Cliques

The clique is probably the most prevalent social structure of early
adolescence. A clique is defined by Webster as "a narrow exclusive circle
or group of persons." Eric Johnson defines it as "a small group of friends
who stick together and shut others out."" While cliques are certainly
not limited to junior highers, they do seem to take on great importance
during the early adolescent years and cause a great deal of concern for
middle school and junior high workers and teachers. Ideally we want to
foster a feeling of unity within the group, with each person expressing
openness and friendliness toward everyone else, but that is very
seldom attained in junior high groups. Even though most junior
highers themselves regard cliques as unfair and wrong, they can't seem
to avoid them. They are a major part of the social life of the adolescent;
they help in the transition from dependency on the family to the many
upcoming associations outside the family. A junior higher would
probably define the clique that he or she is a part of as "my best
friends."

A common question asked by youth workers in the church is
"How can I break up the cliques in my junior high group?" The question
arises naturally, since it is generally acknowledged that cliques are not
desirable and should be eliminated if possible. For a long time I had
difficulty coming up with an answer that would satisfy me, let alone
anyone else. I, like most junior high workers, have never had much success at breaking up cliques. I finally came to the conclusion that it
was essentially counterproductive and perhaps even a mistake to try,
Good or bad, cliques are going to exist and are part of the early
adolescent landscape. It's best to work around them rather than against
them. It is possible, however, to reduce the negative impact of cliques
in the junior high group. One way is to provide as many opportunities
as possible for group interaction and participation. Whenever the
group or class is doing something together-mixing, playing games,
talking to each other-relationships between cliques and individuals
are more likely to improve. But when kids come to a meeting or activity
in their cliques. stay in their cliques, listen to or participate in the
program in their cliques, and then leave in their cliques, there is little
chance that conditions will improve. Rather than lecture on the evils of
cliques, it is best to involve the kids in a variety of activity-centered
learning experiences that require communication and cooperation
with each other, as well as in group games, and other chances to relate
to those outside their little cliques.
Most people of all ages find new friends by accident, not by design. You can't tell someone to stop liking one person and start liking someone else. You don't create community and unity by having little buzz groups and hand-holding sessions (although it has happened).
Community and friendships develop usually as a by-product of something else. If a group puts on a play, goes on a long trip together,
or participates in a service project, chances are good that kids will
make new friends, cliques will become less important, and community
will be encouraged almost automatically.
It's also true that small group projects or activities in which the
group is allowed to choose its own members serve to encourage or
strengthen cliques. Small groups work fine with junior highers, but it is
usually best to use a random selection process to determine group
members or to assign kids to groups not entirely made up of their close
friends.

Creating a Sense of Belonging
An appropriate goal of junior high ministry is to create a place where
every young person can feel that he or she is part of the group. This is
One reason why I believe that junior high clubs-with a unique name,
membership cards, caps or T-shirts, rites and responsibilities of
membership, etc.__ can be very effective. Many junior high groups have
names like JC-DC which stands for Jesus Christ's Disciple Club, or THE
CLICK, which stands for Christ Living in Christian Kids. Clubs like these
can provide a sense of belonging which is very important to early
adolescents.
Anything you can do to promote inclusiveness and community
wil be beneficial in junior high ministry. It helps to remember that
Junior high groups don't develop community automaticaly. In fact the
reverse is more likely. If you don't intentionally do things to build
community, you will more than likely see it fall apart. Kids naturally get
into their cliques and do as little as possible to allow new kids or kids
who are different to become part of their particular group. That's why
you will need to constantly be looking for ways to help kids get to know
each other better and learn to accept each other as fellow members of
the body of Christ.

@Orchidaceae