Before class, print out one circles template for each student (template here).

There are so many ways that a teenager can serve others, but the reality is that young people don’t always have the independent resources or mobility to volunteer overseas or even across town. The following exercise can help them become aware of all kinds of places to serve, big and small.

Hand out a paper circle template and writing utensils to each student. Before we leave today, we are going to think of some specific people we can serve. Let’s start with the largest circle. This represents people all around the world that need help. With a partner, write down some of the organizations or individuals that we can serve within that circle.

Students, with the help of a partner or adult leader, will think of foreign missionaries, national organizations (Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, Compassion, etc.) and other global efforts whose primary goal is serving others. They will write them around the circumference of their largest circle.

We all know that our local communities have many needs, big and small. Can you think of some places right in your school and neighborhood that you can assist? Let’s use this medium-sized circle to write down opportunities to serve closer to home.

Continue this exercise, letting students brainstorm together. (December is a month where many local groups create outreach opportunities around the holidays.) Encourage adult helpers to prompt ideas among the classroom before writing them inside the middle circles.

Now we have the smallest circle of all. Let’s imagine these represent our homes and classrooms, our family and friends. Who are some specific people—right in front of us every day—that we can serve?

When students have finished filling in their three circles, discuss these questions as a group:

• What is at the very center of all of these opportunities to serve? What holds it all together? (Hint: It isn’t our own selfish desire to look good. It’s Jesus Himself—the author of love and compassion and the perfect model of sacrifice.)
• Should we wait until we feel like serving before stepping out? (Of course not! If we only serve when we feel like it, we would probably never take the risk. Deliberate planning doesn’t mean it’s not from the heart; it often takes discipline, too.)
• Out of all these circles, which one is the hardest for you? Talk about it with your neighbor. (Not surprisingly, many students will find that the people closest to them are the hardest to serve.)  

Remind your students that serving others opens the door for meaningful dialogue about Jesus’ love. If we only see people as targets for evangelism—without addressing their physical needs—we risk hypocrisy and shallow faith. Serving others mean sacrifice, and that is a powerful example that can draw others into Jesus’ love.

When you are finished, encourage your class to take these service wheels home as a resource for further action. Instruct them to share ideas with parents and family members.

Close in prayer.