We now live in a world where 5- to 10-minute council meetings are held at the beginning of elders quorum and Relief Society.
I like this approach, and on paper, it makes complete sense.
However, may I play the role of a prophet for a moment?
Most council moments will likely go something like this:
Leader at the start of the 2nd hour: “Alright, let’s jump into our council portion of the meeting. Who would like to start us off with a topic?”
Class: *blink* *blink*
Further silence…
Leader: “Well, I guess we’ll just jump into our lesson. Brother Barragan?”
You see, this council meeting approach will never work without a crucial step.
Just like you warm up your frozen burrito before you take a bite, you need to do the same with council meetings.
Warm-up activities are numerous, but you have to do something.
Here are a few ideas:
- Prepare your audience with a few questions via email before the council session so that they have time to process the topic.
- Invite the room to sit in a circle or multiple circles. This naturally stimulates better discussion.
- Prime the pump with very simple and innocent questions to get people talking.
- What’s the best part of living in [insert city name]?
- Favorite food from your mission?
- Favorite general conference tradition?
- Create groups of 2-4 people as people are more likely to start talking in smaller groups.
- Show a video clip or play a song that helps settle people into the spirit of the meeting.
You’ll find that some warm-up efforts work, while others fall flat.
Keep trying different things until you find a few that work.
Mix it up each time and try something new.
This likely means the council portion of the meeting might last closer to 20 minutes.
Prepare your class instructor for less time.
Ideally, they will be even more engaged from the council discussion, leading to a better lesson discussion.
So, what are you going to do?
How do you suggest warming up the room before counseling on important topics?
See what others are saying about this topic HERE.
Sincerely,
Kurt Francom
Executive Director
Leading Saints
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