Middle and High School Small Group Devotionals Round Up

Small group devotionals for middle school and high school worth checking out in the New Year.

The Gospel-Centered Community for Teens by Robert H. Thune and Will Walker. New Growth Press, 2025, 34 pages.

• Reading Level: Teens, ages 12 and up
• Recommended for: Ages 12 and up                                               

Thune and Walker bring their years of experience in building communities to this guide for teens. As they say in their introduction, “without the gospel, community groups will always become unhealthy…. They will lose their power to display the glory and grace of God. Only with the gospel at the center can a community become a thriving culture of discipleship, fellowship, and Spirit-empowered mission.”

The Gospel-Centered Community for Teens seeks to equip small group leaders to facilitate community amongst teens by looking at just what kind of difference the gospel makes. In 8 lessons, they cover grace, humility, honesty, joy, mission – and the challenges – in community. This guide includes both student material and leader’s notes (in the back). Leaders will need minimal prep in order to use this guide; no student homework is required either. (Lessons can be completed together in one sitting.) During each lesson, participants will examine Scripture, read a short article together, discuss a few questions together, and also have time for personal reflection. The material is solid, but a bit dry in terms of bells and whistles (i.e., no visuals, etc.).

Bottom Line: A good start to a small group series on community although leaders may want to bring in some outside material for “pizzazz.”

Mark for Teenagers: How Jesus Changes Everything by John Perritt. New Growth Press, 2019. 128 pages.

• Reading Level: Teens, ages 12 and up
• Recommended for: Ages 12 and up 

Mark for Teenagers is a small group study designed for teenagers, especially high school students. Each week participants will read portions of Mark together, read an introductory blurb along with a short article on that week’s theme, discuss questions together, and have time for personal reflection.

The goal in this 12-week study is to build biblical literacy, but perhaps even more so, to build students’ awareness of and understanding of who Jesus is – and why that matters to them. Perritt stays away from easy answers and moralistic interpretations. Instead, students are pushed to examine their own hearts even as they learn more of Jesus. Like The Gospel-Centered Community for Teens, this guide includes both student and leader resources, is designed to be open-and-go, and contains no fluff (or fun visuals).

Bottom Line: Solid introduction to both Bible study and Jesus with thoughtful questions for teens.

Radically Different: A Student’s Guide to Community by Champ Thornton. New Growth Press, 2019. 112 pages.

• Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 10 and up
• Recommended for: ages 10 and up

In his introduction, Thornton writes, “Radically Different doesn’t aim to be exhaustive or provide a topical dictionary of issues, but to help middle-school students begin to think biblically about life and relationships.” What follows are 13 weeks of small group lessons that focus first on God (weeks 1-7) and then people (weeks 8-13). The first half begins with God Himself and moves through creation, the fall, redemption, and then how we relate to God (listening, talking, and worshiping). The second half looks at key relationships (parents, friends, family) and then difficult or broken relationships, followed by church relationships.

Each week include 3 days’ worth of homework for students. Homework is short, visually engaging, and based on Scripture. Students and leaders have separate books, which makes good sense for this type of format. Importantly, leaders’ guides have the student materials replicated in full – so helpful when you are going over the homework! Leaders’ guides have additional discussion questions, ways to introduce each week’s lesson, and other helpful tips. All in all, this is well put together.

Bottom Line: A great resource for a middle school small group, particularly if leaders are hoping to encourage an independent devotional habit in their students.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: The Big Questions Series by Chris Morphew (from the Good Book Company) are good resources for middle and high school small group leaders.
• Resource: Looking for something you can do with your family at home? Check out our Bible Pilgrimage!

Order from Amazon:

• The Gospel-Centered Community for Teens
• Radically Different: A Student’s Guide to Community (student guide)
• Radically Different: A Student’s Guide to Community (leader’s guide)
• Mark for Teenagers