Note to the Teacher

This lesson focuses on unity within the people of God. In the icebreaker, "Community Web," students create a web of yarn while sharing appreciation and illustrating interconnectedness. The discussion questions dive deeper into what it means to be holy and one. The active learning exercise harnesses design thinking to help guide your group toward actions to bring more unity to your church.

Icebreaker: The Web (15 minutes)

Start by having your group stand or sit in a large circle. Give a ball of yarn to one person. Have that person hold the end of the yarn and throw it to another person. When that person catches the yarn, the thrower tells the catcher something he/she likes or admires about him/her. Then the catcher holds on to the thread that is connected to the original thrower, and throws the yarn to someone else, then compliments that person. This continues until the last person throws the yarn to the first person.

Take a moment to observe how we are all interconnected and how encouraging one another can strengthen those connections.

Read Scripture (5 minutes)

John 17:6-19

Discussion (15 minutes)

Name at least one key idea from John 17.
In your own words, describe what you think Jesus means by asking God to make the disciples holy and asking, “that they will be one just as we are one.”
How might Jesus’ prayer sound to his disciples, since they know that Jesus is preparing them for his death? How might this prayer sound if we prayed this out loud, together, for our community?
How does the way we treat one another in the church reflect on our relationship with Christ? How about when we are outside of the church?
What are things you can do to create more unity between you and the other Christians you know?
Why do you think Jesus wanted us to be “holy” and “one”?

Activity and Discussion (20 minutes)

This week, we are going to get practical in our activity. Tell students that you want them to imagine a project that will increase unity within your church. They will use the basic principles of design thinking to quickly imagine something they can do.

Begin with empathy. What things in your church are not unifying? Make a list. Once you have done that, make a list of the things that are unifying. Ask, “What are some of the themes you see here?”

Now it’s time to define the problem. Spend time discussing what might be an underlying reason that some people feel less united while others feel more. There may be a common theme of the use of language. There may be scheduling issues. There may be physical things like walls or buildings. Once you have talked about these possibilities, choose one of those issues.

Then, Ideate… brainstorm. Ask students, “What are some things that the people in your room could do to help bring more unity?”

Now, prototype. What is a small, easily accomplishable first step you could take to see if your ideas are right and if your solution might work?

Once you have finished, decide when (and whether) you are going to take that step.

TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes