5 Ways Churches Can Create Engagement Over The Summer
Summers can lead to less engagement (and people) for many churches. But does it have to be that way? I don't think so. While people may travel more in the summer, it doesn't mean churches have to suffer. Here are five ways churches can create engagement over the summer.
1) Do a live Q & A Sunday
This is something we do at New City Church every July 4th weekend. That weekend is a traditionally lower attended Sunday for churches, so we do something fun and a little different to make it a Sunday people don't want to miss.
How do we do it? We have a number that people text questions into and have someone look over the questions in real time. They then add the best ones into our slides and we answer them one at a time. We only have a few types of questions we plan to not have shown/answer if they are asked because somethings need more than a couple of minutes for a good answer. But other than that, we answer them on the spot. It's really not as intimidating as it sounds and everyone always really enjoys it.
2) Don't cancel your groups all summer
One thing many churches do in summer is take a break from seemingly all their ministries. Now I'm not saying breaks aren't needed or even necessary, and practically with people coming and going more over the summer some ministries have to shut it down. But we make a mistake when we assume everyone is gone for the entire summer.
Yes, almost everyone takes some time off during the summer, and when that happens in a 2-3 month span it will result in having less people around on average. But other than a week or two off, everyone is still in town. Which means something like your group ministry doesn't have to take a three-month break. Take a few weeks off, or perhaps have them meet less frequently, but you don't have to cancel them all summer.
Life still goes on during the summer, and because a lot of places, schools, etc., have less going on in the summer, people are actually looking for things to do. Don't worry about people missing an extra meeting or two while they are gone over the summer, if you want people to still stay engaged in the life of the church, don't close everything down.
After all, we need Jesus just as much in the summer months as we do the rest of the year.
3) Try some church-wide events
Because your church may have less going on than normal over the summer, you can use this to your advantage and do some all-encompassing events that are open to your entire church (of course, the size of your church will determine how possible this may be). For example, this summer at New City we are doing two events that are designed for our church as a whole in mind; an outdoor movie night and a BBQ & yard games night.
Our outdoor movie night will consist of a big screen and a projector setup in our parking lot where we will show an all-time classic movie and have concessions. Our BBQ event will be a pig-pickin' (for those of you not from the south, a BBQ is not hamburgers and hotdogs. That is what we call a cookout. There is a difference).
These are things we don't normally do, but because we have more margin in the summer, are doing things to help people stay connected and excited about what is going on.
4) Put as much energy, effort, and prayer into your summer Sundays as you do the rest of the year
Part of the reason summers may seem like more of a drag for churches in the summer is because we assume people are more checked out in the summer. But if church staff and leadership are going into the summer with that attitude, why should we be surprised when our people emulate what they see in their leaders?
At New City, we believe (because it is true) that every Sunday matters. For our church, May through mid-July are our low months of the year. But even though they may be lower, people are still coming and are involved in the life of our church. Whether 10 or 1,000 people show up on a Sunday, God has given us the great privilege of loving and experience the Gospel with them.
If we stay focused on what matters and not numbers, we'll find that summer isn't that different after all.
5) Don't make a big deal about the drop in attendance
While point #4 is more of an internal belief and struggle for church leaders, it often translates into an outward demonstration. For example, it can be tempted to say things like "we know that it is summer which means there are less people around" or to even be tempted to say something from stage to that effect on Sundays so people know "this isn't what it is normally like attendance-wise."
But when we do that, we point out something that most people aren't paying attention to or even realize. It is after we point out that fewer people are around that people look around and think "yeah, I guess there are fewer people here."
And when we do that, we train people to think that fewer people = what we are doing doesn't matter as much. But that isn't true. It all matters. When we make a big deal about it, we train everyone else to make a big deal about it to.
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