How does your church reach out to your community? Is your outreach haphazard or intentional? Do you host large community events, prefer smaller get-togethers, feature holiday celebrations, or do something else or nothing at all?
In 2022, my church decided to enact intentional outreach to children in our community. Members started hosting once-a-month Saturday morning children’s events. And church leaders work hard to ensure that any church member who has passed a background check can participate; these members rotate hosting, heading up, or helping with an event.
Be Intentional about Scheduling
To ease scheduling and ensure consistency, the church has outlined the components for all events and designated the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12 as the day and time. This allows parents to schedule for their children to attend.
Each event contains at least three components:
- Devotional: Devotional topics are often related to the activity. There are two devotional times based on the children’s ages. This separation allows each lesson to be appropriate for each group’s understanding and attention span.
- Activity: Activities vary from month to month, appealing to the children’s different interests. Activities have included outdoor, carnival-type games; craft days; Christmas cookie decorating; acting out the Christmas events in Luke 1 and 2; black light mini-golf; a black light game day; a snowball mania tournament; and much more.
- Snack: The church is careful to offer snack options for children with specific dietary needs.
Be Intentional by Adding Variety
Having different church members organize the events has three benefits: all the work does not fall to one person, the children get to know various members of the church, and the types of activities are as unique as each personality. Events are scheduled so they are not repeated within a two-year period. In addition to the activities mentioned above, events have included baking and serving a meal to adults, baking and decorating cookies, building birdhouses, sewing, and outdoor sports.
Be Intentional with Invitations
The church focuses on inviting children and families who use the church’s preschool ministry or who live in the neighborhood, as well as church kids. Children from the church and Kids4Truth Clubs are encouraged to bring their friends too. The events are free to the kids who attend.
Being Intentional Has Eternal Results
The church has seen several positive results to these events, including children being saved, children attending who do not attend church, parents appreciating the fun and safe activities for their children, and children in our church learning to reach out to those in their circles outside of church.
What is your church doing to reach the children in your community?
Share your ideas on this Facebook post.
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