When young adults at Locking Castle Church near Weston super Mare were looking for a way to meet on a regular basis, they hit upon the idea of a board games night. From that small idea the regular get togethers have grown. Now a group of young people between the ages of 18 and 30, regularly enjoy some competition and company on a Wednesday evening.
Revd Andy Pearce, Pastor at Locking Castle Church, helped set up the group, “Everyone just loves it. It's good banter. It's good fun. It's an opportunity to have healthy competition and a good time over board games and get to know each other.
” When the group gets together, they have a bit of discussion, while playing board games. There are times when we pray for each other or other things going on, but what’s really important is the way it is building community with this age group.”
Andy says it is difficult to find anything dedicated to the post-18 demographic. “Once young people reach the age of 18 there are fewer places or opportunities, either in church or the community, for them to get together. When you get to 18 you can either become a helper in the church, leave for uni or work. The young adults who don’t do any of these things want something just for them.”
The group regularly meet in church, but if there are other activities going on such as a summer BBQ they will join in, and they often play board games over a pint at the local pub. It’s this informality which helps create a space for conversations around faith and discussions about issues affecting those in the group. “There's an element of healthy competition but that also creates an easy way to interact with somebody else without having that feeling of, ‘Oh my goodness. I've got to interact’ and worrying about what you need to say.
“We do speak about spiritual things and questions do come up which lead to conversations about faith, but it is a very relaxed space. The focus is on the games, not on the conversations. They just happen naturally whilst we are playing.”
Andy believes doing something that works specifically for this age group helps break down barriers. He says like everyone, when people feel safe, they’re more relaxed. He encourages anyone who would like to connect with young adults to, “Just get a board games evening going and advertise it. Encourage them just to turn up and wait to see who comes along.
“It’s also worth emphasising you don't have to commit to coming every week if you if you've got other things on. Once you take that pressure away it's an easy way in to build relationships. Overall it's a great way of connecting to a community whether it's in the church or at someone's house either works, it's about intentional making a space for it to happen.”