As new groups get underway (or existing ones add new people to their gang), it’s important to take some time to get to know one another in a non-threatening way. An easy start to this can be just going around the circle with everyone telling some basic things about themselves. Where they grew up, where they have worked, info about their family, etc. Incidentally, wearing nametags for the first week or two is a great way for people to learn one another’s names more quickly.
Asking an icebreaker question or two can be a wonderful way to get a better understanding of others…and it can be fun and humorous as well. This week I did a simple Google search on icebreaker questions, printed off about 20 of them, cut them into strips, folded the strips and placed them in a hat. At our first meeting, I passed the hat saying that each person can pull a question from the hat and either answer it, or one of the other questions that people before them had pulled from the hat. Of course, being the host, I took the first one and didn’t have a second choice option. (It’s always a good idea for group hosts to go first in these kinds of things to help set the tone.)
You can find a number of icebreaker resources on this website simply by scrolling down and selecting that topic from the list on the right side of this site. But to get you started, here are a few from Will Johnston that I took from smallgroups.com that you may want to consider using:
Here are three icebreaker questions that can actually give you some insight into a person’s character and are interesting to discuss. And they’re not so deep or intense that you can’t use them in a new group. Try one at your next group meeting.
- Tell us a story from your childhood involving you and your best friend.
- What would you do for a living if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?
- What is your favorite part of the town/city/area to hang out and why?
