One way to get everyone in your group to interact and fully participate in the small group is to create a small group "Circle-Square". The circle square is a tear-off pad of questions and directives which serve to guide small group conversations and interactions. The host begins with the first tear-off question or directive which is often a welcome statement that they read out loud. This page will also often include some sort of ground-rules statement for how the group members should behave and relate during the gathering. The first level pages might end with a fun directive such as... "Pass the circle-square pad to someone who played in their school band." Once the next person receives the pad in hand they will tear-off the page and read the statement, question or command found on the back. With just a bit of creativity and planning your circle square tear-off pad will move your group from ice-breaker to all-in conversations where everyone present has the opportunity to share and relate. Below are steps to creating your own "Circle-Square" pad for your next small group gathering.
1. Create around 20 "palm-sized" paper squares with your group name or study title on the front of each square. The front of each sheet should also include the directive to "Tear off this sheet and read the back to continue!"
2. Using the back sides of each paper, create a series of "read aloud" directives, and questions that the group or person holding the pad can answer or comment on.
3. Be sure to include a "pass the square" directive at the bottom of each back page to ensure that the square (and therefore the conversation) keeps moving.
4. The last page of the the circle-square should be a thank you for coming - see you next week group closer statement.
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