Make Your Summer Outreach Effective!
1) Be Unique.
It seems like every church, daycare, and family goes to the nearest theme park in the summer. How can you change your outreach event or strategy to set you apart from the pack? Start with this question: What can you do on your campus that’s more exciting than standing in theme park lines for hours on end? Here’s three ideas:
-Have a wet-and-wild Saturday where every parent brings water balloons (filled up)
for the world’s-most-epic water ballon fight
-Are your kids talented? Host a “(Your City)’s Got Talent” and invite local amateur
musicians, dancers, and people with all kinds of talents to compete.
-Hold a Game Night where families bring in board and video games for a full night of
gaming goodness.
By having kids come to your campus, you offer something unique that gets you noticed when you advertise it to your community. During these events, you can show videos, have a short talk, or promote your church.
2) Communicate with participants beyond summer.
Summer outreach should be about more than just a spectacular moment. Even though we can create fun, exciting times during the summer, outreach is about having influence and making a lasting difference. Start by getting simple contact information from all your participants. If you have sign-ups for VBS, make every family give an email address so that you can keep in contact after the event is over. Encourage participants to interact with your social media so you can keep in touch with them.
3) Create value beyond the moment.
Families don’t want momentary value, they want connections that last. Find a way to create value for the families that come to your outreach. Here’s three ideas:
-Email a take-home portion that accompanies your event
-Show a video with a cliffhanger during your outreach that families can only see the
end to online at your social media site
-Create a four-week email course where you give parents quick tips once a week
(these could be about parenting in general or relating directly to the theme of your
event)
Why not use those connections to advertise your church or ministry? When you add value for people, they will be more receptive to your message. The impact of your outreach grows as your connection with parents and families grows.
