Most church-going individuals go to church because their parents did. Likely, if they are in the same town they grew up in, they will go to the same church their parents did. Because of this Church becomes a routine, every Sunday usually at the same time every weekend, the family will go to church. By building a community around church more individuals are encouraged to become involved within the Church. Church outings are a great way to bring your church community together outside of Sunday mass. These can be held on Sundays after a service or during the week like a bible study. The point to take away is much of the younger generation is becoming disconnected from the church. By planning a church outing it will help to bring that community back together.
How To Plan A Church Outing
Planning a church outing can be a lot of fun or a lot of stress. To keep it simple we want to focus on how to plan an outdoor picnic for after mass on Sunday. Of course, there are countless other options for a church outing such as bowling, movies, ski trip, you name it just about any activity can be a place to go with a group from church. However, planning of the Sunday picnic takes a little more coordination as these often require a lot more set up and pre-planning. If the church does not have a pavilion on site, renting a giant outdoor tent will be a great choice for people to congregate in. This will also keep the gathering from spreading out too far. After all, the point of this event is to bring the church community together outside of Sunday service.
After the tent rental is secured the next biggest task will be food. Everyone loves to attend an event where there is free food. This will definitely encourage all members of the community to attend. The best and easiest way to accomplish this is by making the Sunday brunch a potluck dinner. A Potluck dinner, or in our case a potluck lunch, is where each member of the church brings a dish large enough to provide a serving to each member of the event. This allows for the greatest variety of food and of course takes the burden of paying for all the food off the shoulder of one individual or the church itself. However, it is worth noting that there should be a sign up sheet prior to the event (preferably weeks before) in an effort to prevent the entire party brining the same thing. Several people should bring drinks, some on desserts, and then of course a majority on main course.
Once food and shelter are planned for its all about the accessories. What can you add to make the event even more enjoyable for the community? Well for one, if its summer time mosquito prevention needs to be accounted for. No one wants to go to an outdoor picnic and be the picnic themselves for a swarm of mosquitos. If possible investing in an CO2 Mosquito Trap is the best solution to help the mosquito problem before it starts. These traps work by attracting the mosquito by deploying carbon dioxide and then ultimately sucking them up by the machine. There are a bunch of these on the market, but the best are Mosquito Magnets. Reading through a few mosquito magnet reviews will help you to decide which is best for your church outings. A moon bounce is another great addition to any outdoor church outing. Almost all kids enjoy a bounce house. This can be a great way to entice everyone to join in on the event. Last but not least is music. Whether it be a band or a DJ, having music will definitely make the event more lively. Remember, we are trying to encourage the younger generation to become involved in these events. By catering towards their needs we can encourage the entire family to attend. The younger kids always want to go where a bounce house is and the adults where food is. So tackling those teenagers is always the trick.
With these few tips you can make church engagement outside of Sunday mass a success. Remember to try and target all age groups with your outings, particularly the teens as these can be the most difficult to convince involvement. These events can definitely encourage family time as well as community time.