Recently I published an article on this blog entitled: The Hidden Dangers of Community Outreach Events. The article resonated with many folks; some people loved the article. Others not so much. Regardless of what readers thought about the content, most were surprised that it was written by an outreach pastor. After all, aren’t outreach events the “bread and butter” of outreach ministry?
With over 26 years of vocational ministry (and hundreds of events) in my experience, I do need to acknowledge that although outreach can have many hidden dangers, they can also have merit. And, if done well/correctly, they can be redeemable.
The following are some of the merits of outreach events:
· Cast vision – events often cast a vision for “looking outside the four walls of the church building.”
· Easy 1st step to serving – Events are a one-time serve opportunity with no future commitment.
· Can be a catalyst for future serving - there is a saying that goes something like: “volunteers aren’t going to serve twice, until they serve once.” That statement is correct! Events are often an easy first step in serving and can act as a catalyst for future serving both inside and outside the church.
· PR – events can be great public relations to the broader community
· Demonstrates congregational values – for example, a church that claims that it loves its’ city does that when it does an outreach event for the city
· Has some immediate, visible results – this dynamic is perhaps one of the most compelling reasons why churches often focus on events…they can have immediate results with numbers. For instance, “we handed out 200 bags of groceries in under two hours.”
· Can involve many people – outreach events can often utilize more church members/attendees at one time than almost any other volunteer opportunity
So, how can a church redeem community outreach events? The following principles are some of the “tweaks” that I have incorporated into outreach events over my years of ministry. These are not listed in order of importance:
Determine your “why” as well as accompanying goals
Why are we doing this outreach event? Does the answer to the “why” question support the Vision and Mission of the church? Are we doing this event because we have “always done the event?” What do we hope to accomplish? What goals do we desire to meet? Taking the time to think through goals will almost always affect many facets of the event.
Tie the event to the over-arching outreach strategy(ies)
Every event I plan must tie directly to the umbrella outreach strategy. For instance, if one of my core strategies is centered on serving public schools, would it make sense for me to plan a large event for a prison ministry?
Have a prayer strategy and/or emphasis
Church services, church events, and so forth are programmed like crazy. Staff groups and lay volunteers spend tons of time in planning, leadership development, and in strategic sessions. These things are not bad within themselves…they are necessary…the risk of this, however, is that we can quickly rely on ourselves, our skill sets, and our strategies instead of going to the Lord in prayer, with an absolute dependence on Him. And that includes outreach events. It’s not that we don’t pray, because we do. It is “normal” to have prayers that accompany our time in ministry. But sometimes, these prayers are offered out of ritual. Most often I think they are truly offered out of sincerity. My concern, however, is that we often don’t hold prayer as the engine and fuel behind every spiritual advancement.
Educate & vision cast about the “Impact area”
For example, if I am planning an event at a partner public school, I also take the time to share information about the school: a summary about the school, the demographic makeup, the number of kids who receive free/reduced lunches, and so on. Education allows me to vision cast about the need and how the church can step in to help meet that need.
Provide Future Opportunities for involvement
This point is perhaps one of the most strategic and intentional principles that I have implemented in all outreach events. One goal I seek is to get folks to serve as individuals or community groups…throughout the year, on a consistent basis. I normally send out an email after each event, challenging folks to take the next step in serving and then offer 2-3 ongoing opportunities on a next step, related to that serve event.
Over-communicate the purpose of the large event!
The purpose I refer to here is body mobilization. One purpose of big events is to mobilize the body for first-time serve opportunities. I communicate that to our church folks…especially people who tend to volunteer for events only, as well as to our community groups. I challenge these folks instead to serve an ongoing need.
Leave a Jesus imprint and have a follow-up plan
We do events with no strings attached. At the same time, however, we are Jesus followers. Jesus is the reason why we do events…so part of the focus needs to be on Him. We need to hold these in tension. Along with a Jesus imprint, there needs to be some careful thought behind a follow-up plan. How will you follow-up with event guests?
Determine your maximum number of events per year
Too many events can lead to multiple dangers: no ongoing serving in the community, no real transformation in the community, an exhaustion of multiple resources, and so on. Too few events can stall the mobilization of the body toward ongoing serving. I can’t say that there is a magic number on how events a church should do. But, in my own experience, fewer seem to be better.
Avoid manipulation
Don’t plan the event in such a way that guests feel like they need to do something to receive something. That dynamic can feel disempowering, can feel manipulative, and can yield undesirable “results.” For instance, I once attended a church’s back-to-school event where families had to wait until the end of the venue to receive their backpack with school supplies. During that time, they had to listen to a poorly done gospel presentation as well as interact with pushy volunteers who made them pray with them.
Ensure that the outreach event is truly a help to the community
If you have not read When Helping Hurts, I would encourage you to read that book. Does the outreach event really help or will it in some way do something for the recipients that they can do for themselves (paternalism)?
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