11 Must-Have Small Group Supplies

When Kenny and I aren’t doing Stuff You Can Use, we’re doing Middle School Ministry at an awesome church in Buffalo, NY. It’s pretty fun. We’re learning a lot, we’re trying a lot, and part of the reason this blog exists is so we can share with you some of our experiences and experiments. Maybe some things we share will spark something really genius in your ministry context. That’s what we’re up to in today’s post.

In everything we do, we want to set up our Small Group Leaders to win with their students.One of our personal core philosophies in ministry is this: in everything we do, we want to set up our Small Group Leaders to win with their students. In every aspect of ministry, we want to give our Small Group Leaders every opportunity and resource they need to be successful. Because they’re the heart and hands of what we do.

One of the ways we’ve tried to do that has been to create a Small Group Leader Supply Station. It’s sort of a one-stop shop for anything and everything our Small Group Leaders (or SGL’s) might need. Today, we wanted to give you a peek at it! (Click on the thumbnails for a closer look…)

OUR 11 MUST-HAVE SMALL GROUP SUPPLIES…

1. CONVERSATION STARTERS. Every week, we put together a list of questions to help our SGL’s guide the conversation with their students after the message. These Conversation Starters go up on our website in advance, so our SGL’s have lots of time to prepare. Get the editable version here.
2. TIME WITH GOD. Every week, we put together a basic reading plan to get kids into God’s Word. We have paper copies, but we also post these reading plans on a blog and on our Time with God App. Get the editable version here.
3. BIBLES. We always have these handy so SGL’s can grab them for students who don’t have Bibles (and write a little note on the inside before giving it to them).
4. BINDERS. We custom-print 3-ring binders (half-page size) for our students to hang onto their Conversation Starters, Time with God, event flyers, or their Small Group Leaders’ “business cards.”
5. STUDENT PROFILES. These are an easy way for our SGL’s to hang onto their students’ contact information. Get the editable version here.
6. PRAYER REQUEST CARDS. These were originally part of our 4 Elements Projects, but they were so popular we decided to keep them around every week.
7. POSTCARDS. We love to see our SGL’s investing randomly in their students’ lives, so we keep a ton of postcards on hand so that our SGL’s can jot notes to their students once in a while. They give them to us and we mail them the next day.
8. THE 4 ELEMENTS PROJECTS. We talked all about these projects last week. We also keep a little chalkboard at the Supplies Station with the current Element written on it, just as a quick visual reminder.
9. THE SMALL GROUP LEADER LIBRARY. The Library is super important – so important, actually, that we’re going to do an entire post on it. Check back on Wednesday for a close-up look at our Library and a “how-to” on making one for your ministry.
10. PENS & SCRAP PAPER.
11. CANDY! Lots of candy. Because, at least in Middle School Ministry, sometimes kids need a little incentive to talk. Or stop talking. Or stop throwing things at each other. Ya know.

Those are our must-have supplies for our Small Group Leaders. What are yours?