Reaching out for summer 

The summer is a fantastic opportunity for the church to reach out to people and the local community with summer family fun for all ages. Families are often looking for things to do on a budget and hopefully there is better weather and the long school holidays...!
However, members of the church can also be taking holidays so here are plenty of ideas that you can pick up and run, both big or small which can be run according to your capacity and volunteers – you decide - but just don’t miss the summer opportunities!
 

Dont forget

Remember to take the opportunity to share what other things are on offer at your church for the rest of the year and make sure there is something for people to take away if they want to find out more about faith – from Hope in Hard times booklets, Mark’s gospels, Happyland books for the children or our new all-season newspaper! https://www.hopetogether.org.uk/shop/

Board Games Bonanza

Just what it says on the tin. Get lots of board games together and run a board game based ‘café’ session where families can play games, chat, and have refreshments together.

 
Summer Sport

There are lots of options when it comes to sport with families, but a lot will depend on the size of the space you have and the ages you want to include. You could offer sports like volleyball, badminton, rounders, football, cricket, or games like Captains on Board, frisbee, squares, dodge ball and capture the flag. You might want to link a sports session with a calendar event e.g. Olympics, World Cup, Wimbledon. You could even hold a family sports day. If you don’t have space for sport yourself then check out your options locally; many swimming pools and sports centres will offer exclusive deals for charities.

Family Food

Food is always an effective way of gathering people. You might want to hold a picnic, ‘Bake Off’ or BBQ, either as an event in itself or in conjunction with another idea from this list. Summer holiday food provision is often high priority for local councils, and it is often possible to access funding for things like a summer holiday lunch club. If you live near a supermarket, they also have funding available to support feeding families, for instance; ASDA stores have Community Champions who will come and host ‘Feed a Family for a Fiver’ sessions with you. Our friends at Care for the Family Kitchen Table Project have some fabulous downloadable placemats with activities to get conversations going as you eat including a summer themed one. Kitchen Table Project | The Big Scrumptious Faith-Filled Feast

Holiday Clubs

School holidays are a challenge for parents and many churches find offering a ‘holiday club’ a wonderful way to connect with families in their communities. Some clubs will be a school day in length, whilst others will be a morning or afternoon. Some churches devise their own but there are lots of programmes available if you prefer not to start with a blank sheet. There is a lot to think about when you hold a holiday club from child protection and team training to the resources and content. The good news is that our friends at Scripture Union have it covered see Holiday Clubs | Scripture Union

Crafternoons

If a holiday club is a bit daunting and your families/volunteers are not the sporty type, then why not try just a morning or afternoon of craft. Craft makes for brilliant conversations! Add in some refreshments and it becomes a great space to hang out in the holidays whatever the weather. Check out the internet and Pinterest for craft ideas but here are three of our favourites with free downloads:

Flame Creative Kids Flame: Creative Children's Ministry
Baker Ross
Twinkl
 

Family Fun

This really is a catch all, an ‘everything that hasn’t fitted a heading so far, but it’s what we want families to have, so makes for a great hook.' So if you haven't found an idea above that works for you, how about trying out one of these?

• Quiz nights

• Old school skittles

• Knockout competitions

• Minute to win it style games

• Scavenger/Treasure Hunts/Hunt the Leader around the local community

• Escape room style event like those you can find here.

Want to go BIGGER? How about organising a Church Summer Fun Day?
Always a popular addition to the calendar. With overtones of a summer fayre, it’s an accessible invitation and a fantastic way to reach out to a community. What a fun day looks like will depend on the facilities and space available; but if you don’t know where to start; you’ll be relieved to here we have a whole bunch of top tips to aid your planning and smooth delivery, which you can find here.

We love hearing your stories so do share them with us. Send them to office@hopetogether.org