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Better Together: Let’s Get2Gather – An Initiative to Foster Fellowship and Unity Among Christian Young Adults

October 2, 2017 Debra Wong Events, News 0

Mixer by GCF and Bethany Church fosters fellowship between Christian young adults from 28 different churches

As busy young professionals juggling the demands of career, family and other significant relationships, Christian young adults may find it hard to find time to meet and network with each other.

Young adults from smaller churches may find themselves lacking peers who can identify with their experiences among their congregations. On the other hand, those from larger churches may feel ‘lost’ amongst their fellow members and find it challenging to get to know people beyond their small groups.

Addressing the situation above, several leaders from Graduates Christian Fellowship (GCF) Malaysia and Kepong’s Bethany Church decided to organize a social event that will facilitate new potential friendships between Christian young adults of different congregations.

Known as Let’s Get2Gather, the mixer was attended by Christian young adults from different occupations, denominations and backgrounds.

Food warms the crowd

It was raining on the evening of 9^th September when the first Let’s Get2Gather was held – but that did not dampen the spirits of over 60 young adults, who arrived promptly to register for the mixer.

An energetic praise and worship session kick-started the night, which was followed by a quick get-to-know-you icebreaker where attendees were divided into 10 groups of 6 people each.

The attendees then stayed in the same groups for dinner. Over spaghetti, salad and roasted chicken, the crowd slowly warmed up to each other, sharing about themselves in their groups. ‘Oh, you’re an engineer too?’ ‘Hey, I like to dance too!’ Laughter and enthusiasm can be heard as people discovered similarities between themselves and their new-found friends.

After dinner, the attendees were once again divided into several different groups based on hobbies, occupations and the places they’d like to travel – three areas which are close to young adults’ hearts.

As an attendee myself, I opted for the ‘others’ group when we were grouped by hobbies. I was (pleasantly) surprised to find out that I wasn’t the only person that was still trying out different hobbies. There were two more fellow young adults who were also exploring different interests, too!

After the group discussions we gathered at the stage and took group photos. Then we played a game called ‘First Impressions’. As the name suggests, each attendee had to write down the first impressions they got when they talk to each other for a minute. There were 2 further catches added – the people they talked to cannot be someone they previously know, and out of the 5 people they need to talk to, 4 of them needed to be of the opposite gender.

So off the attendees went to socialize with each other. As an introvert-type that usually doesn’t talk to people I don’t know, the first conversation was the most awkward – but I was pleasantly surprised (again) at what the first guy I talked to described me as (smart?).

As each successive conversation went, I got more and more used to it – and, from a quick glance around the room, the other attendees became more comfortable with each other too.

At the end of the game, we had a chance to see what the people we talked to wrote about us. Most of it was generically positive – ‘cheerful’, ‘approachable’ et cetera. After all, there’s only so much you can get to know about another person in one minute! Having said that, it was a good exercise to become more aware of how we come across to the people we meet.

The mixer came to a close with supper and brief presentation from Jimmy of GCF Malaysia on the activities that they run for graduates / young adults across the country.

For some of the attendees, the night was still young – so they made plans for supper and fellowship at a nearby mamak stall. As much as I would have loved to join them, my sore throat wouldn’t let me.

To me, the event provided a good ‘starter’ context where Christian young adults can meet and mingle with each other. However, events like Let’s Get2Gather would not reach its full potential if it were only a one-time event. Churches from different parts of the country could also mobilize similar events to facilitate such fellowships, and follow-up events can be organized to provide more opportunities for friendships to form.