Children’s ministry event ideas help spread the Gospel. Plus, these activities make people aware of your church programs. Encourage families at your church to reach out and share God’s love in your community with these 5 outreach ideas.
Want to connect with families in your church and reach out to families in your community? Both are possible when you use children’s ministry outreach ideas and events.
5 Family-Friendly Children’s Ministry Event Ideas
We asked kidmin leaders to share their favorite children’s ministry event ideas. Adapt one (or more) of these outreach activities at your church!
1. Random Act of (Keep Coming Back) Kindness
We do Random Acts of Kindness events that last several weeks. I distribute envelopes weekly with an act of kindness inside for families to do together. Throughout the week, families send me photos of them doing the activity to post on Facebook and Instagram. We set up a hashtag so every time a family completes one “RAK,” they can tag it.
Each week’s envelope is labeled Secret RAK Mission. Inside is a card outlining the mission, a list of any items needed to complete it, and several RAK cards describing what our church families are doing and why. We also include invitations for recipients to join us at church services. Some RAK missions our families have done include:
- Make cookies and deliver them to a neighbor or friend.
- Put a sealed bag of uncooked microwave popcorn in a resealable bag and tape it to a Redbox or something similar.
- Make a card for someone who’s ill, lonely, or confined to home.
- Tape coins to gumball machines and candy dispensers as a fun surprise for children to find.
Each week, families are excited to get their secret mission. I receive lots of texts and photos from our families showing their efforts. Some families without kids request cards so they can participate in the secret missions each week, too.
Bethany Hardy
Lafayette, Indiana
2. Box of (Boomerang) Blessings
To keep families in our church engaged and forming relationships, we do Boxes of Blessings. We deliver boxes packed with food and lots of love to families in need. This project provides a common goal for our families over an extended time period.
For six weeks before the actual “boxing” event, we collect food. Each week, we ask families to collect and bring specific items. We always include kid-friendly food, coloring books, and crayons. After the church-wide collection is complete, families gather to make cards for each box and assemble the boxes.
We partner with a local food pantry to select the families who will receive the boxes. Our families personally deliver the Boxes of Blessings, from one family—and our church family—to another.
Sarah Trosen
Marshalltown, Iowa
3. Meetcha at the Four-Way
Our church is out in the country, located near a four-way stop. We’re allowed to set up tables throughout the year for various things such as bake sales and other fundraisers. In the spring, our church families use it to bless the community. We give away free tomato and pepper plants at the stop. The plants are a gift—no strings attached, no preaching. We just show love from our families to our community.
Families make signs representing our church. But we don’t hand out church materials, preach, or even invite anyone to church. It isn’t about drumming up new members or making anyone feel anything other than God’s love. Our families give plants to every person who stops at the four-way. The giveaway is a great success, and families feel great giving back.
One of the best benefits is that people aren’t surprised to see us at the four-way now. We use the location to announce our annual free community barbecue, where our families provide the labor and serve hundreds in the neighborhood. We use the four-way to let everyone know about our fall festival in October and when we’ll feed the high school football team at the beginning of each season.
Our church is where our families connect and grow in faith. But our four-way stop is where families in the community look for us, curious to know what we’re up to next.
Cheryl Bolton
Valley, Alabama
