Tuesday, January 30

The Haven- pt 3

I have a problem.

Whan we first started the Haven there were three of us. Last night (and I kid you not) there were 15 people. 15. This isn't a bad thing, but it does mean that just a couple months after starting the Haven, we need to restructure the Haven. Now, in my internship I helped restructure my share of things, but this is massively different.

Aside from the fact that I only have a 4-person table and each week we find a way for every person to sit around it, 15 people is too big for one "small group" endeavor. It makes the significant "connections" more difficult to make, and it's hard for everyone to "share the burden" when there's not enough tasks and responsibilities to go around.

So, my question is this: how, my friends, do you suggest this change take place? And what change do you think would be positive in light of our "booming" attendance? We (Jordan, Ashley, and I) did some brainstorming last night after everyone left, and have a few ideas, but I'm kinda bumming, because it means a lot more hands on leadership than we originally wanted.
Some important info (and if you need more or have any questions, let me know)

target age range (and those who come) are 18-25
both genders
not necessarily Christians (a few arn't)
the main drive of the haven is relationships and discipleship in non-formal settings
the current guidelines set up are
- no exclusive 1-1 convos off in another room, apart from the group (we were having problems with a couple co-dependent relationships)
-use of the computer is fine until there are 4 or more people at the Haven. after that, the computer is off limits (it hinders interaction)
-everyone is welcome to be present as they are, no matter what kind of day they've had, or what they believe.
-everyone is to be respected and appropriately loved while at the Haven
-everyone helps with meal prep and/or clean up
-the Haven is to be left as clean as it was when the night started

the going-ons of the night include hang out time (7pm), then meal prep, then when dinner is done (usually 9pm) we gather, read a passage of scripture together, pray, and "break bread." During dinner there's general conversation, sharing about the day/week, and usually 1-2 discussion questions (usually light-hearted to ease new people in). After dinner is dessert and clean up, and then some sort of laid back activity (like last week it was a movie, yesterday it was apples-to-apples, sometimes it's just conversation)

so, all-in-all, the commitment for a monday night for those who help out is from about 7pm-midnight.

If you have any ideas, could you let me know? Thanks!

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