Welcome & Vision | 5 Mins
Welcome everyone and particularly any newcomers this week.
Remind each other of the vision of CIS and the purpose of the weekly group meeting. (Consider using CIS videos and resources to keep this fresh each week).
Remind those graduating to fill in this form using a non-university email address so Christians in Sport can stay in touch with them after they leave university.
Prayer & Evangelism | 10 Mins
In pairs look back on your week of sport and discuss how last week’s group meeting helped you. Follow up with anything people asked for prayer about.
In pairs share prayer points for the week of sport ahead and spend time praying for each other.
Some weeks pray more widely for other clubs and teams in your university which are not represented in the group. Alternatively, you can also use the CIS prayer diary to pray for the whole mission of CIS.
You might also want to use this slot to discuss and plan your evangelistic event for the term and pray specifically about it.
Reach the world of sport for Christ | 20 Mins
Intro
As we continue to reach the world of university sport for Christ this session will help us to consider how we might go about sharing our faith through hosting a ‘dialogue dinner.’
Read
Reflect
How do you feel about the idea of sharing your faith with your sports friends whilst having dinner together?
Explain
This year you will eat over 200 dinners at uni. How will you make the most of them for God? Jesus did and said some extraordinary things at the dinner table - rubbing shoulders with the outcasts of society, being wept on by a local prostitute, washing his friends' feet, healing a man with lepropsy, and declaring that it would only be through his death that people can find true Life!
Sharing your faith in christ around the dinner table with your sports friends is sometimes referred to as a ‘dialogue dinners’. Dialogue dinners are a highly relational, safe places for your friends to hear about Jesus Christ and have meaningful discussions about him whilst enjoying your finest cooking (or Aldi’s best microwave meals). You could start with a testimony, or a simple gospel presentation, or a short engaging passage from one of the gospels about Jesus. This is best kept to around 5 minutes, followed by a question or discussion starter that helps people feel comfortable to talk and ask their questions.
The hope and prayer is that conversation around the gospel in this setting will also lead to their eyes being opened to see who Jesus really is, to declare for themselves “It is true! The Lord has risen!” But even if that doesn’t happen straight away, which is more common, this kind of event can be a brilliant springboard from which you could invite a friend to read the Bible with you, or to start coming along to church.
Discuss
If you were to put on a dialogue dinner, how would you go about it? When/who/where/what?
What might be some of the barriers, if any, to you hosting a dialogue dinner?
How might you ensure transparency about your dialogue dinner when inviting your friends along? (Answer: we don’t want to trick them and leave out the gospel bit. Be honest and trust that they will come with an openness to listen and chat).
Pray
Praise God for the blessing of food and how it brings people together
Ask God to give you a desire to share your faith in the context of a meal
Pray for opportunities this term to host a dialogue dinner and ask God to use this to bring your sports friends to faith in Jesus.
Notices | 5 Mins
Update everyone on the key messages for the week. These might include:
Promoting your evangelistic event for the term
Reminding people about carol services and other events the group can make use of.
Resources to share
Encourage group members to sign up for Back Pages Online to stay up to date with the latest videos, blogs, stories, podcasts and prayer content from Christians in Sport.
