Middle school is a unique time in the life of a student. It’s also a unique time in the life of their small group leader.

You Might be a Middle School SGL if…

• Getting to question three on your Small Group Leader Guide is a huge win on any given Sunday.
• You’ve ever had to talk to your students about using deodorant, “even though your mom doesn’t check on Sunday morning.”
• You sometimes can’t tell your girls apart because they are all wearing the same thing.
• You’ve ever packed Red Bull and Silly String for a weekend church retreat.
• You don’t laugh when people make jokes about the smell of Axe body spray, because it’s no joke to you. It’s real life.
• You know about how many sodas a student can drink before vomiting.
• You know about how much candy a student can eat before vomiting.
• That high pitched scream doesn’t bother you anymore.
• You’ve met a student’s parents and wondered, How could such a lovely parent raise such an unpleasant child?
• You have rules in your small group about what you’re allowed to sit on and where you can put your feet.
• You enjoy being on a thread with 100 messages in 15 minutes. Or you use emojis to continue a conversation.
• You’ve learned to censor words and phrases in your vocabulary that even remotely sound like they could also be body parts.
• You think your church’s ventilation system should automatically spray Febreze on Sunday morning.
• You’ve ever heard a student ask God to reveal “whether or not she like, likes likes me or just like, likes me.”
• You have that kid in your group. Yea, that kid.
• You believe that, despite their craziness, smelliness, and loudness, middle school students are made in the image of God.
• You know that middle school students are actually capable of having mature and thoughtful conversations about faith and life.
• You love leading middle school students, even though most people don’t understand why.

Ok, now it’s your turn. What would you add to this list?