Icebreakers

An icebreaker is a fun or thought provoking question you ask at the start of group. It is the easiest thing to skip, and it can be one of the most valuable parts of the night, whether your group is brand new or has been meeting for years.

A good icebreaker does four things.

• Fun. It brings humor and fun into the meeting.
• Insight. It gives you a good read on each person in your group.
• Focus. It pulls everyone together at the start of a night that often begins with the chaos of people arriving, grabbing snacks, and sorting out childcare.
• Warm up. It gets people talking with a question everyone can answer. Most leaders ask everyone to chime in.

Every icebreaker should be something everyone in the group can answer. The first question in the weekly questions is usually an icebreaker tied to the weekend message. Use that one, or swap in your own.

Three we keep coming back to

Penny for your thoughts

Hand everyone a penny that is no more than 15 years old. Each person looks at the date on their coin, thinks back to that year, and shares something significant or interesting that happened to them then.

The driver’s license test

Everyone pulls out their driver’s license.

• Look at the date it was issued. How has your life changed since then?
• Look at the expiration date. What do you hope happens in your life by then?
• Look at the picture. How can you best serve God where he has you right now?

How, wow, pow, chow

• How are you doing right now?
• Wow. A good moment from the last week.
• Pow. A hard moment from the last week.
• Chow. The best thing you have eaten in the last week.