Summer means longer days and for many families a more relaxed schedule. This makes summer a great time to plan unique family activities for your church members. Encourage your members to very intentionally invite other families to these fun summer events.
We want to create space for families to come and discover the community and care that our church offers. We must maximize the time we have during the summer to connect with families to create opportunities for guests to connect with other people and with Christ.
People are not just seeking more activities that waste their time, they are seeking connection.
Open your church doors wide and invite them in. A few fun events that are sure to create memorable and impactful experiences are:
- Host a Taco Tuesday night at your church. Invite families to enjoy tacos together and make it a fun theme night with a pinata, games, and lots of chips and queso!
- Offer pick up basketball games one night a week in your church gym or at a local gym if you don’t have one. This is a great way for men to connect in a non-intimidating format.
- Have a family movie night under the stars. Offer popcorn and Popsicles and let families spread out to watch like at a drive-in movie.
- Have a trivia night for the whole family. You could make it Disney-themed questions or some other topic that can pull the entire family into the competition. Offer prizes such as gift cards to the movie theater, bowling alley, a local ice cream shop, or a roller skating rink.
- Host a Christmas in July party. Pull out all the stops and have a Christmas tree, play Christmas music, and decorate Christmas cookies. You could also use the time to pack Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes or make supply bags for the homeless in your community.
These are just a few ideas of fun, non-intimidating events you can host to invite new families to check out your church community. As they come and begin to make connections with other people in your church they will also develop relationships. These relationships will be what keeps them coming back. The hope is after a few of these events, they will be comfortable enough to attend a service.
Summer events are about more than just fun. These connections are so important because they will lead to community. Community is the foundation that many people need to begin to trust and ask the questions they have about faith and God. These questions can be life changing.
What summer fun for families can you put on the calendar today?
