Hangouts FAQ

+ 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 Refuge Church, we encourage hosts to invite their non-Christian friends to participate.

+ Are hangouts planned or administered by Refuge?

Not exactly. Hangouts are directly hosted by people at Refuge. So they work more like informal gatherings of friends who all happen to belong to Refuge 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, snowmowbiling,or competitive taco-eating).

+ What about conscience issues? Can I have alcohol at a hangout?

Hangouts promoted by Refuge can't involve anything which is explicitly or implicitly forbidden by Scripture (No, you can't host a pole-dancing hangout). But what about issues that aren't necessarily gray areas, but which may stumble someone?

Take alcohol. Moderate alcohol consumption without drunkenness is clearly not sinful; Jesus turned the water into good wine, not good Welch's. But some aren't able to drink alcohol due to past sin or sincere issues of conscience.

So here's what we ask: Hosts, be sensitive. 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 them to sin against their conscience by pushing them 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 have a freedom you don't.

+ Are Hangouts just repackaged House Churches?

No! Hangouts and House Churches have definite areas of overlap in aim, but they are fundamentally different things. They're peanut butter and jelly, not peanut butter and slightly different peanut butter.

Hangouts exist to foster friendship around activities. It's a shoulder-to-shoulder, being-family-as-you-enjoy-things kind of thing. House Churches exist to go deep as family in small groups with diverse members around prayer and discipleship relationships.

+ Why do House Church if I like Hangouts?

Since hangouts are built around areas of similar interest, they will naturally tend to be less diverse. House Churches are about getting grandmas who enjoy knitting together as family with millennials who love to Instagram.

House Churches go deep in prayer for one another, accountability, and more. They press all kinds of Christians together into small, family-style units to enjoy Jesus and grow together. Hangouts help you foster friendship and community across the whole church.

+ How will folks find out about my Hangout?

Upcoming hangouts will be occasionally pushed out via social media, our mobile app, 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 invitating people into their hangout beyond those channels.