128 Small Group Questions For Youth Ministry

We took our post 450 youth group sermon ideas and crafted up some questions you could use for some of the most popular youth ministry lesson topics.

Scroll down for all the small group questions for youth ministry.

Small Group Questions For Youth About Self-Issues

-What does it mean for you to be created by God? How does that play out in your life, or does it?

-What is hard about accepting yourself?

-Do you find you are harder on yourself than other people? Explain why or why not?

-What are the things that you like about yourself and what do you not like about yourself. Explain why?

-Is it hard to change? Explain why.

-If there is one thing you could instantaneously change about yourself, what would it be and why? What’s preventing you from working on that change (if applicable)?

-How do you feel when another person notices a quality or attribute about you?

-Who are your role models and why?

-Is there a biblical character you identify with and why?

-Do you act differently in certain situations than others? Do you act differently at school than at church? Different at home than with your friends? Provide examples.

-How do you deal with pressure?

-What are healthy ways to deal with stress/pressure?

-Do you have a pet peeve that makes you irrationally angry? Why gets under your skin?

-What are healthy ways of dealing with anger?

-Do you feel pressured to be someone that you’re not? Explain.

-Why do you think some people bully or attack others? What is their motivation?

-What is your biggest fear?

-Where do you think most people draw their self-esteem from? What gives them identity?

-If you’re feeling down, what cheers you up?

-Do you think you’re a patient person? Why or why not?

-How does it feel to not have what you want when you want it?

-Is it easy for you to work towards a goal, or do you get frustrated and quit quickly?

-Have you ever set a long-term goal for yourself to work toward? What was that experience like? (Examples, improving in sports, music, hobby/activity, academics)

-Do you set realistic expectations for yourself? 

-Do you sometimes think you’re capable of doing more than you are? What’s it like to get in over your head in a situation and not be able to solve it yourself?

-What is the one thing that motivates you the most everyday?

-What is something that demotivates you, or zaps all of your energy to make progress?

-Do you think you’re the same person in your social media that you are in person? What is different?

-What kind of things do you willingly post about yourself on social media? 

-What is something you wouldn’t post about yourself on social media?

-Have you ever thought about what God’s calling is in your life?

Small Group Questions For Youth About Relationships

-What does it mean/look like to have healthy relationships in your life? 

-Can you think of any biblical examples of healthy relationships and what can they teach us? *Look at these examples in the Bible

-What makes relationships hard?

-What makes relationships good?

-Do you find yourself giving up on relationships or people when things get difficult?

-When a relationship has an issue – what techniques or problem solving strategies do you like to use? (Example, having an intentional conversation about the issue, writing a letter, bringing a mediator in, etc)

-What is a real life example of a good relationship? Explain.

-What is the cause of most arguments or falling outs? (Seek root causes, like communication, unrealistic expectations, differing ambitions/goals, outside pressures, such as family, friends, etc).

-Do you have any personal examples you’re willing to share about having resolved a conflict within a relationship? (Not everyone will, so plan to spend a little more time with the ones who volunteer)

-How long does it take you to build a strong relationship with someone? How easy do relationships turn badly or fall apart for you personally?

-What’s the most important element of a good relationship to you and WHY?

-How do you deal with conflict?

-Do you find yourself to be confrontational or avoiding conflict when it happens?

-Have you ever lost someone, either through death or a broken relationship, that was important to you and you’ll never get to talk to them again? What has that experience been like for you?

-How do you feel when someone tries to get you to do something you don’t want to do?

-Why do you think some people brag or exaggerate about themselves? What do you think they’re hoping to accomplish?

-Why do you think people talk badly about other people sometime? Why put someone else down?

-What does it feel like to have friends team up against you in a dispute?

-Which best describes you during conflict among friends and family – a peacemaker, a fighter, a defender, an instigator, or a hider? Is there another way you’d describe yourself?

-Among groups of friends, are you the person who comes up with ideas about what to do, the person who goes along with what everyone else is doing, or a combination of the two?

-Have you ever held a grudge against someone? What was that experience like for you?

-Are there certain people you don’t like following you online? Why?

Small Group Questions For Youth About Christianity (Bible, Discipleship, Christian Living, Etc.)

-What does the Bible mean to you?

-How often do you read the Bible?

-Is the Bible easy or hard for you to understand? Why?

-Do you think the Bible is relevant to your life, why or why not?

-What do you think the purpose of the Bible is?

-Do you think the Bible is accurate, why or why not?

-How do you know someone is a Christian? (or how can you tell)

-Do you think Christians are easily recognizable to others? Why or why not? Should they be?

-How does someone follow Jesus? What does it look like?

-What does it look like in your life to follow Jesus?

-Do you think your parents are good examples of Christians, why or why not? (Be sure to understand that some kids parents may not be Christians or go to church, be sensitive to that.)

-Are there certain things Christians should do and not do? Why or why not?

-Why do you think people go to church?

-Why do you go to church?

-Is church supposed to be enjoyable? Why or why not?

-How do you feel about prayer? Is it hard or easy for you?

-What confuses you about prayer?

-How often do you pray?

-Is prayer important to you? Why or why not?

Small Group Questions For Youth About The Youth Group Culture

-Do you think our youth group is inclusive or exclusive (make sure to explain the definitions).

-How do you think a new person feels coming to youth group for the first time?

-How do you feel entering a new environment or situation?

-How do you feel when someone new shows up to youth group?

-How can you personally help new people feel welcome? 

-Do you think our youth group is comprised of “one-type of person”? If so, why do you think that is?

-Do you think our youth group is one-big clique or a collection of smaller cliques.

-How do you feel about sarcasm and making fun of one another in youth group? Do you think it’s the right place for it?

-Do you feel like our youth group caters more to guys or girls? Explain why?

-Is there anything we do in youth group (i.e. games, small group, worship) that makes you uncomfortable and makes you not want to participate?

-What is an element you’d like to add to our youth group?

-Why do you think some of the youth that attend worship or grew up in this church don’t want to be part of youth group?

-Are there any adults in our church that you wish would volunteer with the group (take note of these people and see if they meet your criteria for volunteering. If so, let them know the youth specifically named them as an answer to this question.)

-Do you wish our senior pastor would be more involved with youth group? (note if they say yes, let the pastor know their presence has been requested).

-Have you ever invited a friend to youth group? If so, how did it go?

-Is there a friend in your life that you could invite to youth group, or haven’t in a while?

-Is there an event we could throw to invite new people to?

-How do you like to be invited to do something new?

-When you invite a friend, how do you help them become comfortable (e.g. hang out with them, introduce them to others). Is there a way you could make their experience better?

-Do you think it’s important to invite someone more than once? 

-Have you ever shared something in youth group that was later gossiped about?

-Do you feel like youth group is a safe place to talk about personal issues? Why or why not?

-Is it easier to share among your peers (i.e. same gender, same grade, etc) or among different people?

-Why do we want to gossip naturally? What makes it interesting or exciting for us?

-How does it feel when someone gossips about you?

-As Christians, do you feel we should respond differently to gossip?

-How has gossip affected your life?

-Are there people in youth group that you’re friends with at church, but not at school (if you attend the same school)? Why is that?

-What do you think about people dating in youth group?

-How does it affect the group when people break up? 

-Do you feel like students have leadership and the ability to shape ideas within the group?

-What do you think students leaders should do or be in charge of?

-Is there are student who has helped you as a leader in youth group, either presently active or who has graduated/moved on?

-What does it look like to respect someone else within the youth group?

Small Group Questions For Youth About Social Justice/Mission

-What is social justice to you? 

-Why do you think social justice is important?

-Do you think, as a Christian, social justice is important, and why?

-Was Jesus involved in social justice? Reference Gospel of Luke.

-Do you come from a family that believes social justice is important?”

-What does equality mean to you?

-Do all people deserve equality?

-What social justice issue is most important to you (make sure examples have been provided beforehand).

-Do you think about social justice issues when buying products or services?

-What could you do, as a young person, to help improve the life quality of someone in need (Go-Fund Me, Kickstarter, could lead into mission ideas).

-What does service to others mean to you?

-What are some examples in the Bible of giving?

-Do you think it’s important as a Christian to have an attitude of service? Why or why not?

-How often do you help others?

-Have you ever taken part in mission or served others? What was the experience like?

-When you see a homeless person on the street, what do you think? (Follow up by asking about poor students at school – but be sensitive to the make-up of your group while asking).

-Do you think people become impoverished or homeless because of their own decisions or because of uncontrollable circumstances that happen to them, or both?

-How do you show Jesus to people who are different than you? What are actual examples from your life?

-Do you find most of your friends are similar to you or different (create space for students to answer honestly)

-What do you think when you someone making fun of a group of people different than them?

-Do you think stereotypes about a group of people are accurate? 

-What is a good way to get to know someone different than you? Think situations or conversation topics.

That’s it for now!

Looking for more youth ministry resources check out these awesome resources:

50 no prep youth group games

450 youth group sermon ideas

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