Informal talk: A way for leaders to guide all ages through the reading

Prepare a game based on the TV programme Dragons’ Den. In advance, brief a few volunteers to be those seeking investment from the dragons. Each of them is trying to raise money for a new ministry. Choose any appropriate ministries or charity work (e.g. working with the homeless, the mentally unwell, or refugees, single parents, or the traveller community). Include a few less obvious and non-traditional (in church terms) ministries as well, perhaps with some intentional humour (e.g. ministry to the bankers who haven’t received bonuses, to retired football players, to unemployed billionaires – it could provoke an interesting discussion: what ministry do such people need?). The volunteers could be asked to research and prepare their own material, or it could be provided for them on cue cards.


Now, on the day, tell the rest of the people present that they are to be investors, and that they’ve got £100,000 to invest in a new charity. Each volunteer will give a brief ‘pitch’ (maximum of, say, two minutes), designed to get the dragons to invest in their cause. Once all pitches are delivered, invite the dragons to give opinions about the causes and pitches they have heard. What is a deserving cause? What is not? What are the real needs of those who seem not to be so deserving? How do you decide between equally deserving causes? Finally, invite the dragons to vote on who they want to give the money to.

After the game, talk about the need not to choose who to invest our time and love in, but to follow the commandment we have from Jesus to love all, and ask what that might mean for those present, and for their church – how might, or should, they be doing things differently?