One of the many benefits God built into His church is community. A spiritual family with all of the quirky characters of any real family, but a family that is supposed to love, support and hold you accountable the way Jesus might. That kind of community doesn’t just happen because everyone shows up to the church building for a couple of hours every Sunday. It’s built by spending time together and really getting to know each other’s hearts.
Your Bible students face a lot of pressure at school and during their other activities to make choices that aren’t pleasing to God. Living counter cultural isn’t easy for anyone, but it can be particularly difficult at an age where the number one goal is to be like everyone else. Having a supportive Church family can make those tough days easier…. knowing that there are other kids your age who are trying to make the same godly choices and facing the same issues you are can relieve some of the negative peer pressure experienced elsewhere.
You can help your Bible students begin building these close relationships with each other by providing opportunities to share their hearts with one another. Heart sharing is more bonding than just hanging out together and hoping for the best. There’s an activity you can do during each class that won’t take a lot of time, but provides opportunities for your students to share pieces of their hearts with one another.
You will need some way of choosing students and topics ahead of time. You can draw slips of paper, have a wheel that spins and chooses or use some sort of online tool. At the end of each class period, choose two names and either one or two topics. During the next class, each student should be prepared to share their answer in 30 seconds to a minute. One student will go at the beginning of class and the other at the end.
Have questions that encourage students to not just provide a short answer response, but ask them to dig a bit deeper and share why that particular answer is their choice. Some possible topics are:
- Favorite passage of scripture
- Favorite Psalm
- Favorite proverb from Proverbs
- Something that inspires you to obey God – living like Jesus, serving others and sharing your faith
- A godly dream for your future
- A ministry you are interested in
- Favorite person in the Bible (other than Jesus)
Have fun with it, but make sure the students are prepared to explain why they gave the answer that they did. Remind them they only have 30 seconds to a minute (which is about 100 words or five to ten sentences). Over time students will either realize that they have a lot in common or begin to feel like they know each other on a more meaningful level. There will be an emotional connection that will encourage them to give each other the benefit of the doubt and begin treating each other like siblings (or at least cousins!). Building community with heart sharing is a great way to spend two minutes of your class time each week.