Three Prayer Stations for Middle School Ministry

A couple of months ago, I put together these three prayer stations for students in our middle school ministry. It went so well that I wanted to share them with you.

The idea to do prayer stations came out of a realization that we needed to mixup the format of my 8th grade boys small group. They were hyper, distracted, uninterested in the discussion, and couldn’t sit still. But I knew these guys well. They had a sincere desire to follow Jesus and deepen their relationship with Him. I had a hunch that if we changed up the format, they would be more engaged. And it worked out even better than expected.

This was an amazing experience for my group. They were all really into it. Every one of them sensed the presence of God in their lives through these activities. I even had one student come up after and ask for prayer about an issue that was going on in his life. That was a first for him.

Although I did this with my small group of 12 or so 8th grade guys, you could easily do this with all the students in your middle school ministry.

My hope and prayer is that your students will connect with God in a deep and meaningful way.

Nick Diliberto
Ministry to Youth

Looking for junior high ministry curriculum?

We just released an all-new year long junior high curriculum, with a 79% discount and 3 bonus series!

Our new year long curriculum addresses the most important issues that students this age face. Issues like: influence, identity, change, choices, belonging, autonomy, etc. We also mixed in series that emphasized specific books and themes of the Bible that resonate with middle schoolers.

THREE PRAYER STATIONS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL MINISTRY

Setup:

• Setup 3 distinct sections throughout your meeting space. One for each prayer station.
• Display instructions at each prayer station. We included the instructions typed out, if you want to copy and paste to make your own signs. Or if you want to use the signs we posted with students, use the 8.5×11 jpg files.
• Allow students to go through each station at their own pace and in whatever order they choose.
• Play some soft worship in the background as students.
• Give students about 10-15 minutes to go through all three prayer stations.
• Optional – Break up into small groups (6-10 students with one leader) and have students share their experience at each prayer station.

Prayer Station #1 – What Do You Need from God?

Supplies:

• One rock per student
• One permanent marker per student

Display:

Instructions:

• Look at the list of things you might need from God right now and pick one or more that work for you.
• Write your choice(s) on a rock.
• Take a moment to pray to God, asking him for what you need and talking to him about why you need it.
• Keep the rock with you as a reminder of what you need from God.

Bible – Matthew 7:7-8:

• “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The List:

• Peace, Strength, Forgiveness, Love, Comfort
• Gratitude, Joy, Contentment, Wisdom
• Answer to a Prayer, Self-Control, Hope
• Guidance, Courage, Rest, Confidence
• Something Else

Prayer Station #2 – Emotion Wheel

Supplies:

• One Wheel of Emotions per student: https://feelingswheel.com/
• One pen per student

Display:

Instructions:

• Take a Wheel of Emotions.
• Pick at least one positive and one negative emotion that you’ve experienced lately because of a person or situation.
• Start at the center and work as far as possible to the outer part of the circle until you get to an emotion that best describes how you felt.
• Circle the emotion.
• Feel free to circle more than two if that’s helpful.
• Talk to God about it.

Insight:

• You might be surprised that our middle school boys were really into this one. Seeing a full range of emotions was useful for them. It helped to name their emotions and gave them a sense of what God might be doing in them through their emotions.

Prayer Station #3 – Psalm 23

Supplies:

• One Bible per student
• One pen per student

Display:

Instructions:

• Grab a Bible and go to Psalm 23.
• Take a moment to ask God to speak to you before you read it.
• Read the chapter twice to let it sink in.
• As you do, circle any words or phrases that stick out to you.
• What is it that God might be speaking to you through this chapter? Have a conversation with God about what that might be.

Looking for junior high ministry curriculum?

We just released an all-new year long junior high curriculum, with a 79% discount and 3 bonus series!

Our new year long curriculum addresses the most important issues that students this age face. Issues like: influence, identity, change, choices, belonging, autonomy, etc. We also mixed in series that emphasized specific books and themes of the Bible that resonate with middle schoolers.