Having fun with your team is serious leadership! There is evidence that adults learn best when they are engaged in fun activities!  When we kick back have fun at work it helps us connect with our team members on a deeper level. Even in the midst of a tough season of ministry fun meetings can drive our creativity and flexibility to solve the problems ahead of us. As a church leader your team (whether paid staff or volunteer) deserve to have fun at your team meetings! Here are some ideas to spice up your team meetings!

• Add Food // Something almost magical happens when you add food to a meeting. But don’t just bring a box of donuts … that’s way overdone! Have a favorite exotic food? Add it to the start of your next regular meeting and see what happens.
• No Ideas are Bad Ideas! // Host a old fashion “brainstorming” session … but with a twist. The goal of this session is to come up with the zaniest ideas possible to solve a problem in front you. Hand out a bunch of small soft stuffed animals. Encourage your team to throw them at anyone who makes a negative comment about anyone’s idea. Any idea is a great idea at this stage!
• Don’t Meet // Next time people arrive for a regularly scheduled meeting … don’t meet! Have something fun planned instead. Go see a movie together. Walk down the street and get some ice cream. It’s amazing how the stuff on the agenda gets taken care of … even when you don’t meet. 🙂
• Standing Meeting // Ok … this might not be fun but just effective. Take all the chairs out of the room that you meet in and have the meeting standing up! You’ll be amazed at how quickly you move through the agenda!
• Mobile Meeting // As people arrive at your meeting let them know that you are taking this meeting on the road! Either walk or jump in a few vehicles and go a location that is germane to the conversation of the meeting. (Example: Take your team over to the local high school as you discuss the new youth pastor you are thinking about hiring.)
• Egg Timer // Bring an egg timer to your next meeting. [Here’s an online one if you don’t have a real one.] Set a time goal for each section of the agenda and bring prizes for the group for deciding on action points within the time allotted. (Good for when you have a group that loves to contemplate one more angle!)
• Optional Learning Experiences // As an antidote to meetings that people are “required” to come to offer some optional development times for your team. Pick a some content that is helpful for your team … offer them free smoothies if they attend … and give away some prizes! 🙂 (Feel free to use this presentation on saving time with your team if you think it’ll be helpful!)
• Thank You Notes // Kick off your meeting with some gratitude! Hand out thank you cards to everyone on your team and have them share something that someone else on another team at the church did that was fantastic. After people share have them write thank you notes to the people that they shared about!
• Get Rid of the Table // The physical space you meet in matters. Get rid of that big table that blocks everyone. Paint the walls a bright color. Making a physical change can switch people’s attitudes about your meetings. What if you themed the room something fun? Hawaiian Luau Theme? Christmas in July?
• Google Hangout // Take your meeting online. Google has done a great job making this tool a lot of fun to use. There are digital “costumes” you can put on yourself to spice up the conversation. It’s a fun break from the same old method of meeting!
• Stick It Up! // In preparation for the meeting put 3-4 pieces of poster board around the room with short sentences describing issues your church is facing. As people arrive for the meeting give them a pile of post-it notes and a marker and ask them to jot down solutions for each issue and stick it up on the boards around the room. Take some time to discuss the ideas generated.

I’m sure you have way more fun ideas than me! We’d love to hear ’em. Leave a comment!