The Both/And of Small-Group and Large-Group Ministry with YDisciple

Catholicism has long held the label both/and—scripture and tradition, faith and reason, Jesus is fully human and fully divine—you get the picture. While youth ministry methods are nowhere near the theology of the nature of Christ, when speaking of youth ministry, we can still embrace that Catholic both/and.

So herein lies the question: Should youth ministry consist of one large youth group or many small groups?

The answer YDisciple proposes: Both.

For decades, youth ministry has followed a structural paradigm consisting of regular, often weekly, youth group supplemented by occasional, smaller meetings such as Bible studies. What YDisciple suggests is flipping that paradigm on its head: regular, even weekly, small-group meetings with the occasional large-group.

This small-group-centered model provides the consistency and fosters the intimacy between teens and their mentors that youth truly need. But basing youth ministry on weekly small-groups does not need to equal the death of large-group. In fact, when executed well, the small-group emphasis can enhance and refocus the purpose and execution of large-group events. Parishes who follow this model offer large-group gatherings at most once a month, and at least once a semester. When a parish leader is not undertaking the massive effort that a weekly youth group requires, he or she is able to devote more energy to making the handful of large-group events of a higher quality.

Even with a very strong small-group emphasis, these large-group gatherings will be very important. They provide the opportunity to bring the tight-knit small groups together, thus helping to avoid each small group becoming insular and “satellite” ministries. Additionally, large-group gatherings provide the opportunity for guys’ groups and girls’ groups to interact. They can also be the ideal time for the parish to invite and engage teens who are not yet ready for, or who are simply not yet in, a discipleship group.

Large-group gatherings can also serve an essential need for discipleship groups: taking a break from video studies. If small-groups do one video study after another, teens become fatigued and you run the risk of them disengaging from the material. Taking a break to attend a large-group event will help small groups reset and refocus.

Small discipleship groups do not need to equal the death of the youth ministry large-group. Rather, in this model, the combination of small-groups and the occasional large-group can provide the proper balance needed for both youth and youth ministers.

If you’re new to this model, you might wonder what the typical “occasional” large-group event looks like. Ultimately, they can be whatever your group needs, but here are just a few ideas for your large-group events to get you started: