Trying to look at our world through the lease of the life of Jesus changes things. As students engage their minds and imaginations, this activity will help them change their perceptions and call them to action.

Ask students to sit in a circle. Give each person a piece of paper and a pen and ask them to write down an issue that would break the heart of Jesus. This could be an injustice in the world, a situation happening in their school, or an issue your local community is facing. Give the group about 5 minutes to write these down.

Have everyone share what they have written by placing them in the middle of the circle. If there are any that are similar to one another, place those next to each other. For example, if 2 people list “bullying at school” those would be put together.

Choosing one of the issues at a time (you can vote on which you do), take a moment to share thoughts about that issue; where does the group see it, how could they respond like Jesus would respond; what experiences with it do they have?

After a moment of sharing, enter into a time of prayer for that issue. Ask a couple of people to pray out loud.

Repeat for other issues that came up as time allows.