School is out for summer! And with that, your families are scrambling to fill their summer because their schedules have been thrown into disarray! So they are looking for events, outings, all-nighters, retreats, summer camps, and VBS to attend. But as a church, as a family ministry, you are looking to form relationships, build community and see changed lives. How can these two things co-exist?
- Be Intentional – It is great to have events for specific ages or family outings, but have your staff be intentional about what the end goal should be. Is it just a fun evening of movies and popcorn or is it to lead to something deeper? Can your staff design something for the whole family? A drive-in movie in the parking lot? Family game night in the gym? Rent a water park? Be intentional in the ages that you are designing for and that you want to invite.
- Create memories – As a parent, sometimes making memories is the toughest part. Sometimes it can be tough for parents to simply enjoy the moment. Sometimes it is tough to remember to take a picture and post it on social media! Create some memory spots for them to take a family picture and have staff posted there to take it for them. (And maybe the staff can help them post and tag your church in the post right then and there) Give them funny props and great lighting. Have a little 4 x 6 printer that makes photos for them that they can put on their refrigerator. Take homes are great, but if it is the picture of the family, it will get treasured much longer than anything else.
- Follow up – Part of your programming should be outreach. It allows your families to invite families that are in the same season as them to come and hang out together. There is no better advertisement for your ministry than word of mouth. But now you have to capture their information so you can invite them back. How can you do that without creating a pile of paperwork? Have a giveaway where they scan a QR code and it has a simple form for them to give you their phone number and email and they are entered into the drawing. Now they can win something and you have captured their information as quickly and painlessly as possible. And then just follow up the next day.
- Family Guide – Or maybe. Just maybe instead of you and your staff planning, manning and running all the events, what if you put together a list of ideas for families to be able to do together? It could range from free to costing some money but create some easy ideas for them to be able to create moments and memories together. It could even be broken out by age ideas. Build a guide for parents to be able to do this summer together. Hand them out. Print them into magnets to put on the fridge. Mail them to their homes. Put them in their hands to be able to go get ice cream every Friday night or chalk drawings on the sidewalk or pool time every Wednesday afternoon or paddleboarding on Saturdays to make a checklist of all the places to explore in your city like a zoo, museum, cat coffee shop or boba tea and check them off as you conquer them together as a family. This allows you to be that community church without taxing your staff. It is a busy summer already! This creates opportunities for them to create memories with their family as well! Invest in your staff and church body at the same time? Yes, please!
We hope this summer will be one filled with memories, new community, and growth. Of course, to do many of these things you need a team to make them happen. If you have a list of things you are trying to accomplish but you don’t have the right people to help you accomplish them, we’re here for you. We understand that finding the right people is harder than ever, contact us and we’ll show you how we can help you build the right team with the right people.
