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Invite your church neighborhood for a summer outreach with great food, fun, and a strategic take-home at a Block Party BBQ. Invite your neighbors in to experience your small church family.
Your small church can take advantage of the great summer weather to host a variety of outdoor events. Every small church has BBQs, so why not turn yours into a block party? Get permission from the city and block off the street, or perhaps hosting in a local park with a pavilion would work better for your church. Decide on your location, and then it’s time to start planning!
Take advantage of the great summer weather to host a variety of outdoor events at your small church. Who doesn’t enjoy a good BBQ? Casual conversations around tables, lawn games, and everyone bringing a dish to share are the epitome of summer connection!
Turning a BBQ into a Block Party makes it easy and natural to invite others in the neighborhood around your church and beyond. Block Parties encourage neighbors to get to know each other, as well as get to know your church. It’s also a perfect event to promote intergenerational gatherings. Neighborhoods are made up of all ages and stages, so celebrate it with this event!
7 Elements To Plan Ahead For Success
Careful planning and preparation help give everyone a win for your Block Party BBQ. Gather your team, whether it’s 7 people or you and a friend, and start planning today!
Consider the following in your planning:
- Number of volunteers for prep ahead of time, set up, the event, and clean up
- Promotion ideas
- Menu
- Set-Up & Clean-Up
- Decorations
- Activities & Games
- Thank You Bags
Promote Your Block Party BBQ To Your Neighborhood
Map out your target zone around the church. Make flyers to hand out. Form teams from your church members, and canvas the area. This is a great way to meet and greet your neighbors, as well as use the power of personal invitation. Word-of-mouth invitations always work best!
Having people of different ages on your canvas teams also shows your neighborhood that your small church values people of all ages. Your desire for this to be an intergenerational event will be evident and inviting.
Invest in having a banner printed, but leave a blank space for the date & time so you can write it and change it each year. Making a banner is a great investment in future BBQs as well.
A bold sign in the churchyard will attract attention from those driving or walking past. Posting the event on your social media pages and encouraging the folks at your small church to ‘share’ the information on their personal pages really helps to expand that word!
Announcing your event at your church is important, whether it is through a written or digital bulletin, shared on a screen during the service, or through a verbal announcement. Try some of these Better Church Announcements for added fun and engaging ideas to promote the event to your congregation. Show your members the benefits of helping with this BBQ Block Party summer outreach. Create excitement, so they want to be involved.
BBQ Menu Ideas
Discuss a budget with your church leadership so you know what your church will provide.
Possible meat ideas:
- Hot Dogs
- Hamburgers
- BBQ Chicken
- Spare Ribs
- Pulled Pork
Remember, you want your guests to feel special, if you serve hot dogs, then try having a hot dog fixin’s station with fun toppings.
- Chilli, sauerkraut, onions, pickles, various kinds of mustards, chopped peppers, etc. Make it festive and delicious.
- The standard options of ketchup, mustard, and relish are important, especially for kids.
Asking guests to bring side dishes to share is a great way to get everyone involved and to have a good variety of food.
A simple idea to alleviate lots of duplication of food is to do the alphabet assignment: If your last name begins with A-F, bring a salad, G-L bring a veggie or fruit dish, M-R bring a dessert, and S-Z bring a bag of chips to share.
Involve Your Congregation In Cooking
Do you have someone in your church who owns a smoker and loves to cook? This is a great way to get them involved in the summer outreach and let them shine!
If you live in a rural church, perhaps you have hunters who would be willing to share some of their meat, venison, hog, etc. This could help keep costs down and make a variety of items to serve! Make small sample trays for folks to try who are unfamiliar with game meats.
Better Ways To Include People In A Church Potluck gives ideas to help all your congregation feel included in your Block Party BBQ.
Simple BBQ Event Set Up
Designate an area for serving, one for eating, and one for games. EZ UP and other pop-up canopy tents are great for food service areas and shade. Ask at church or in the neighborhood if anyone has a tent they would be willing to let you use for the day. These tents make a great investment for your small church to have on hand for any event.
Tables and chairs should be available in the eating area, but younger ones could sit on the lawn or on blankets. A couple of large cooler chests for drinks are helpful too.
Fill a laundry basket with balls, frisbees, sidewalk chalk & jump ropes for the kids to play with. Playtime is a fantastic way for kids to get to know each other. Many friendships have started through the simple act of playing. Neighborhood children will experience what fun it can be to participate in small church family life! Encourage your adults to take the time to toss a ball with the kids to let them know they are just as much a special guest as the adults!
A cornhole game is always a hit with kids and adults. Getting to know your neighbors over a fun and relaxing game of cornhole is just one of the perks of hosting a Block Party.
Decorate For Your Neighborhood BBQ Block Party
While you don’t have to break the bank or spend a whole lot of time decorating, it’s important to have them. You’re hosting an event, and decorations shout ‘party.’ Perhaps someone who didn’t see the flyer will spot the decorations and inquire as to what’s going on. This is a key opportunity to invite them in!
Having decorations lets your guests know that they are special guests –– they are welcome!
Keep it simple. Hang a few balloons and streamers; this is just enough to say it’s a party! Perhaps a couple of saw horses can be set up to designate the entrance.
Get the neighborhood involved. Ask some of the neighborhood kids you see out and about to do the decorating while you are setting up. This is yet another way to build relationships with people in your neighborhood. Kids love to feel like they are valued and needed, and inviting them in to decorate and have an input on what is done will make them feel like very special guests.
Look for inexpensive lawn twirlers and pinwheels that twirl and move. They make all ages smile. They are inexpensive and create extra excitement. If you are hosting on pavement, place the lawn twirlers into plant pots and place them around the party area.
Welcome All Your Guests
Greet guests with a smile. Welcome them in and get them comfortable. This day is for fun and building friendships. Discover people’s hobbies; ask about their careers or interests. You never know where you might find a connection point!
3 Low-Cost, Low-Prep Summer BBQ Party Games
Try one or all of these great small church summer BBQ party activities! These games work great for small churches because you can do them with as few as 2-4 people.
Games are fun, but even beyond that, they provide us with a great opportunity to get to know people of all ages at our event. Encourage participants to ask the names of the people on their teams. Have teams work together to come up with a team name. New connections run deeper when we know someone’s name, a bit about them, and have shared experiences and fun memories!
1. Water Balloon Toss
Pair up and toss water balloons to each other. Start 2 feet across from each other, then move 2 feet more apart. Continue on until only one couple has a water balloon that hasn’t broken!
2. Old Fashioned Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest
Believe it or not, if you grew up in the country, this really is a thing. It’s as simple as it sounds; see who can launch their watermelon seed the furthest distance via your mouth!
3. Tug Of War
A great way to get all ages working together on a team is to divide into two teams. A referee stands at the center of the rope. Two teams grab hold of the rope on opposite sides. Tie a bandana onto the center of the rope and teams work to pull the bandana 10 feet to their side of the referee. (Or the other team members past the referee.) A show of brute strength and lots of laughter ensue with this one!
For more water game ideas, check out: Water Games For Summer Fun.
Thank You Favor Bags
Give your guests something to remember you by. Your guests will remember your friendly congregation, the fun, and the great food. Sending them home with a Thank You Party Favor Bag will give them one more thing to talk about with their friends and co-workers.
A party favor is a way to send home the ‘fun’ of the day with your guests. Giving them a reminder of the time shared together is important and including an invitation to your small church lets them know that you would love for the connection to continue beyond today.
Include these items in a small gift bag to thank your guests for coming:
- Thank you mints
- A couple of hand wipes packets
- Individually wrapped dental floss
- Individually wrapped toothpicks
- Small card with a church invitation
- Recipe card with a homemade BBQ sauce
- An individually wrapped antacid with a funny tag attached:
“We came, We ate, We ate too much-
We’re hoping this adds just the right touch!”
Take-Out Boxes Create Greater Connection
It’s always nice to have some take-out boxes or to-go containers with lids ready for people to share leftovers with others or bring to shut-ins. Your guests will appreciate and remember your extra thoughtfulness.
Block Parties Increase Small Church Visibility
Take advantage of those summer days, and reach out to the zone around your church. Once your church family takes part in the Block Party, encourage families to host an event in their own neighborhood. Suggest families pair up with another family and do it together!
Radiate the impact that your small church is having on your town by hosting several block parties in different areas. How exciting would that be? Whether you live in a rural area, the suburbs, or in the city, your small church family can do this!
This summer outreach Block Party BBQ helps you get to know your neighbors. It provides ways to share with them and to make them feel welcome in your church family community.
We want to encourage you to find creative ways to get to know your neighbors, ways to share with them, and help them feel welcome in your small church family. This is what Jesus did throughout His ministry on earth; He shared a meal, He had conversations, He welcomed the children, He listened, and He encouraged His followers to do the same thing!
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