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Is your small church looking for ways to impact your community for Jesus? Do you want fun ideas to connect and build relationships with families and people of all ages? Considered these Father’s Day outreach ideas as a kick-off point.
Father’s Day Is The Perfect Time To Connect With Your
Community
We want to inspire your small church to consider using this special day as an opportunity to encourage strong family bonds. It also demonstrates to your community that your church cares about families. By using some of these fun Father’s Day events and activities you can show others the value of putting God at the center of your family.
It All Starts With A Little Creativity
First, we need to consider the purpose of your outreach. Is it simply showing God’s love to others in creative ways? Is it fulfilling a need in your community or is it having an activity that will draw new people into your small church? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
Another question to ask is, are you going to be giving out gifts or serving food? Consider partnering with local businesses to get some of those items. Perhaps they would give you a discount or even donate the items you need. This is also a great way to connect with local community members to show them the heart of your small church.
Once you decide on your overall goal, then you can move on and pick your event or activity. Are you going to go out into your community to do your event and reach the Dads there? Bringing an activity or special event to a park, school, or local gathering spot is a great opportunity to reach fathers who may not be comfortable coming into a formal church setting. We have ideas for that!
Planning an event, class, or special service at your church is convenient for planning but takes a whole church community to make it the best it can be! Encourage your church members to spread the word, invite people, and volunteer to help in different areas of the event. These events are great for building church fellowship and community, while demonstrating that it’s easy to reach out to others with God’s love.
So who’s ready to plan and execute some creative Father’s Day outreach ideas?
5 Creative Father’s Day Outreach Ideas
1. Pop-Up Event At The Park
This is a ‘Go To’ the people event. Make sure you have permission from your town to set this event up at a local park. Set up different stations with the following activities, feel free to add your own:
- Posing With Pop: Set up a photo backdrop or make your own photo booth for dads, kids, or even whole families to take selfies. Make some signs to hold that say “Happy Father’s Day” or “Me & My Pop”. Make it fun to attract lots of attention.
- A Popsicle Stand: Have a popsicle stand and give away frozen treats. Maybe your church could connect with a local ice cream truck or a grocery store to get popsicles for free.
- Popcorn And SodaPop: Host another food stand with popcorn & soda pop. These are the areas where you can get your small church community involved with the outreach.
- Balloon Pop Game: Set up a Balloon game where kids and dads can throw a dart to pop a balloon. Inside the balloon is a slip of paper with a number. Set up different numbered baskets or buckets with small prizes. Each person gets the prize that corresponds to the tag in the balloon. Bulk prices are good for this i.e., lollipops, Christian bracelets, pencils, etc.
- Christian Pop: What about inviting your worship team to set up and perform some Christian Pop Music? This is a great way to expose your community to your small church. Invite your church family members to bring lawn chairs and mix with the crowd.
2. Father’s Day Parenting Seminar
Hosting a parenting seminar for fathers can be an enriching experience. This can be hosted at your church location or at a location in your community. Here are some ideas to help you organize and execute a successful seminar.
- Form a team: Get your small church community involved. You’ll need greeters, hospitality people, a promotions person, a host/MC, and prayer backing.
- Select the topics: These might include:
- Effective communication with children
- Positive discipline strategies
- Building strong father-child relationships
- Balancing work and family life
- Invite speakers: Invite knowledgeable speakers who specialize in parenting, child psychology, or family therapy. Ask your denomination if they have people available. Check with your local school counselors, hospital, and social services department.
- Promote the event: Promotion/advertising is important. Spread the word about your seminar in different ways like social media, local parenting groups, schools, community centers, and workplaces. Emphasize that it’s open to all fathers of all ages. Encourage your church family to help.
- Schedule: Plan your schedule including presentation times, break times, and interactive sessions as well.
- Gather any materials: Gather resources such as handouts, presentation slides, and activity materials: pens, note pads, etc.
- Provide opportunities for fathers to connect: Encourage the fathers from your church to attend and offer support. Make prayer available for anyone who would like it, involve your pastor, men’s leader, or elders in this.
Consider offering follow-up resources or support for participants who want to continue their learning journey. This would be a great time to promote a new class at your church for men, a family event, or a marriage enrichment class and to develop these relationships even further.
3. Host A Men’s Burger Making Class
Hosting a burger class for dads can be a fun and interactive way to teach them cooking skills while creating a connection point with the men in your church. Plus it gives them the skills to create a delicious meal.
- Plan the menu: Decide on the types of burgers you want to teach the dads to make. Consider including classic beef burgers, as well as options for vegetarians or those with dietary restrictions. Contact a local restaurant to invite a chef to come teach. You could also ask a culinary teacher at a local school or technical college.
- Gather ingredients and equipment: Make a list of all the ingredients and equipment needed for the class. Items like ground meat, buns, toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, etc.), condiments, utensils, and grills. Ask church members if they could bring their grill from home.
- Promote your class: Get the word out to the dads in your community through social media, email newsletters, or flyers. Try contacting local radio stations. Have a sign-up system and limit your class size to your space and grilling capabilities. You may opt to charge a fee for the class to cover the costs of food or see if you can get donations from church members or local businesses.
- Create recipe cards: Be sure to make one for each burger variation you’ll be teaching. Include tips on grilling techniques, seasoning, and assembling the burgers. Consult with a teacher to make these cards. Include your church information on the cards as well.
- Set up stations: Arrange stations with all the ingredients and tools for each participant. Have enough space for everyone to work comfortably and interact with each other. By offering a variety of toppings, sauces, and condiments you could even hold a friendly competition for the most creative burger!
Of course, after the burgers are cooked, everyone sits down together to enjoy the fruits or should I say ‘meats’ of their labor. Use this time to foster conversation, ask questions, and build connections among the guests. Hosting a burger class for dads is a great opportunity to create memories and show God’s love in a creative way to these men.
4. Host A Father-Son Breakfast With A Community Car Show
Car shows offer dads a chance to indulge in their passion for cars, connect with other enthusiasts, and create lasting memories with their sons. This event also gives them a chance to relive some of their younger years and share some personal connection points.
- Find a host: Ask your church community to host a breakfast where Fathers or other male figures and their sons can attend for food, fellowship, and fun. Decorate with a racing theme, and place hot wheel-type cars around the tables along with oil cans, checkered napkins, etc.
- Create conversation starter cards: create these cards and place them on the tables. Here are a few potential questions:
- What was the first car you ever owned?
- What’s the fastest speed you’ve ever gone in a vehicle?
- What’s your all-time favorite car & why?
- Have you ever ridden in an actual race car?
- What’s the biggest vehicle you have ever driven?
- Send them home with a gift: Have party favors for each guest to take home. You could include items like key chains, auto sponges for car washing, or a tire pressure gauge.
- Contact a local Car Club: See if they’re willing to come and do a show at your church. Perhaps you have people in your church who restore cars or know someone who does in order to put you in contact with a club. Offer to donate to their club as a gift for their time.
- Come up with fun activities: Adding fun activities can enhance your event:
- A Father-Son Radio-Controlled Car Race: Make a track with chalk on your parking lot. Have multiple father-son teams compete in a timed challenge. Keep track of times on a scoreboard and match the top teams in a final head-to-head race! Give away some fun trophies or ribbons to the winners.
- Photo Hot Spot With A Dream Car: Check with a local car sales dealership to see if they would ‘lend’ you a car for a photo op at your event. Give them the ability to have advertising signs around their vehicle as an incentive.
This event can bring fathers, grandfathers, and sons together for a fun community event. This is a great opportunity for dads to share their knowledge or interest in cars with their boys, and is a fun way to connect with other fathers. There is something for everyone to enjoy at a car show.
5. Services At Your Small Church For Father’s Day
Although Father’s Day is not a religious holiday, it allows your small church to connect your church family and guests to the wonderful truth that we have a perfect Heavenly Father. We know and must be sensitive to the fact that not everyone has a father figure in their life, and some may have bad experiences with an earthly father.
This is where the church can step in and share the love and hope that lies in having a relationship with God, the perfect Father, who never leaves us or forsakes us, who is always faithful and always keeps His promises. This is the very relationship that so many people are looking for in their lives, so take this opportunity to show them how much God desires to bring them into His own family!
Now It’s Your Turn
As you can see there are tons of ways our small churches can reach out to dads all over our communities and celebrate a Happy Father’s Day with them. As we share God’s love with those around us, it brings delight to our Heavenly Father!
Are you ready to get started? Remember, decide what your goal for your outreach is, determine what best fits your small church space and community, and form a team to execute it together! As you involve others in these events and activities you’re building church connections, strengthening the family of God, and bringing joy to others.
We’re excited to see what your small church does this Father’s Day. Please share your ideas with us, we’d love to celebrate with you!
Read More:
25+ Ways To Celebrate Father’s Day
