Small groups and Bible studies are about more than just gaining knowledge. They are about lives being transformed as people experience God and build relationships with each other.
A great way to start the process of getting to know each other and building relationships is through icebreakers. Soularium is a tool offered by Cru for evangelism, but it can also be used for an icebreaker that helps your group go deeper.
Soularium is a series of photographs. Participants choose images to represent their answers to questions and then explain why they chose each one.
It’s best to bring one Soularium deck for every two or three participants, but provide one at a minimum.
Introduction
This is a sample script to explain the icebreaker to your small group:
“A great way for us to get to know each other is to share a bit about ourselves and our spiritual journeys. Today we’ll use a tool called Soularium as a launching point for discussion. Soularium uses a series of photos. You’ll choose photos in response to questions and then explain why you chose each image.”
Questions to Ask
There are lots of questions you can ask your small group for the Soularium icebreaker. They range from questions like “What two images represent your life right now?” to more in-depth spiritual questions like “What two images represent your spiritual journey so far?”
Give your group time to think about each question and select images in response.
As the facilitator, you may want to share your story first as an example.
If you have a talkative group, you may not be able to have everyone share in an icebreaker time in one meeting. You could set aside 15 minutes of your group time every week over several weeks.
Sharing Your Stories
Another great way to use Soularium with your group is as a way for everyone to share their stories.
You could tell your group: “Think about your story as if it were a movie. Imagine your life right now as the final scene. If you were to choose three frames from this movie to summarize what has brought you to where you are spiritually, which three frames or images would you choose?”
Then ask these prompts to help guide the process:
- Choose one image to represent your spiritual background. What role did spiritual things or religion play in your family when you were growing up?
- Choose an image to represent how your spiritual beliefs have changed or grown in your life. This could be a single turning point or a more long-term shift.
- Choose one image to represent where you are currently on your spiritual journey.
This process will also probably take several weeks to do, depending on your group, so each week, have one or two people tell their stories using the Soularium images.
If you want everyone to tell their stories during one meeting, set aside the bulk of the time in one meeting so everyone can share. If there’s time afterward, you can have extended prayer or a short devotional with one or two questions instead of a full lesson.
More on Soularium and Leading Small Groups
You can purchase Soularium at the Cru store or find more Soularium resources here).
Read about other small group icebreakers, or visit our small group page, “(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Leading a Small Group.”
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.
