Do you have an interest in faith, in the Bible and want to learn more about it? Nothing is more enriching than meeting and talking about it with other people. How to proceed?
Websites and social media platforms are brilliant ways to coordinate, provide or pick up information, and join conversations. Authentic encounters can start online. If the sparks of enthusiasm jump, then these things will push for an encounter in the analog world. What is nicer than exchanging ideas together, having a drink together, cooking something together, making music, doing something, having fellowship?
The expression of faith is not theology, but lived community in this world.
Do you not have a community, but do you desire one? Then set out on an adventure. Not everyone networks with equal ease. Maybe you need support for such a project – get it! Here are some tips for starting new encounters.
5 tips for new encounters
Start a new group!
- Join forces with others
- Find out where the interests lie
- What should be the focus of the new group?
- Make a test run
- Reinvent yourself when it no longer fits.
1. join together with others
The church and congregation of the future will not come from clergy “from above” but will be carried by people “from below.” Find people you want to exchange with. People with vision, grounded in life and faith. People who do not think unilaterally, but have the community in mind. This can be friends, but also any other people who can contribute to the common experience. My experience tells me: Diversity makes sustainable.
2. find out where the interests lie
Only what interests you will take you further. If you find other people who are also interested in vibrant community, that’s great. However, clarify what the participants’ concerns are. This is not about right or wrong, but about what everyone considers important. This allows concrete results to be targeted. It may even turn out that different interests are best expressed in two different groups. Support each other. Community can only be realized together.
3. what focus should the new group have?
Once you’ve found a few people for a new group, then you can talk openly about the focus you want. Should it be about crisp questions about the Bible so that everyone gets inspiring input for their personal faith life? Or have you found together with other young parents, so that you can also support each other in everyday life? Should socializing be central or rather the organization of communal activities? There are as many possibilities as you can imagine. The goal: everyone should feel comfortable and be concerned about the well-being of others. Furthermore, everyone should be encouraged to healthy growth in life and faith. Therefore, the focus must be coherent. Good focus requires a healthy vision. Having a vision means having a goal in mind. In the case of our question, this means having a goal in mind for the community. Evaluation is about this sequence: the vision describes in general terms what the focus specifies and implements.
4. do a test run
Each group has its own dynamics. If you know what the group is for and what focus you want to have, you’ve already accomplished a lot. If you start the group, you would do well to do a test run. It takes time for trust to grow. Each new composition knows its own challenges. Test the concept. See if it fits everyone. Adjust where necessary. Liveliness shows itself in adaptability.
5. reinvent yourself when it no longer fits
No group lasts forever. People move, life situations change, new life issues arise. As different as people are, the experience in the group can be just as different. It is good and healthy for people to reorient themselves. If it so happens that a group is once disbanded, then that is not a failure. Seize the opportunity and network anew.
Community succeeds when you tackle it together. It’s worth it. Martin Buber wrote “All real life is encounter” (from: I and Thou).
