Summer is here – how will you keep your congregation engaged? 

June 20, 2022

Ideas for Endless Summer Outreach

While attendance at services may drop during the summer months, your role of ministering to and for the community is just as important. As a church leader, this is your opportunity to provide a haven for kids, a moment of respite for parents, a chance for families to reconnect, time to give back, and a more relaxed way of worship. So don’t let the next weeks pass without implementing an action plan that helps your church combat the summer slump. 

Vacation Bible School might be your church’s biggest summer draw, in fact – we just wrapped up ours, but it’s only one week! So if you’re looking for some inspiration, we’ve compiled a list of ideas that parents, youth, teens, and your community as a whole, can get behind. 

All about the kids 

  • Summer Outings for Kids – How about a few special days where you charge a nominal fee and kids can take field trips? The zoo, children’s museum, bowling alley, local farms, and skating rinks are just a few places to start. 
  • Day Camps – Hold themed day camps with planned activities such as crafts, cooking, games, and stories. From designing t-shirts to making pizza to theatre productions of bible stories – the possibilities for this one are endless. 
  • Wacky Water Wednesday – From water balloon tosses to good old-fashioned sprinklers, kids can rotate to water game stations set up outside. 
  • Book Club/Story Hour – Have a volunteer read to the younger children while the older ones break off into small groups to discuss various readings. 
  • Camp Outs – Plan a father and kids camp out on the church lawn complete with hot dogs and s’ mores! 
  • Mom’s Morning Out – Many moms would greatly benefit from a 3-hour window where they could drop off their kids to run errands or get some work done. 

Teens 

  • Outreach – Your teens can organize a drive-through to pass out free snow cones and an invitation to Sunday worship. 
  • Parents Night Out – Provide donation-only child care during local events. This would be a great way for your teens to raise money for mission trips. 
  • Staycation – Everyone likes to get away from it all. Teens are no different. Create an entertaining, more grown-up VBS. Give young people a chance to get away, live independently for a few days, have fun, and be inspired. 
  • Mystery Night – This one is a favorite! Don’t tell them where they are going, just what to bring. Plan a fun-filled afternoon of water parks, trampoline parks, and putt-putt – you name it!  
  • Float-in – What’s better than a movie night? A movie night in the pool!  

Everyone is invited 

  • Movie on the Lawn – Rent a movie (with permission to show the movie to a group), pop plenty of popcorn, and invite the community. 
  • Summer Nights Worship Series – This outdoor series could focus on worship and fellowship with outdoor Christian music concerts and inspirational speakers. 
  • 4th of July – Why not plan a “red, white and blue jeans” Sunday the week before the 4th. Invite local leaders to attend the worship service, present them a gift, and voice a prayer for them. 
  • Take it Outside – Invite the community to join you for outdoor tournaments, such as volleyball, horseshoes, softball, bocce ball, and 3-on-3 basketball. 
  • Mission Mania – Go beyond the church walls! What about involving your congregation in a week of mission mania? Look around your community for places of service and ministry. 
  • Goofy Games Night – set up nontraditional game stations outside and have a family fun event! 

Music greatly enhances any summer program, and CCS’s PERFORMmusic Facilities License makes it simple and easy for you to legally play and perform more than 28 million Christian AND secular songs anywhere on your campus and satellite facilities during all your programs and activities.  

Thinking about streaming any of these programs on your church-owned website? Not a problem…you can legally feature your music with the WORSHIPcast Streaming License. And check out CVLI for all your movie license needs.

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration, and advocacy for copyright owners. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. 

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