ROOTED · WEEK 01
Listen before you lead.
The first goal is not to impress students. It is to know them.
Leader Prep · 5 Minutes
Walk in curious.
Your instinct may be to walk into the first gathering with something impressive to say. Resist that.
Tonight is about discovering who is in front of you. Learn their names, their stories, what they enjoy, what they are carrying, and what they hope this group becomes.
You are beginning to answer one important question: "Who has God entrusted to me?"
If students leave tonight believing, "That adult actually cares about what is happening in my life," Week One was successful.
The Big Idea
Jesus didn't treat people like a crowd. He knew people personally.
Discipleship begins when people are seen, known, and invited into relationship. Before we ask students to trust our leadership, we should demonstrate that they matter to us.
Scripture
Jesus knows His sheep.
JOHN 10:14Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."
Notice the language Jesus uses. Shepherding is not merely managing a group. It is knowing people.
That is our starting point for THE FEW. Before programs, plans, or teaching rhythms, students should experience what it feels like to be known by someone in their church.
Tonight's Flow
Keep it conversational.
This week intentionally spends more time at the table. You are building relational permission for deeper conversations later.
Table
Eat something together. Keep phones away when possible. Ask questions, laugh, listen, and let conversation breathe.
Word
Read John 10:14 and share the short teaching below. Do not turn this into a sermon.
Talk
Use the discussion questions. Follow good answers with "Tell me more about that."
Pray
Ask each student for one thing they would like prayer for. Write it down and actually pray for it this week.
Teaching Guide · 10 Minutes
Three simple truths.
These are talking points, not a manuscript. Put them in your own voice.
God knows you personally.
You are not anonymous to God. He knows your story, your questions, your pressures, your fears, and your future. Jesus describes Himself as a Shepherd who knows His sheep.
The Church should be a place where you are known too.
Church should be more than sitting in a room with people who don't know anything about your life. God designed His people to know, encourage, pray for, and walk with one another.
That's what we're building here.
This group may never be huge-and that is okay. We want this to become a place where you can know God, ask real questions, grow spiritually, and have people who genuinely care about you.
Talk
Don't rush the questions.
What's one thing you wish adults understood better about people your age?
What's something you actually enjoy about church?
What's something about church or faith that you don't understand?
If this group could become genuinely helpful to you, what would you want us to talk about or do?
What's one thing happening in your life right now that you would like someone to pray about?
Practice + Pray
One honest answer.
Ask every student to finish this sentence: "One thing I hope this group becomes is…"
Pray by name.
Close by praying specifically for each student by name and for the needs they shared. Avoid generic language. Let them hear that you were listening.
Leader Coaching
Notice this.
Parent Table Talk
Take the conversation home.
Send this to parents after the gathering. Keep it simple enough that families will actually use it.
What did you talk about at THE FEW tonight?
Tell your student about an adult who made you feel known when you were their age.
Give your student ten uninterrupted minutes to tell you what's happening in their world.
Pray: "Jesus, help our home become a place where we know You and know one another deeply."
Before Week Two
The lesson isn't finished when they leave.
Write down each student's prayer request.
Pray for every student by name at least twice this week.
Send each student one simple personal message: "Glad you were there. I'm praying about what you shared."
Follow up privately with anything that sounded serious, involving the pastor or parent when appropriate.
Before Week Two, be able to say one meaningful thing you learned about every student.
Next
Week 02 - You Belong Here.
Once students begin to experience what it means to be known, the next step is helping them understand that they belong to the Body of Christ.