Connection Events

A connection event is an enjoyable environment where people build relationships, especially people who are not connected yet. It is one of the most successful ways people connect at Hoboken Grace and find their way into a dinner group.

That is why it is part of your group’s experience. Dinner groups are where lives change and lifelong friends get made, and connection events are how people get there.

What a win looks like

A great connection event is not a big event or a small one. It succeeds on its purpose, not its size.

There is one evaluation question. Were we able to build new relationships with people who were not connected? If you did, you succeeded. Your event can be huge, and if no new relationships got built it did not work. Your event can be small, and if new relationships got built it worked.

What to keep in mind

Impact on our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are responsible for the people around us. If an event is going to cause someone to stumble, pick something else. Events should not be held at bars unless the bar is hosting something, like karaoke or trivia.

Impact on people just beginning the journey. In everything we do we are opening doors for people to find their way back to God. So think it through from the perspective of someone at the event who is not a believer. If the event is exclusive, skip it. If a coworker would feel uncomfortable showing up, it is not a connection event. Christian movies, rare Christian holiday celebrations, and Christian concerts all land in that category.

Quality. Everything we do communicates something about the God we serve.

• Be prepared. Bring your group in on it so you are completely prepared.
• Be on time. Do not start the event late and do not show up late.
• Be obvious. Make sure nobody has to hunt for you. Give people a way to find you.

Principles

Noisy places get in the way. If the sound level is too high to talk, connecting is hard. Concerts make poor connection events unless you plan time before or after to talk and hang out.

Quiet places get in the way too. If you are not allowed to talk, same problem. Movies and plays can make great connection events, but only with planned connection time before or after, over a meal or at someone’s apartment.

Travel limits connection. The closer and easier the event, the more people connect. If you do have to travel, use the travel as part of the connection.

Expensive limits connection. You do not have a pile of extra cash and neither does the person you are trying to connect with. Simple and cheap connects more people.

Personal preference is a great guideline. Choose an event your group will actually attend, not one that sounds like a great idea. An unattended great idea does nothing. An attended simple idea works.

The process

1. Select the event. Ask yourself, what event can we have that we are comfortable inviting our friends to? If you would not invite your friends, pick something else.
2. Pick who leads it. Select one or two people in your group to manage the event.
3. Submit the event. Fill out the event submission form.
4. Plan it. Work out the details and assign tasks to group members.
5. Invite and hype it. Make sure you are inviting the friends who would never have heard about it otherwise.