Welcome to the Small Group Toolbox. We're in a series about the first four weeks of Growth Group. And in previous weeks, we have looked at setting group goals and expectations, how to do that, how to discuss those group goals, and also how to build some relationships in the first four weeks, just that early kind of stuff. This week, we're gonna look at venue. Now, venue's an interesting kind of topic. You think, really, is that relevant? Surely it's just about us and the Bible, what does it matter if we're meeting in a tent, shed, an aircraft hangout, whatever? Why does that matter? Well, I think it does matter. We are created beings. We're not just minds. We are people with bodies, with the five senses. We feel things. We are aware of our environment. And I think there's nothing particularly holy or about ignoring the realities of us as created beings with bodies. And in fact, potentially, if we ignore it, we're missing out on ways to make the most of our time in growth group, learning from the Bible, learning about Jesus, connecting with each other, praying and so on. So yeah, what do we think about venue? I love just to look at a few things in the Bible before we get into the practical things.
And the Bible of course doesn't tell you exactly this is how you should have a venue set up for growth group. But there's a lot of stories and occasions and episodes of people engaging with each other in God's word in homes. So an example is Acts chapter 10 about Cornelius when he welcomes in Peter and a few of his friends to his home to well, hear the word of God, kind of do a Bible study in a lot of ways.
So, Acts 10 says in verse 23, The next day Peter started out with them and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up, stand up, he said, I'm only a man myself. While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.
So there you see Cornelius hosting a Bible study in some way. He welcomed Peter and he'd managed to gather a large gathering of his relatives, which is great, pretty normal. Ancient world, have a lot of relatives around, and also his close friends, people near to him, those necessary, the Greek word is a bit like necessary, and friends, people he loves. And he'd obviously put thought, he must have put thought into how this was gonna happen, what kind of space that we're gonna use, what was gonna facilitate meeting Peter and hearing God's word. So I think it's very normal in the Bible, you could do further studies on what it's like to have people in your home. But yeah, so how do we do it? How do we think about venue well, that will be a real strength for your group. So I think different ways to think about it. You could, one simple way is to imagine the experience of someone coming to your group, starting with really their experience on the street, driving or walking or however they get to the venue. Think about that experience. there enough light? Are the paths clean? Can people maneuver through any obstacles that are out there? Is your letterbox, if you're hosting at home, clearly displayed with its number? Is there parking? Do you have parking recommendations?
Think about what's gonna be make it easier for them to arrive and enter into the house from the street. For me, I allotted leaves at our place. And I think sometimes about this about sweeping the front porch or getting rid of the cobwebs, making our place look less like a haunted house and more like a place you'd actually wanna be. So think about things from the street and then think about that first entry into the door. Like are you gonna leave the door open? Do you have a doorbell? Is the doorbell working? Is the doorway lit up?
As people step through, have you given them permission just to open the door and come in? What are they supposed to do with their shoes? Is there a space for their shoes if they're taking them off? If they're isn’t, is it clear that they can wear them inside? Is there a mat to help them out with that? Just you're thinking getting in the mind of the person visiting so that they're not worrying about etiquette and what they're supposed to do and where that which entrance they're supposed to go into. They're able to relax and look forward to meeting new people, engaging in anything else that might be on their mind going in. So think about the street, the doorway, and then the room. Like how are you going to set up the room for growth group? There are different ways to do this. Sometimes your options are limited. Sometimes you've got more choice. One big question is whether you're gathering around desks with chairs or on sofas. Now, for some people, you don't have a choice. It's going to be sofas. That's fine.
Other people might be in a space where maybe, well, a desk and a chair, is probably the option you've got, or maybe you've got some freedom. In general, having things on sofas feels a bit more relaxed, more relational, there's more kind of a social atmosphere. Sitting at a desk, a table or bench with chairs is a bit more intense, forward-focused study, thinking, learning, kind of growing. So there's sort of strengths to both. What it means is if, say, if you've got a sofa set up, you might have to work a little harder to get people engaged in actually learning and studying and reading the Bible. There's also a risk that they might fall asleep more easily on a sofa. I gave some advice to one growth trip leader about a group member who regularly fell asleep and I said just put him on a less comfortable chair and yeah, that helped keep him stay awake. Not necessarily the same advice in every situation, but yeah, that makes a difference. To help people to engage a bit more and make sure they do have places to put a Bible or a pen, put out the signals that we are serious about learning the Bible here.
And if you're in a desk table kind of setup, think about ways that you can make that feel less like a work meeting. Maybe a little bit of table or desk decoration, like a tablecloth or some thing of flowers or a cactus or something. Model to the person, model a bit sort of leaning back in the chair, looking a little bit more relaxed in that space. And you can still have the benefits of a desk table set up, but not as like intense and cold that you might have at a work kind of meeting. So think about your desks, chairs, lounges, try to make those spaces comfortable. The cushions that you need so people aren't getting a sore back. Bean bags aren't usually a good idea. I mean, sometimes it's necessary, but often I find that the person on the bean bag contributes less, they go quiet. So try to get people up on a similar kind of level.
Yeah, manage the space so people aren't so far apart that they're kind of calling out to each other, but not so close together that they are feeling constricted and people can't manoeuvre around or they're feeling trapped. So maybe we'll talk more about venue and space in another episode, there's a lot to think about there. But if you're thinking a bit at least in the first four weeks, that's going to really help. So we've talked about the street, entering the door, the room.
Another thing to think about is lighting. Again, it's a bit of finding a good medium there and sometimes your options are limited. But if it's too bright, it can feel just a bit intense and unpleasant. If it's too dark, people will have trouble reading their Bibles and they might sort of fall asleep again. Think about how you can set up floor lamps, overhead lighting, natural lighting if you’re meeting during the day, a way that people can see their Bibles, especially important if you've got older people in your group, without it feeling like you're under the lights of an operation. So, think about lighting. You can think about music and sounds. So, what are people hearing as they come through? Are there ways you can isolate sort of distracting sounds from the garden or the kids' rooms or other things?
And do you want to play a little bit of music as people coming in there to set a warm kind of atmosphere the same way a cafe might do that or if you ever go to our mission events, life, connect series, other things, there will usually be some gentle music they're playing to set a warm atmosphere. I did this for a bit with a men's group and then after a while I realised they didn't want any music, they found it distracting and so I gave up.
But if you have the opportunity, you might think about how to set a good bit of atmosphere with some music. So there we are, we're talking about street, the room, lighting, music. Another thing then is food and drink. How are you going to do that? Again, we can talk about this more later, but think about the flow. How are people going to get their food and drink, tea, coffee, how?
Where are they going to move from there? Do you want to help them? Self-service? How can relationships be facilitated during that flow? Moving through people's kitchens is very normal in Australian culture. It might not be so for other cultures. It might feel a bit intrusive to enter into someone's kitchen, but you can help reassure people there, assuming that's what you want to do, and coach and train people on how to use your kitchen and make sure that you've got the things they need. If they need decaf, tea or peppermints or instant coffee or whatever it might be, yeah, make sure that you've got something there so that they can enjoy a drink and relax in people's company there. Same with food, are they setting it out themselves? Where are we gonna put that? How do we hit a level that's not too formal and overwhelming, but not too casual? What's the kind of right kind of food for your group? And I think that would pretty much cover most of the things on venue. one last thing.
If you do have kids or babies in your group, think about, do you want to have a little mat or a rug for them to lie on or snack on, make their crumbs on a rug like that? Yeah, you just obviously have to think a little bit more about how things are going to work there with kids and whether you're managing strollers, prams, breastfeeding during the group, that sort of stuff. But if that's you, I'm sure you'll know what you're doing there. So there we are, some basics on venue.
It seems like “Oh a truly holy group won't worry about venue” but the reality is that we are created people with bodies, with senses. And so these kinds of things matter. If we pay attention here, we want people to want to be at your group. And we want people to, I mean, really think less about the venue and more about what they're there for, about the people around them and the Bible and praying and engaging with God. So do a good job with venue and those things will come to the forefront.
See you next time.