The current NSW Lockdown may stop us from gathering together in person, but that doesn’t mean churches can’t find creative ways to come together online!
Narara Valley Baptist Church (NVBC) recently hosted a Trivia Night on Zoom and invited over 120 people from a range of churches across the region. Participants came from Green Point Baptist, Coast Community Church, Wyong Baptist, Grace Community Church and Greenhouse Church. The night was a wonderful expression of regional church unity and was intentionally intergenerational as children, youth, adults, and seniors were all able to participate.
The event included 8 rounds of trivia, ‘Taskmaster Challenges’ and a bonus ‘Escape Room’ challenge; these were all able to be completed via Google Forms. The Taskmaster challenges were particularly fun! Teams had to complete tasks such as “building the tallest tower from household items”, “act out a scene from a Spielberg movie” and even “eat the best picture out of a slice of bread”.
It was amazing to see families bond together in their own households as they fought for a position on the leader board, and it was hilarious to listen in to the banter as churches engaged in friendly competition.
The night was filled with fun and laughter! Pastor Brett Robinson from Wyong Baptist, wrote: “We had so much fun! The topics and questions were really good. It was just what the Dr ordered. Thanks for getting the guys together for fun and a laugh during lockdown.”
Angus McGregor (Youth Coordinator, Wyong Baptist Church) said: “It was such an encouragement to see various local church communities coming together at Narara Valley’s online Trivia Night. The lockdown period has really highlighted the importance of community and the need for events like these that provide opportunities for connection. The Trivia night proved to be a highlight of the week for my church team. You can’t help but get excited by what is happening here! Events like these are really important for organically building unity without another agenda. I am excited to see how God uses this and other fun events to foster and build community across churches on the Central Coast.”
Pastor Lewis Jonker from NVBC reflected: “We have found that ‘community’ nights are just as important as online services. Under the current NSW Covid restrictions, we find ourselves isolated from friends, family, and other churches. This is particularly difficult for people who live alone. We also find ourselves constantly bombarded with negative news from the media which can cause deep anxiety and stress. While a simple Trivia Night can’t solve all of these problems, it can provide a little relief and give people a chance to smile in the midst of so much heartache. Surprisingly, the Trivia Night engaged more of our night service congregants (mostly young adults) than our general church zoom sessions.”
Inter-church unity has been growing on the Central Coast for many years and events like these only strengthen the bond that already exists. The Covid crisis can cause churches to spend more time focused internally, however, regional events should not be forgotten.
You can borrow NVBC’s resources to conduct your own trivia event, here: Instructions for NVBC Trivia
