We have a problem with a group of “mean girls” in our youth group. Only they’re not mean to their peers – they’re mean to me. “We don’t play games,” one told me last week, her Powderpuff Football Champion T-Shirt mocking me as she rolled her eyes.

They refuse to participate in any game, skit, or large group discussion. During moments of silence or prayer, I can almost always count on one of them to start giggling, and despite seating Core Members right in the middle of their group, they keep up a constant stream of chatter during the teachings. Worst of all, they always manage to foil our small group splitting techniques and all 5 of them sneak their way into the same small group every week.