Outreach

Halloween can be a controversial topic in church circles. Some choose not to celebrate the holiday because of its associations with the devil, paganism, and evil. Many churches choose to not take a firm stance on the holiday, but encourage families to do what they think is best for their own children.

If you’ve ever tried to organize an outreach event, you know the challenges:

Low attendance
Unengaged guests
No follow-up

College is a formative time for many young adults. During those four-ish years, students grow an immeasurable amount. Unfortunately, this is also a time many people fall away from the faith. Without their parents or their home church around, students often slowly stop engaging in a Christian community.

The guest experience really starts before they pull into the parking lot. The first impression that happens on Sunday has been influenced and informed by what happens on the other six days of the week. Is your church ready to make a great first impression before your guests even set foot on your campus?

For many churches, we know we’re supposed to reach and evangelize our communities, but the people… they’re so…. Different!

Your church undoubtedly invested plenty of time and energy into making Easter a great experience and celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice for your members and newcomers.

Just like football has its “Super Day” every year, many churches view Easter Sunday as their “Super Day” for reaching out to the community. People who only come a few times a year are getting their “Sunday Best” ready and you want them at your church!

In 2008, my wife and I wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her family, but needed a place to stay, so we spent the three days before Christmas at a hotel near her parents’ home. This was no ordinary hotel.

Last spring a friend who is an elementary school teacher mentioned that she has received so many coffee mugs from parents she didn’t have space for any more of them. She felt completely inundated with gifts when the experience (the school year) was over.

It seems in our post-Christian culture that the courage (or perhaps even willingness) to share our faith is becoming rare. Why is that?