

together about your plans. Being clear on

why you want to start a group is really
important so make sure you agree on what
the aims are going to be. It might be that
some of the Christian pupils don’t want to be
 involved. Gently ask them why, listen to
their concerns and remember that, in the
end, it is their decision. It is probably best if
 one or two of you have the main
responsibility for running the group.
1. Pray. Get together to pray and plan a
 programme.
 2. Permission. Ask the head teacher for
permission to start a group. If you are
nervous perhaps a Christian teacher,
parent, schools worker or minister can
Each of these is a great reason for starting a come with you. Remember to make an
Christian group, and a group can fulfil some or appointment in advance. Where possible
all of these. try and encourage people to pray for you
when you go to see the Head. It’s also a
good idea to have
And remember, the existence of a Christian
your aims and a
group is a witness in itself!
draft programme
written down to
show the head
teacher.

3. Support. You may

You will need to share your ideas with the want to seek the
other Christians in the school. Why not get support of someone
together and talk through why you want to to help with your
start a group. It would also be good to pray


 

plans and programme. This could be a

Christian member of staff, schools
worker or someone from a local church.
They may be able to help by providing
practical support, giving advice, praying,
or even regular visits to the group.
Most groups meet during the lunch
break, but some groups meet after
school and some even before school!
Decide what time is best for you and
try to stick to the same time each
week.

4. Finance. It’s likely that at some point

you might need to think about finance
for your group. For example, you may
want to buy some Bibles, or you may
want to have a small float for expenses
that occur from time to time. It’s
possible that the school might be able to
help with a small starter gift or with a
particular item (e.g. Bibles or a kettle).
Alternatively you could approach a local
church, schools worker, youth worker or
Christian parent who may be able to c. Choose a name
help.
It’s worth thinking what you’re going
to call your group. Here are a few
ideas: X-tra, X-plore! The Rock,
5. After receiving permission from the re:source, Solid, Shine. You could
Head: have a competition to choose the
best name. The younger pupils
would love this! You could give a
a. Decide where to meet Christian book as a prize!

Pray that God will guide you to the

most suitable room for the club.

Try to get a room that has access to

a TV, DVD player and projector.
Sometimes using a form class can be
awkward as pupils come in to get
their bags or to shelter from the rain.
If possible try to avoid using a room
with too many windows so that you
don’t get pupils knocking on the
windows during the meeting.

b. Decide when to meet.


 
d. Make the group known.
There are a number of ways of doing
this and you will know what works
best in your school. Here are some
suggestions:
 Posters
 Notes in the registers
 Announcements in assembly
 Invitation cards (like business
cards). Once again you could
have a competition to see who
could design the most attractive
business cards
 Invite your friends- this is always
the best way!
 Ask the school for a notice board
for the group
When organizing a programme it is important
to have variety in both content (your themes)
and activity (what you do). Here are some
examples of the different sort of content and
activities that you could have:
Topical Issues relevant to young people
E.g. Alcohol, relationships, honesty
A book of the bible
E.g. Philippians, Mark, Nehemiah
Themes from the Bible
E.g. Prayer, discipleship, evangelism
Characters from the Bible
E.g. Jesus, David, Moses, Esther, Peter
Global issues
E.g. Poverty, Fair Trade, climate change
Group bible study
Visiting speaker
Social event
Video
Games
Quizzes
Crafts
Role play
Debate
Prayer
School based project e.g. Litter pick
An act of service (e.g. Operation Christmas
Child shoe boxes)
Each group is different, but here are a few ideas
that have worked in different schools
a. When you were deciding on what the group
should be for, you may have come up with
several different reasons. It might mean
that you have to have two groups:  one for
the Christians to support each other; the
other group could be a place where people
who aren’t Christians can find out what it is
all about. Alternatively, you might decide to
have just one group, but vary what you do
each week. One week it is for the Christians,
next week it is for the nonChristians and so
on.

 

b. Some groups meet specifically to pray for drop in to a room, have tea / coffee/ juice
friends and the school. If you don’t have and biscuits and an opportunity to relax,
time to organize a programme don’t give chat and discuss.
up meeting together! Who knows what
God can do in answer to the prayers of
young people in school. Check it out!
(James 5 verse 16b) g. Others follow the 3 week cycle of:

c. 123 GO – Some groups have a Bible  Speaker

study/ prayer time for three weeks, then
on the fourth week they hold an outreach  Video
event / meeting e.g. Christmas party and
speaker; having somebody in to talk on  Bible study + prayer
Creation v Evolution; having a question
panel (you could call it Grill a Christian -
this will appeal to the older pupils). Don’t
forget to make a special effort to Another idea is to have a pattern like this:
announce these special meetings.
 Week 1  Outreach. Warm up activity
/quiz / video - talk / input 5-10 minutes

 Week 2  Fellowship. Opportunity for

Christians to get together to chat and
pray

 Week 3  Teaching / study. You could

choose a book from the Bible or a subject
e.g. The Holy Spirit

 Week 4 – Serving. E.g. organize a coffee

bar or non-alcohol bar to raise money for
TEARfund, prepare shoeboxes for
Operation Christmas Child etc. It’s good
d. Some groups do crafts e.g. Christmas to show that Christians have a concern
cards with a message, collage on a story for the physical needs as well as the
from the Bible. spiritual needs of people. One Christian
club supports a child with TEARfund and
a box is passed round every week

e. Some groups follow the pattern of games

at the start, then a talk for 5-10 minutes
and prayer each week. The younger pupils
love games and it’s a great way of
attracting a crowd!

f. Other groups follow the ‘drop-in’ method

where there’s an opportunity for pupils to


 
h. You could have a 6-week series (half a
term) on themes such as love/ friendship,
peer pressure, sex, drugs, exams and
worry. These subjects, as you know, are
on the minds of your friends and the
gospel is relevant to each one of them.
i. You could have a series of about six
weeks based on film clips and then
discuss subjects that arise
As you can see there are many ways of
organising your programme. It depends on
how many of you there are to run the group,
what age group you’re aiming at and on what
appeals to you all etc.! Remember
enthusiasm and creativity help!
 Always ask permission before inviting
anyone into the school.
 Don’t think that only ministers, vicars, or
schools workers can speak at Christian
groups.
It’s good for pupils to
meet a cross-section of
Christians of different
ages and background.
One Christian group
invited a policeman,
farmer, and an Image
Consultant to share
their testimony and
talk about their work.
Every Christian has a
story to tell!
 If you invite a speaker who has an
interesting story/job you might want to
let the Head teacher/ RE /PSHE / Careers
teacher know beforehand so that they
could be involved in lessons or assemblies.
If a missionary speaks French or Spanish
for example, I’m sure the Modern
Language teachers would like to use
him/her. Most schools like to have visitors
into the school.
 Make sure beforehand of course that the
speaker is available!
 If the Christians in the Christian group
represent a number of churches in the
town / area try to make sure that you
invite speakers from all those churches.
Remember, a school Christian group isn’t
one church, but a group of Christians from
a number of different churches getting
together to be a witness in the school!
i) Do…. Look after the room you are
using. If you are using the black/white
board make sure that you don’t rub out
notes, or important diagrams. If you’re
not sure, don’t use the board. Tidy the
room at the end making sure it’s as tidy,
if not tidier than, at the beginning of the
meeting. If pupils eat their lunch during
the meeting, make sure the rubbish is in
the bin before you leave the room.
Respecting the room is an important part
of the groups’ witness.

 
ii) Do …. Be punctual in starting and
especially in ending the meeting. Try
starting on time every week and finishing
5 minutes before the bell to allow time
to clear up before leaving the room.
Make sure that speakers from outside
know exactly how much time they’ve
got to speak and what time they need to
finish. Make sure the speakers arrive in
plenty of time before the start of the
meeting so that they can organize
themselves and have time to chat with
the pupils as they arrive.
iii) Do .... Review and evaluate what you
are doing. Make sure you stop every
now and then to review how things are
going.
 What has worked well?
 What did not go so well?
 What could have been even better?
 Which activities / meetings seem to
have helped people get to know God
better?
 What have people enjoyed doing?
These can be difficult questions as we
often find it hard to give and receive
comments in a constructive manner.
Remember to speak with love, gentleness
and sensitivity. Make sure you also get
the comments of the group members
(not just the leaders) as they will have
valuable things to say.
iv) Don’t …. Get discouraged if not many
come! We live by faith and not by sight!
(2 Corinthians 5:7)
v) Don’t …. Be a clique! - Be welcoming.
Try to create a relaxed atmosphere in the
room.
Here are a few ideas that have worked
for some groups:
a) Food! This can be a bit tricky these
days as lots of schools have ‘Healthy
Eating’ policies. If you are going to
offer food, make sure you are not
going to ‘get into trouble’ over it.
The same applies for prizes for
quizzes and games. Again, you know
best what is allowed in your school.
b) Music  some groups have music
playing in the background before the
meeting starts.
c) However, the best way to make
people feel welcome is to chat to
them, show an interest in them, treat
them with respect and remember
things about them.
vi) Don’t …. Neglect your school work.
Primarily you are at school to learn.
Being involved in a group is a brilliant
thing to do, but it must not be at the
expense of your education as this is a
bad witness.

