Section 2 | Your First Meeting

Your first meeting is special, whether it's your first meeting ever or the first meeting of the year. You may not want to have a big event or a speaker for your first meeting of the year. It is a time for getting to know the group and new members. The first meeting should be held in the first week or two of an academic term. Get the interest of new students right away, before the best potential leaders become involved in other extracurricular activities.

Here are some things you might want to do at your first meeting:

• Wear nametags (nametags are a good idea whenever you expect new people).
• Introduce the group, its purpose, your plans for it, and your vision for how it will change your institution.
• Introduce all officers. Have officers speak about how they became freethinkers.
• Have an ice breaker, or just have people introduce themselves to those around them.
• For a variety of icebreakers, consult the resource Deep Fun, which was created by the Unitarian Universalist Association for youth programming. From the URL there is also a link to a printable PDF format.
• Introduce the movement that your group is a part of. You might define terms people use (atheist, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, etc.), outline the main goals of the movement and the many different approaches, or talk about famous nontheists.
• List some of the large secular organizations and explain what they do, or briefly discuss some of the most popular books or current news issues.
• Talk about what the group has done previously and what's planned for the semester.
• Ask for feedback, either written or from people who raise their hands.
• Circulate an email list so you can keep in touch with new people.

Special Considerations for Your First Meeting - When Starting Your Group

If your group is just starting out, your first couple of meetings may be more about gauging interest and setting up structure than anything else. When having meetings like this, remember that all of the interested people you attract may not want to help with the business of starting a group. Try to keep general meetings fun and build interest for your group while getting prospective members to volunteer to do things like help draft a constitution outside of meetings. The upside to having a captive bunch of people who are excited about your new group is that they can help you do visioning. A room full of peppy freethinkers can do a bang up job of brainstorming! Take advantage of this but don't wear out your constituents before your group has even begun.