Training · Leading Your Group
The Socials
Why a dinner group with no social time turns into a class, and how to build the fun back in
Keep your group fun. If a dinner group goes too long without the social side, it turns into a class.
People crave real community. People to hang out with, have fun with, do life with, share the good stuff with. You want learning and spiritual growth happening in your group, and you want group to be a place people like being.
Build it into the night
Nobody wants to be in official meeting mode from the second they walk in to the second they leave. Most people are stepping out of a chaotic day to get to group, so give them a little time to decompress.
A lot of dinner groups leave 15 to 20 minutes at the start for snacks and catching up before they move into the icebreaker. Other leaders protect time at the end so people can stay and hang out instead of rushing out the door the minute discussion ends.
If you are leaving time at the end, clear it with your host first.
It does not matter much when you make the space. It matters that you make it.
Get the group together outside of group
Plan socials, outings, parties. The healthiest dinner groups are the ones that connect with each other outside of meeting times, and what you do together is limited only by your group’s creativity.
Model it yourself. The goal is that you find a way to hang out with each person or family in your group at least once outside of group time.
Not every social has to include everybody. Some leaders have each person or couple in the group draw the name of someone else, then take responsibility for hanging out with them sometime over the next month.