RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Halloween is only a few weeks away. If you're going to host a Fall Festival, it's time to start planning. 

I will be hosting a Fall Festival at the church where I am the children's pastor. We will host this on Halloween night. I know many churches do their fall festival on a different night other than Halloween. Personally, I prefer to do this on Halloween night since that is when the most families will be out looking for good, safe options for their children.

One big component of our Fall Festival will be sharing the Gospel with the families who attend. 

Here is our strategy for this. 

We will direct families to our worship center to start with.  They will funnel through the worship center to get to the trunk or treat area. 

We will start with a 10 minute family show in the worship center.  Here are some of the elements of the family show.

• We will sing a fun, high-energy song. 

• Family game - We will bring 3-4 families on stage who will participate in a high-energy game. I will give the families a prize for playing the game. 

• We will then share the Gospel using black lights.  We are currently writing the script for this. If you'd  like a copy of the script, feel free to email me.

• Prayer for families. 

• We will give each person a glow bracelet as they exit. 

Families will exit to the trunk or treat area.  

We will repeat the family show every 20-30 minutes during the night. 

I am excited to try this strategy.  I believe we are going to plant a lot of seeds that will bring fruit in the weeks and months that will follow the fall festival. 

What about you? Are you hosting a Fall Festival?  What is your strategy for this? Share your ideas in the comment section below. 

For most churches, there are two growth seasons. Spring time and fall time.

These are times when you will see more guests attending and families will be more faithful to attend as they settle back into a regular routine.

Let's talk about the fall ministry season. How can you maximize this time and see engagement and growth?

Here are some steps you should be taking now to prepare.

Plan to have a training meeting / rally.

In August, it will be time to rally your volunteer troops. Have a big training event. Inspire your team. Prepare your team. Encourage your team. Equip your team.

This is a good time to bring in an outside speaker. At least once a year, it is good for your team to hear from someone outside your ministry. This will help you reinforce what you are teaching your team.

If you are looking for an outside speaker for this, I am available to help you. I offer live, in person training at your church. I can work within your budget. You can get more information and schedule me at this link.

Another option is live, virtual, online training. I come to you live through Zoom or another online conference app. I only charge $99 for this for your entire team. You can get more information and schedule me at this link.

Engage volunteers who have been out for the summer. You've probably had some volunteers out while they were on vacation, taking a break, etc.

It is a good thing for your volunteers to take some days off during the summer. But now it's time to re-engage them as the fall approaches. You want all hands on deck when school starts back and the fall ministry season begins.

Begin preparing for your fall events - back to school Sunday, fall festival, mid-week discipleship, high attendance push, etc.

Get a jump start so you can make these events successful and effective.

Engage families who have been out for the summer.

Normally churches have an attendance dip in the summer months as families are on vacation, traveling, visiting family, etc.

Once school starts back, families begin to settle down into a routine. Make sure you connect with families and encourage them to get back into a regular pattern of attending church. Don't just assume they will re-engage. Reach out to them and help them get back in a regular attendance pattern.

Prepare now for the fall and then watch what God does through your ministry in the months ahead.

If you hosted a fall outreach event, I trust it went well.  Fall outreach events are one of the best ways to get new families on your church property. 

My home church had a trunk or treat event and we had a ton of brand new families step on our church property for the first time.

But what about after the event?  How can you follow up with guests?  How can you see families visit your church on a weekend?  How can you see families get involved in your ministry?  How can you grow your volunteer team by enlisting some of the volunteers who served for the first time at the event?

Here are 3 strategic steps you can take after your Halloween Outreach Event.

Collect families' basic contact information.  You can't follow up without it.  Here's some ways you can collect it.

• Let them know up front that you are not going to show up on their door step the next week.  Ask permission to send them some info. about your ministry. People will be hesitant to give you their information if they think you are going to show up at their house unannounced.
  

Call the new people who served for the first time and invite them to join your volunteer team on a regular basis.  I've seen as high as 85% of people who volunteered at the event join our team as a full-time volunteer.

Need more volunteers?  Of course you do.  I've never seen a children's ministry that didn't need more volunteers.  It is the greatest challenge in leading a children's ministry. 

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  It happens in the fall and if you have a clear strategy, you can add lots of new volunteers to your team.

Here's the strategy:

Step One - Host a church fall festival, trunk and treat, fall event, etc. 

Step Two - Ask the church to get behind the fall festival or event you are hosting.  To be most effective, this event should be a church-wide effort. 

Step Three - I'm not usually a fan of church-wide asks for volunteers from the pulpit. But this is an exception.  Have your lead pastor make announcements about volunteering for the fall event.  Do this during the regular worship service.  The senior pastor should cast vision for the impact the fall event will have.  People will come to Christ.  Families will be changed.  People will start attending the church because of the event.  

Make sure you come across with vision instead of desperation.  People are drawn to vision.  Share with them how they will get to be a part of the big impact the event will have.  They have the opportunity to be part of something that will change people's life. 

Especially focus on those who are not currently serving anywhere.  Ask them to sign-up for this one-time serve. You will find that many people will respond for a one-time serve ask.

Pass out sign-up cards.  Ask them to fill out the card and then collect the cards. 

Contact them and get them plugged into a serving spot.  Preferably pair them up with some of your "rock star" volunteers. 

p.s. It can be challenging to get a background check done for all of the one-time serve volunteers. If you can't get a background check done that fast, make sure you place them with an approved volunteer and give them a role that will not be a hazard.

Help them have a great serving experience. Give them a simple task.  You don't want to overwhelm them. Make sure you communicate with them well.  Don't make them show up with no clue about what they will be doing.

The week after the event, call them and invite them to serve on your team on a regular basis.  

Have a clearly defined on-boarding process for those who say "yes."

• Application filled out.
• Personal interview.
• Background check.
• Reference calls.
  
• Orientation. 
• Hands on training.
  

When our team followed this strategy, we found that we could see up to 85% of the one-time servers join our team on a regular basis.  I can personally name people that we brought on board through this strategy and trust me - it will work.  

Here's an example.  One year I divided up the list of people who had served during the event.  One of the men that I called decided to join the team as a volunteer.  He went on to become the children's director at one of our largest campuses.  

You can see long-term fruit if you follow this strategy.  

Looking for more ways to build a volunteer team?  Check out my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams.  It gives you the full process for building and equipping your volunteer team.  It's available at this link.  

You can order the "Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams" here.

Wow...where did summer go?  

I often get tickled when I hear other ministries in the church say that summer is a slow time for their ministry.  

That's definitely not the case in children's ministry.  You have a crazy busy summer and then you have to be prepared to launch into the fall season of ministry.  

Normally, when school starts back, your attendance will pick up since all the vacationing families are back in town with school starting. 

Fall can be a great time of growth for your children's ministry.  But you have to be prepared and have a strategic plan in place.  Here are some keys to being prepared for the fall ministry season.

Get your volunteer team ready.  Have your team enlisted and ready to go.  Equip them.  Provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.  

I have found that right before fall starts is a great time to do a volunteer rally.  Bring all of your volunteers together.  Encourage them.  Cast vision.  Train them.  Prepare them.  Get them excited about the fall ministry season.

For the volunteer rally, bring in an outside speaker to motivate and invest in your team.  This helps reinforce what you have been saying to them.  It is great to have that reinforced by someone from the outside.  

If you are looking for someone to bring in, I can help you.  I speak at volunteer trainings and rallies across the country and overseas.  You can contact me at this link.  I do not have a set fee for this.  I can work within your budget.

Have a back-to-school Sunday at church for the kids.  Send out invites.  Contact your families and encourage them to bring their children to church this fall season.  Families are getting back into a rhythm in the fall. They are much more scheduled during the school year.  Let them know that faithful church attendance needs to be part of their schedule.

Have an emphasis on kids bringing their friends to church.  This goes along with the previous point.  Encourage children to bring a friend with them to the back-to-school bash or other events / programs you are having.  Provide kids with invitation cards to pass out.  

You can also do an old-fashioned guest contest.  See who can bring the most guests.  I had one boy that brought 26 friends to church when I did this.

Start off with a bang.  Get kids excited about being at church.  Have an exciting teaching series ready that will capture kids' attention and engage them.  Check out some of these teaching series that will have kids excited about coming to your church. These are series that I used in a local church where I was the children's pastor. We taught these to thousands of kids each weekend.

Contact all of your AWOL families and encourage them to come back to church.  With vacations, sports activities and visits to see the grandparents, families often miss church during the summer months.  Fall is a great time to encourage them to get back in church on a regular basis.  Contact those who have been missing and encourage them to return.  Many families just need a gentle reminder that church should be a top priority for families.

Have a fall outreach event.  Fall is a great time for outreach. One of the most effective outreaches is to host an event like Trunk or Treat,  Fall Festival, Family Experiences, etc.  Promote it well and you can see many unchurched families come to your event.

Be prayed up and ready for all God wants to do through you and your ministry this fall.  Everything we do must be rooted in prayer.  Seek God's face for what He wants you to do.  Ask for His blessings upon the endeavors He leads you to have. 

Remember - nothing of eternal value happens without prayer. 

Are you ready for the fall ministry season?  

What special events or programs are you hosting?  

What does your teaching series look like?

Are you training and encouraging your volunteers for the fall season?

Share your thoughts, ideas and insights in the comment section below. I'd love to hear what you have planned.

It's that time of year.  The leaves are changing colors (depending on where you live) and the weather is getting cooler.  

October 31 is just a few weeks away.  Many of you are doing a Halloween outreach event (or whatever you call it) at your church. 

If you are hosting an outreach event, I'm sure you are busy preparing for it. 

But what about after the event?  How can you follow up with guests?  How can you see families visit your church on a weekend?  How can you see families get involved in your ministry?  How can you grow your volunteer team by enlisting some of the volunteers who served for the first time at the event?

Here are 3 strategic steps you can take after your Halloween Outreach Event.

Actually let's back up.  Because the first strategic step actually takes place at the event.  And the step is this - Give families a great experience at the event. 

It is vital that families have a great experience at the event.  If they don't, they simply won't come back.  If people are rude to them, if their kids don't get enough candy, or if the festival doesn't match what was advertised...it doesn't matter how much you follow up.  They won't come back.  The first impression truly is a lasting impression.  

The second strategic step is to be intentional about inviting guest families to a weekend service at your church.  Here are some ways to do this.

Collect families' basic contact information.  You can't follow up without it.  Here's some ways you can collect it.

• Let them know up front that you are not going to show up on their door step the next week.  Ask permission to send them some info. about your ministry. People will be hesitant to give you their information if they think you are going to show up at their house unannounced.
  

Summer events and programs are starting to wind down.  In just a few weeks, school will start back up.  Vacations are ending and families will be settling back into a more regimented schedule.

The fall ministry season is a great time to grow your ministry.  Once school starts back, most churches see their attendance go back to a positive growth pattern.  

Yes, Covid has been a factor in most churches, causing attendance to lessen.  But I believe this fall, many churches will begin to see their attendance grow again. 

The fall season of ministry (I am referring to August - November) is a great time to grow your ministry if you are prepared to do so. 

Here are few check points to consider that will help you prepare.

Fall Volunteer Training

Gather all your volunteers and have a time of training and equipping.  If you want to have solid fall season, then you must have a solid volunteer team.  Reconnect with your volunteers and get them excited and on board for the fall season of ministry.  If you are looking at bringing in someone from the outside to help you prepare your team, I would be glad to help you.  I offer in person and online trainings.  You can get more info. here.

Back to School Bash           

This gives you a great opportunity to encourage your kids to not only be back at church, but to also bring a friend with them.  Go all out to make this a big weekend for your ministry.  Think about ways you can build excitement for this.  Maybe it's a special guest or program.  Maybe it's a small gift for everyone who attends.  Maybe it's kicking off a brand new, exciting teaching series.  Here are some exciting, engaging lessons.  Check them out at this link.  Maybe it's a guest contest.  Maybe it's a gift for all guests and for the kids who brought them. Maybe it's a themed Sunday. 

I recommend having this a week or so after school has started.  This gives kids the opportunity to invite their friends from school to come.  

Fall Festival

Many churches have a fall festival in October.  This is a great way to love on the families in your community by providing a safe place for them to get candy, play games, go on a hayride, etc.  Now is the time to begin preparing for this.  You should also have a plan to follow-up with families who attend the fall festival.  Here are some ideas for this.  

I'm praying with you that this fall season will be your most fruitful ever.  Praying with you as you reach unchurched families and see them discipled and following Jesus with all their heart.

What are you planning for this fall season of ministry? Share with everyone in the comment section below.