One of the steps involved in starting a Links Fellowship where you play golf is getting permission to do so. You’ll need a place to meet and a time that works for a group of 10-12 to gather regularly, study and discuss Scripture, and pray together. Sometimes a general manager or board of directors needs to approve these gatherings, so it can be helpful to know what to tell them about what a Links Fellowship is and how it can benefit the club.
Here are three strong positives of a Links Fellowship, as well as some FAQs for the decision makers at your club (you can also print our downloadable tri-fold brochure to give to them). Now, it’s your Fellowship’s job to seal this value with the way you function in your club and build influence there.
INCREASING MEMBERS’ SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Every club depends on the recurring income of its members. Happy members are long-term members.
Because good managers and boards understand this principle, they make an effort to create offerings that increase the club’s value for members and their families. This includes care of the course but also delicious food in the restaurant and special amenities like a gym, a pool, pickleball courts, and car washes in the parking lot. All of these are nice, but what keeps many members around is a sense of personal connection with other members. They want to enjoy the community.
Local Links Fellowships provide an extra layer of connection, as members meet regularly (usually weekly) for study, conversation, and prayer. They encourage one another toward integrity and excellence in their households and businesses. As the members find transcendent worth in what they are learning, they commit more firmly to the group and thus to the club.
GENERATING INCOME FOR THE CLUB
Most clubs look for added income from weddings and parties or meetings of service clubs and other local groups. When these events become repeatable, they provide income the club can count on.
Links Fellowships, though often smaller than parties or other groups, are made up of members and bring a recurring presence every week. They order food and interact positively with the club’s staff. Additionally, as a group they typically bring golf days and events to the club; individually, Fellowship participants frequently welcome guests because they have a deeper stake in the club. In some areas, members also work with the club to create home-and-home golf days with Fellowships from other clubs, which generates guest income for the club.
Links Fellowships are completely free to the participants, so there’s no need for them to hold back when it comes to helping the club.
INTERVENING FOR THOSE IN NEED
One of the hallmarks of Links Fellowships is generosity. Among our five tenets is Kindle compassion for the poor and needy. Through the years we have seen this happen both in and around the clubs where we are active.
At Christmas, some Fellowship leaders will approach club managers about needs among the staff, then take up a collection to provide a boost where there are extra needs. But this also happens throughout the year, where Fellowships have intervened to help staff members who have been diagnosed with a serious illness or lost their home to disaster.
Links Fellowships often reach beyond the walls of the club too, making an impact on the local community. In cities and regions, we have partnered with the local Rescue Mission to provide holiday meals or the Salvation Army to deliver coats for the winter. This is a great way for all members to be welcomed into supporting the community, and it reflects well on the club that is doing the giving. In these broader outreaches, it is also possible for Links Players, the nonprofit entity behind Links Fellowships, to provide donor receipts for tax deductions for those who participate.
ANSWERS FOR BOARDS AND OTHER DECISION MAKERS
Where and when do Links Fellowships typically meet at a club?
Fellowships meet in many places: card rooms, locker rooms, dining rooms, board rooms. They frequently meet in the early morning when few others are around, but some also meet at lunch time because of the availability of food.
Are Links Fellowships religious groups?
While Fellowships study and discuss the Bible, giving them a Christian perspective, they are not normally affiliated with any one church or denomination. They are more relaxed than religious.
Will other members feel uncomfortable about a Fellowship meeting in a club?
Honestly, some people do. But far more commonly, because the Fellowships often meet in private rooms and have a positive impact on the club, people receive Fellowships quite positively.
If Links Fellowships are Christian in their approach, what about those of other religions who come to us and want to meet with their groups?
Other faiths do not commonly have avenues for informal gathering of lay people around their scriptures, so we are unaware of similar groups asking for a presence in their club this way. Certainly, though, consideration should be given to them should they ask.