Whirlwind is an exciting and vibrant community designed specifically for Middle School Students. Just like a whirlwind’s energy and momentum, we are all about creating a dynamic and engaging environment where Middle Schoolers can come together, learn, grow, and have a blast while doing it!
Friendships are one of the biggest parts of middle school life. They can give us a place to belong, shape the choices we make, and influence the people we're becoming. But friendships can also get complicated. People change, feelings get hurt, conflict happens, and sometimes we don't know what being a good friend actually looks like. THEME VERSE: "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." - Romans 12:10
CHOOSE YOUR PEOPLE
PASSAGE: 1 Samuel 18:1–4; selected moments from David and Jonathan's friendship
BIG IDEA: The people we walk with help shape who we become.
Friendships influence more than who we sit with at lunch or spend time with on the weekend. The people closest to us can shape our attitudes, choices, values, and even our faith. Through the friendship of David and Jonathan, students will consider what makes a friendship healthy and how the people we choose to walk with can help shape who we're becoming.
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of Whirlwind, students will know that our closest friendships can influence who we are becoming.
Students will be able to identify qualities they want to look for in a healthy friend and develop in themselves.
PASSAGE: John 13:1–17, 34–35
BIG IDEA: Great friendships begin with becoming a great friend.
It's easy to spend a lot of time wondering whether other people are being good friends to us. Jesus turns our attention toward how we treat others. By washing His disciples' feet and commanding them to love one another as He loved them, Jesus shows us that real love notices, serves, and puts others first. Students will consider what it looks like to stop simply looking for good friends and start becoming one.
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of Whirlwind, students will know that Jesus calls us to love our friends through our actions, not just our feelings.
Students will be able to choose one concrete way to encourage, include, serve, or care for someone in their lives.
WHEN FRIENDSHIP GETS MESSY
PASSAGE: Romans 12:9–18
BIG IDEA: When relationships get messy, we can choose honesty over drama.
Even the best friendships experience misunderstandings, hurt feelings, disagreements, and conflict. When that happens, it's easy to gossip, retaliate, avoid the other person, or pull others into the conflict. Paul describes a different way of relating to one another, marked by sincere love, patience, honor, and peace. Students will explore how following Jesus can change the way they respond when friendship gets messy.
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of Whirlwind, students will know that following Jesus gives us a healthier way to respond to conflict than gossip, retaliation, or avoidance.
Students will be able to identify and practice a healthy response to a common friendship conflict.
PASSAGE: Colossians 3:12–15
BIG IDEA: Healthy friendships make room for forgiveness and grace.
Healthy friendships aren't friendships where nobody ever gets hurt. They are relationships where people learn what to do when hurt happens. Paul tells followers of Jesus to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. Students will discover that the grace Jesus gives us can shape the grace we extend to others, while recognizing that forgiveness doesn't require us to ignore harmful behavior or remain in an unhealthy relationship.
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of Whirlwind, students will know that the grace and forgiveness we receive from Jesus can shape how we respond when others hurt us.
Students will be able to identify a healthy next step when a relationship has been hurt, whether that means apologizing, forgiving, having an honest conversation, setting a boundary, or asking a trusted adult for help.
