6 Ways to Be Intentional this Fall
Wow! Did summer just fly by or what?? Christmas will be here in no time, and we are fully submerged in the back-to-school season of busyness! The girls in your small group are possibly consumed with soccer, volleyball, band, or cheer. Unfortunately, that often means their schedules may cause them to miss more than one Wednesday night or Sunday morning small group. No worries though! This is an opportunity for you to meet them where they are…literally.
Busy seasons can force us to be a little more creative with the way we connect with our small group. (Honestly, when are we not in a busy season?!) The girls in your group are busy and I’m sure you have your hands full as well, but there are great opportunities for you to connect outside of church. It can be challenging to make time, but being intentional to spend time with your girls means more to them than you know.
At our core, we all want to be known and loved. The girls in our group are no different; they feel known and loved when you make time to show up at a coffee shop, band performance, or game to see them. I encourage you to review your schedule and find pockets of free time where you can spend time with girls in your group.
Here are 6 easy ways you can be intentional with your girls this fall:
1. Show up and cheer them on at their next game or event! Yes, even if it’s soccer and you know nothing about soccer. Just show up! Even if the weather isn’t great, show up! Even if piano recitals or school plays aren’t your thing, just show up! You don’t even have to go alone. You can grab a few other girls in your small group and show your support! How fun is that?!
2. Not all girls are involved with activities or sports, so a there’s a chance they will have more free time to just meet you for coffee or ice cream. You can meet one-on-one or invite some other girls to attend. Great conversations can happen over a double scoop of ice cream!
3. Invite the girls over to your house for a movie night. Ask them all to bring one snack and you provide the movie. They will enjoy spending time with each other and will feel much more comfortable after being a guest in your home.
I also feel the need to encourage any woman who is reading this NOT to count yourself out of inviting others in your home because Joanna Gaines didn’t design it, or because you have a three-year-old who has colored on your walls. or because you missed laundry day for the past two weeks. The girls just want to be known and loved. They don’t care if your house is 800 square feet of colored walls or 3,000 square feet of perfection.
4. Have a potluck so that you all can hang out as a group and theme it around whatever month you’re in. September can be tailgating snacks, October is a great month for a Fall theme, November can be centered around Thanksgiving, and so on. There are tons of ways to spend time with your girls while adding an element of fun.
5. Plan to meet once a month nearby for ice cream, a burger, or Chick-fil-A (I mean, who doesn’t like Chick-fil- A?!). I’ve found it helpful to meet after the Wednesday night service since everyone is already together.
6. Maybe you truly don’t have time to spend outside of small group. I encourage you to take the little bit of time you do have and send your girls a text so there is additional contact throughout the week.
The main idea is to be intentional with your girls. The more time you spend with each other, the more comfortable they become which allows for deeper conversation. What small group leader doesn’t love that?
Lastly, thank you, thank you, thank you for investing your time, effort, and energy into teen girls. You are truly making an impact by investing in the next generation!
Nikki Tigg is an MTSU grad and currently lives in Murfreesboro, TN with her husband and son. She felt called to serve in High School Ministry in 2012 and led co-ed and girls groups. She has been Student Ministry Associate at New Vision Baptist Church since July 2017. Nikki has a passion for helping girls understand their identity in Christ and loves connecting with students, parents and leaders. She loves spending time with her family, decorating and enjoys an active lifestyle.