Opening Event

The Opening Event is a time of orientation, where scheduling is discussed as well as all of the aspects of the NET Groups program. It can be planned for an evening, or it can be a day-long retreat. Also, it should be a time of fun!

The are numerous books and ideas floating around that help groups become acquainted and develop a sense of trust. Brief and fun "getting to know you" exercises, interspersed with the more serious work or orientation, should be the pattern for such an event. You might consider the exercises suggested in 101 Best Small Group Ideas or the Small Group Idea Book.

At this time in history, there are intensified—and intertwined—searches for meaning and relationships. Meaning can be found in our relationships with others, and the most satisfying relationships will be instrumental in the search for meaning in life. Whenever we are in a time of accelerated change, there is a corresponding need to clarify meaning and to know that we are not alone.

Although the industrial age and the age of technology have provided many benefits, the toll they have taken on community is enormous. The individual who is seen as a functional cog in a smoothly running machine is symbolic of our day. We become oriented around achieving tasks, when what we really want—as spiritual beings made in God's image—is to be accepted as persons...who are loved...who are growing spiritually...who are vital.

The NET Groups program is one avenue toward being loved, growing spiritually, and remaining vital. Being a part of such a process, however, is hard work. Some difficult and emotional issues of the spirit are dealt with in NET Groups. Through such struggling and sharing, however, there is growth.

By creating such small centers of loving fellowship and study, individuals can be transformed and, in turn, infect the world. As Elton Trueblood has written at the close of The Company of the Committed, "Whether the world can be redeemed in this way we do not know, but it is at least clear that there is no other way."