Saving... One of the biggest challenges facing small groups today is getting the men actively involved and committed. Let’s be honest. Most men don’t really open up and ‘share’ with other men easily. Sometimes we believe that if we just get men around each other for a while a bonding will happen, not necessarily. As with most things, we need a deliberate plan for success. I would like to offer one strategy that I used in our small group.
Last year we started a fantasy football league in our group. While I started it for the fun of it, I knew that if we could get the men really involved they would talk to each other and hopefully become closer friends. I opened the teams to men and women and had 1 lady join. Only three of ten teams had ever played before. We had a blast. Not only did some of the guys become adept trash talkers, we also got to learn a lot about how each person approached the game. This in turn led us to a better understanding of each person’s personality. Because the season lasts 17 weeks, it wasn’t a “1 and done” activity. This kept us connected for a long enough time to really bond as a group. It also helped that there was someone in the group that the rest could all root against (me). This year we have added 3 new teams.
Lessons learned from this endeavor:
1. You got to have fun. Guys rarely open up if everything is serious. You can teach life lessons by interweaving Scripture in lots of ways.
2. While it should be deliberate, you don’t need to tell people all your reasons for something before you start. Most of the people in the group thought we were just having fun. Now the true reasons are out of the bag. Nobody got upset about learning these reasons later since it was obvious that everything was done for others benefit.
3. Not everyone will want to participate. Sometimes the guys would get so rambunctious that the ladies would not want to hear anymore. Be considerate of the others in the group.
4. We kept it cheap. You can play fantasy football for free on ESPN and everyone can follow on there own computer. We did not charge any fees nor did we have any prizes except our pride.
5. Any activity should include as many as possible. Don’t be exclusive for any reason especially skill levels.
Did this little fun time work? Our group is over 20 people strong. We routinely get more men to participate than women. We are now looking for ways to get our ladies to be a more tight knit group. As Mr. T once said “I pity the fool that tries to bother one of the men in our small group.” We have found it can be both helpful and fun to live life in our small group community. And we keep looking to add people. Who wouldn’t want what we have in Jesus and each other.
Lunders Small Group
LifePoint Church
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