Eating Together on Sunday Nights, A Good Ministry??

All Rights Reserved by Marion Brite - Flikr

All Rights Reserved by Marion Brite – Flikr

Developing friendship amongst members of the church is so important for a strong church.  In our busy world where families are struggling, this is a key factor in getting families connected to the church.  Churches need to take a comprehensive approach to developing close fellowship, so I am not suggesting this is all it takes.  However, after trying several different approaches with our young adult group at Seven Oaks, a simple plan of eating together on Sunday nights has worked as well as anything in building friendship and involvement.

Here are some ways we do this:

1.  Theme dinner fellowship meal at the church;  we try to do this about once a month, though it is typically more sporadic.  We will pick a theme and folks bring food to go along with that theme and we eat at the building.

2.  We go to a local restaurant.  This is our most common approach.  We either announce or decide in class that morning, or just gather up after church and decide.  We try to rotate places, which isn’t hard in our small town!   We like to go to a nicer place when the kids have devo!

3.  We go and pick up food and bring it back to the building and eat it.  This is easier and sometimes faster with families.  The kids like playing better at the building.  We try to order pizza regularly too.

Why has this approached worked:

1.  Because there is no commitment and pressure!  We told folks early on not to feel pressure to come.  We are just going to eat if you want to come, then do so.  This relieves people and is better for the ministry leader because you are not disappointed when no one shows up to a big event you worked on for days.  (We still do periodic “big events,” and they are better attended now!)

2.  Because the time slot is open for most folks.  Families are busy, but Sunday night is a pretty open time.  And this encourages Sunday night church attendance.

3.  Because we vary the approach.  We make the theme dinner or going out to eat at a better place once a month. I will put these in the bulletin and make a bigger deal out of these times.  The weekly eating is more low key and fluctuates with the number.

4.  Because Sunday nights are tough for families to go back home and have to get out food to feed kids.  We decided to do this for our family because it was easier and just invited others to come along.

What ideas do you have for fellowship, service, or evangelism with a young adult group?  What have you seen work?

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