ECHO (Week 5 of 5)

BOTTOM LINE:

Your failures don’t change Jesus’ love.

GOAL OF BREAKOUT GROUP:

To show students that there’s no mistake or mess up that’s too big for God’s love to cover.

THINK ABOUT THIS:

Students in this phase struggle to define their mistakes and mess ups. Some may know they’ve made a mistake right away while others may not realize it until a consequence comes. Some recognize major mess ups when they happen while others may feel like even the tiniest mess up is the biggest deal. Keep this in mind as students open up about their perceived failures. What may seem like a small thing to you probably feels like a huge thing to them. So, while we don’t want them to beat themselves up over seemingly simple things, we want to be careful not to dismiss or downplay what’s a big deal to them. Be sure to remind students that the focus isn’t on their mistakes. We all make them, and we’ll all continue to make them. That’s why focusing our hearts
on God’s love and the forgiveness made possible through Jesus is the best possible way to move forward.

BREAKOUT QUESTIONS:

ICE BREAKER

1. Where did you see God this week?

DISCUSS THIS

1. What’s the funniest fail video you’ve ever seen?
2. What are some of the most common mistakes that middle schoolers make?
3. What’s one thing someone might do when they make a mistake?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you deal with making a mistake?
5. How do you think Jesus feels when you mess up? Why?
6. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus loves you no matter what?
DO THIS (EXPERIENCE)
Pass out the provided “My Plan” journal page to your students and ask them to fill it out during group. After everyone is finished, talk together about the steps they’ll take to get closer to Jesus when they make a mistake.