how many students you can get to come to your youth group because of your dynamic personality, few will stay for very long if they don’t feel loved and accepted by the group. On the other hand, when your group becomes a place where people feel welcomed, love, and included, it will be hard to keep students away. How can you help your students to embrace new students? How you can help them to build real friendship with new students and not just say the obligatory “hi and welcome”?