hangouts faq
Below is a list of frequently asked questions about Hangouts. Have a question not covered here? Email us at churchthewell@gmail.com and we’d be happy to answer!
Who are Hangouts for? Can I come if I’m not a Christian?
Hangouts are for humans. We believe that God created humanity for family and community as his image-bearers, meaning they won’t flourish if friendship is deficient any more than they’d flourish if Vitamin C was deficient (scurvy and all). So while hangouts are hosted by Christians from The Well Church, we encourage hosts to invite their non-Christian friends to participate.Are Hangouts planned or administered by The Well?
Not exactly. Hangouts are directly hosted by people at The Well. So they work more like informal gatherings of friends who all happen to belong to The Well than top-down events put on by the church. We help connect people and promote hangouts to foster deep and lasting friendship. To protect the flock and to limit liability for the church, we simply require and perform background checks for anyone hosting a hangout. We also require a Release Waiver to be signed by anyone engaging in a hangout that has the possibility of bodily injury (think backpacking, snowmobiling, or competitive taco-eating).What about conscience issues? Can I have alcohol at a hangout?
Hangouts promoted by The Well can’t involve anything which is explicitly or implicitly forbidden by Scripture, but with Christian liberties like responsible alcohol consumption, we simply ask hosts to be mindful and sensitive. Because of past sin, an issue of conscience, or the conviction of the Spirit, drinking any amount of alcohol may be a sin or stumbling block for some. We do allow hangouts to include alcohol, to be hosted at a pub, etc.—so long as the consumption is moderate. If someone has an issue of conscience, don’t encourage him to sin against his conscience by pushing him to participate. For participants: If you have an issue of conscience with a hangout or its location, we would ask you to simply not participate. Please don’t be divisive, gossipy, or slander brothers and sisters who can enjoy a freedom you cannot.Are Hangouts just repackaged home groups?
No! Hangouts and home groups have definite areas of overlap in aim, but hangouts exist to foster friendship around specific activities. It’s a shoulder-to-shoulder, being-family-as-you-enjoy-things kind of thing. Home groups exist to go deep as family in small groups with diverse members around prayer and discipleship relationships.How will folks find out about my Hangout? Upcoming hangouts will occasionally be pushed on Slack and during the announcements on Sunday, but for the most part, all of the information for upcoming and ongoing hangouts will live on a page in our website that is also embedded in the app, so you can always head there to find out what’s going on and jump in. Hangout hosts will be responsible for the majority of inviting people into their hangouts beyond those channels.
