Are you looking to host fellowship activities for your congregation or community? Here are nine ideas for church social events. From families with young children to single adults, these events are sure to appeal to a wide audience!
Community Meals
Meals are great for bringing people together. They can also be relatively inexpensive. Opt for foods that are easy to make and serve to a crowd, such as pasta or soup. You could even make it a potluck and ask attendees to bring a dish to share.
A meal can take many different forms – it all depends on your goal. Are you trying to bring people together? A free community potluck is perfect. Need to raise funds? Host a formal banquet and sell tickets. Recruit volunteers and solicit food or monetary donations from your church members to help offset the costs.
Church Picnic
A church picnic is the perfect spring or summer fellowship activity. Everyone can enjoy the outdoors while eating classic picnic foods such as sandwiches, salads, and chips. These foods are easy to make and relatively cheap.
You can make a church picnic as simple or detailed as you desire. Hire a band to play, add a few games for children, or just provide food and ask people to bring their own chairs and blankets. That being said, you can greatly improve the experience by providing seating. Plastic folding chairs are relatively affordable and easy to set up and take down.
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Block Party or Festival
This fellowship activity works especially well for community outreach, but it requires more expense and planning. You’ll want to provide food, entertainment, games, and maybe even prizes. Local businesses may be interested in setting up booths, which can help lower costs. You may even be able to find a local band or DJ willing to provide entertainment in exchange for donations from the crowd.
These church events are best hosted outdoors in the spring, summer, or fall. Be sure to get the word out to the community through church social media, flyers, and word-of-mouth.
Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a summer favorite for kids. This fellowship idea is geared more towards current members, but it could also be fun for community children. VBS takes a bit of planning and coordination. You need to supply snacks and recruit volunteers to teach the children. Deciding on a theme is usually the hardest part, but there are plenty of curriculums available for purchase.
Holiday-Themed Activities
There are so many holiday-themed church activities you can host throughout the year. These are great for reaching out to young families in your community. Here are just a few things you could do to celebrate holidays at your church.
- Christmas festival with food, crafts, and a visit from Santa
- Nativity play (encourage children to participate)
- Christmas bazaar – sell Christmas decorations, crafts, and baked goods
- Easter egg hunt with prizes or candy inside the eggs
- Community Easter meal
- Easter candy sale
- Harvest festival – decorate pumpkins, have a bonfire and/or hayride
- Trunk or Treat – church members hand out candy from decorated car trunks
- Thanksgiving meal
Community Yard Sale
Community yard sales cost your church almost nothing. Members of the church and community donate items to sell and volunteers sort through them and set prices. Try to keep prices low to draw in more visitors. The only investments required for this event are volunteer hours and folding tables to hold all the items.
Need folding tables for your church?
Concert
Everyone appreciates music. Why not host a local artist at your church? You could also have your praise and worship band play, but that might not appeal to the wider community. A concert lets you put your church’s audio and visual equipment to good use outside of your weekly worship service!
Date Night for Parents
Your church probably has a lot of couples with young children. Provide free babysitting on a weekend so parents can enjoy a night out! You could also expand this event to the local community if your goal is outreach.
Movie Night
Movie nights are always popular, but be aware that you must buy a public performance license for the movie you want to show. Movie nights can be adapted to a range of age groups and demographics. Just choose a movie to fit the theme of the night.
How to Host a Successful Fellowship Event
Each event will require different amounts of planning and investment, but there are a few things that every church needs to pull off a great event.
Volunteers
A dedicated team of volunteers is the backbone of any fellowship activity.
Promotional Channels
An event is only as successful as its attendance. For all types of church events, you want to get the word out through various promotional channels, including social media, paper flyers, and word-of-mouth.
Furniture
Almost every event requires seating and table space. This doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot. Plastic folding chairs and tables are usually sufficient and will be quite affordable for your church. Plastic is weather-proof so you’ll be able to use the furniture for both indoor and outdoor events.
Does Your Church Need Event Furniture?
ChurchPlaza’s mission is to provide quality seating and furniture at reasonable prices. It’s what we’ve been doing for over 35 years! If your church is in need of event seating or folding tables, we have everything you need at prices you can afford, with financing options available for churches that qualify.
