I plan to leave this post at the top so I can get as many ideas as possible. You may scroll down for my latest post. Thanks!
Ladies, I need some help. Seems I have been appointed to schedule activities for church functions. Now of course I have some ideas, but they are limited. Since all of you are from various churches and backgrounds, I thought you would be my best source for variety. I realize we don't have the same forms of entertainment available, but if you could give just a general idea of something you have participated in at your church it would be greatly appreciated. It may have been a theme Sunday or a fun function you had on a Saturday evening. Maybe it was a church trip for a day or even a weekend. I am open for all of your suggestions whether it be for Ladies only (you know I will be slipping a tea party in here with half a chance) *grin* children, or for everyone. So give me plenty of ideas, no matter how small or how large! Thanks for all your help!
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9 years ago
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At our church, many of our activities seem to revolve around...food! Let's see...
- Schnitzel dinner (a fund-raiser that is now in it's 16th year)
- Chili Cook-off (a chili making contest)
- Pie Feast (my personal favourite is chocolate cream btw)
Oh, at my old church we once had a "talent" contest. Dinner was served. Of course.
Bless you for serving your brothers and sisters this way! You will be great, I'm sure!
I have once a year "Western How-Down", which is a BBQ feast for the entire congregation. Usually the last Wednesday before school starts. This feast is preceded by a 'casual' worship service of 45 minutes. Contemporary music and a short reflection message...
And we have about 4 times a year "Friendship Sunday", which is our outreach to un-churched people. The Evangelism team will give out little notes with worship times and a little cross, you can share with your co-workers and friends...
Than there is the women's retreat :)...
I am not sure if that is what you were looking for...
Blessings on your day and always.
Oh, forgot one thing. Our big "Big Roast", which is usually around Reformation Sunday (don't forget, I am Lutheran *grin*). So, around October 31st (depending which Sunday is the closest), we have a big pig roast with all the fixings. It is always a hit.
I guess I'm not sure why you're the only one scheduling the events. At our church there are various "committees" that schedule things around their various out reaches. So what is the main focus of your job? To get the congregation together??
What about a family fun night? We've had a 50's night before and a costume party. It was a hoot.
Several things we do - we have an end of summer celebration. Last year it was inside with two types of jupiter jumps and pop and hot dogs and snow cones - just a fun time. Everyone was to bring a dessert or homemade ice cream.
We had it at a community pool before.
We've also had a women's tea - where the guest speaker came to give us a word in due season. The ministry was to grow the women into maturity.
And of course, one ministry we have is to the neighbors. And that committee has an outreach about once every other month - to cook for the neighbors and get them to know the church and help meet their needs.
The possibilities are endless!
I attend a pretty large church so there are lots of people planning lots of different activities. We have our own sports park, so many times our acitivities take place there.
We have an Army Family Day- there are differnt activities and food at our sports park for the families in our church and community who have a loved one in the army.
We have people take turns hosting a picnic at their home. People bring a dish to pass and there are always games.
Another activitiy at our sports park- an afternoon of playing football followed by pizza and an outdoor movie.
We have a sports camp for the kids from a nearby city.
We have a soccor league for the children in our community.
One of our biggest events is at the 4th of July when there are activities set up at our sports park- face painting, paintball, inflatable rides for the kids, games, entertainment, food, and of course a large firewords display. A couple of years ago over 15,000 people came. I'm not sure what the number was up to this year.
We put on a big Christmas play and advertise within the community to invite people to come.
We have ladies retreats where the ladies go away for a weekend to have some pampering and hear motivational speakers.
There's so much more- but there's just a few ideas.
What!! Iris is Lutheran?? How come I didn't know there was another Lutheran around?? I thought I was the only one!! Hi Iris!
Our pastor was leaving to pastor another church and we decided to give him a going away party. We also decided to help him out with some pocket money by having everyone purchase a foot of duct tape to tape him to the concrete wall. He was a young man, but a bit hefty.
You see, he stood on a step-stool while he was being taped to the wall. When all the tape had been purchased, they removed the stool from under his feet and he slowly peeled from the wall. It was fun and we had a lot of laughs. He was a good sport! (It took A LOT of duct tape);-)
P.S. I was going to mention the tea party, but you already did. Do you ask each lady to bring her favorite tea cup and saucer?
Ladies, These are some GREAT ideas!! I plan to try some of these! If anything else comes to mind, don't be afraid to come back and post. :)
Anita, EVERYTHING at our church seems to be centered around food too! lol Talent contest....that sounds like a lot of fun....
Iris, I could almost picture the Western BBQ. That is another fun idea. I also like the "Friendship Sunday"
Comfydenim, Thankfully, I won't be the only one scheduling. There will be others to help me, but I wanted to have some "fresh" ideas. :)
We are a smaller body, but I am hoping that soon chages! The neighbor outreach sounds wonderful. I am looking for church growth in the natural and spiritual! :)
Melanie...Wow! 15000 people at the park! What a time of ministry!
I like the Army Family Day idea especially since I live in a military town, too! I also have loved ones in Iraq.
We have summer camps too. Participation was way down this year, though.
Sharon, I wish you would have taken pictures of this!! It sounds hilarious! I plan to keep this in mind too!
Bring their own tea cups is another good idea. I have a few that I have collected. I have shared a few pics. I may take some more later. :)
Has anyone said ice cream social? Music on the lawn on a warm summer evening?
I remembered something else!!
What about a church wide water fight?? We've had father/sons or really, any male could join in... they happened on Father's Day and typically happened right after church. (Which is probably why women weren't involved.)
But wouldn't it be fantastic to do a water fight church wide and have a picnic lunch?
I have a few sites that have helped our women's ministry.
http://www.womensministry.net/
www.creativeladiesministry.com
I love the last one the best, they have the best ideas and themes!!
Sara, that's a great idea too! I can see that ice cream social in the next few weeks as warm as it is now!
Comfydenim, that is another good one. We could do that for "guys day out" The boys would love it!
Sharon, I use to link to the creative ladies when we were over at FP. You're right, they have some good ideas for the women's ministries. I will have to check out the other link too! Thanks.
oh boy, a water fight! My old church was barred from a picnic place for being too rowdy during one of those. seriously.
One of our family's favorite church activities was what we call, "Alternative Night." It's a wonderful alternative to halloween & trick or treating.
EVERYONE was invited and many non-members/non-Christians enthusiastically attended along with most of our congregation. It's a blast for the whole family!
Our church created a bunch of Bible/Christian based games and the congregation donated TONS of candy for prizes. (Bekah's favorite game was always, "Hit the Philistine," in which wet sponges were thrown at volunteer's faces as they stood behind a large piece of wood with "Philistine faces" carved out. Bekah was always one of the volunteers!) (I can send you more of the games if you're interested.)
Concessions were sold, as a fund raiser also, but the prices were kept very affordable too so everyone could fully enjoy the food. Hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, soda, etc...
Half way through the evening all the games and concessions closed down and a Christian band would perform... then our youth pastor would give the message of salvation in a very relevant way for the youth (and adults) of today. (EVERY year we had MANY teens, adults, and people of all ages choose to seek the Lord!!!)
At the end of the message a drawing was held for door prizes and then the games and concessions opened up again.
It was a popular place for neighborhood kids to spend the evening and we were always quite happy to keep them off the streets!
It was announced/posted ahead of time that costumes weren't allowed but if kids showed up in costume they were NOT turned away. We usually asked them to remove masks or whatever they could, and the kids & parents were usually more than happy to comply. (A church member or pastor would greet everyone warmly as they entered and hand out the door prize tickets.)
It's always a huge event, fruitful for Jesus, and beneficial as a fund raiser at the same time.
We REALLY miss Alternative night since we no longer live in Cali where that church is... And we hope to get something similar started at our church here!
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