Mentoring and helping others in their pursuit of God is one of the most basic things that we are called to do as Christians. The FLEX Method is a three-step process for mentoring others using the resources found on pursueGOD.org. In this video, Bryan and Kenzie discuss how to use the FLEX Method with student groups.
What is the FLEX Method?
Step 1 in the FLEX Method is to find a topic. Jump on pursueGOD.org and choose a video that you think would be the most relevant to your student group. Step 2 is to learn about the topic. Send the link to the students in your group and ask them to watch it before the next meeting as well. The final step in the FLEX Method is to explore the topic together during student group. Remember, some may not have had a chance to watch the video before the meeting so it’s helpful to ask someone to summarize the video or watch the video together before discussing..
How do you pick a topic?
Think back in your life to when you were the age of the students in your group. What is something that you wish you would have known? What were you going through during that time in your life? Answer those questions and you’ll be on your way to picking a great topic. It can also be beneficial to sit down with your group, scroll through the website, and gather their opinions on what they would like to discuss in the next meeting. Sometimes, the topic may need to be changed when students are bringing friends that are not Christians – because it might be more difficult to dig deep into the Bible and have meaningful discussions on scripture.
What if you don’t know all the answers?
It is easy to put pressure on yourself to have all of the answers to all of the questions that come up during student group. But it’s okay not to know everything. If you find yourself being stumped by a question, be honest and admit that you don’t know. This can be the topic of discussion for the next group time, giving you time to study and dig deeper to find answers.
Does the mentor always pick the topic?
The mentor is not always responsible for picking the topic. When leading a group, think about what would benefit the students the most. Once you have established a group, you may want to have some of the students begin leading the group. As a mentor, the ultimate goal is to train up other mentors. Allowing your students to lead gives them practice for starting their own mentor group.
[Related: How Mentoring Works]
It can be difficult to find good topics for discussion when leading a group. The FLEX Method helps guide mentors to lead powerful discussions. Using the FLEX Method in student groups allows the mentor to lead a group while engaging the students as much as possible. And ultimately it helps every student go full circle.
[Related: How to Run a Student Mentoring Group]
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Why do you think it is important to think about the age of the group when picking a topic for discussion?
- What was one tip that stood out to you in the video about leading a group? Why?
- In what ways do you think the FLEX Method can help your student group?
- Describe one way in which you can include one of the tips about the FLEX Method in your next student group.
- How do you think the students in your group would approach being given the leadership of the group discussions?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
