How to Easily Strengthen Your Fall Connection Event and Its Impact
During the fall season many churches host some sort of an event to connect with their neighborhood. Their hope is to build relationships with new people. A great deal of time, energy, and planning is invested in these events. This is often the biggest connection event of the entire year. Yet, too often the outcome is not as churches had hoped. The attendance is lower than expected, new people don’t show up the following Sunday, or the congregation does not participate at the level needed.
Rather than being disappointed, let’s look at some tweaks and strategies to overcome the less than desirable outcome.
Intended Outcome - Is there a clearly understood and agreed upon intention for the event? Why is the event being held? What is the desired outcome from the event? Make sure everyone planning and implementing the event is onboard and all aspects of the event lead toward the why and outcome.
Who is Welcome - If the event is truly for the neighborhood or the community, how do they know they are invited and welcome? Sticking a sign in front of the church advertising the event is usually not enough. (In fact, sometimes hosting these events on church grounds is a deterrent to some.) Create multiple methods of inviting your community. Consider options such as door hangers, social media posts that congregants share, online event postings, signs in congregant lawns, store posters, flyers in school and childcare backpacks, and community partners.
Event Job Assignments - Rather than giving all volunteers a job assignment, consider inviting a few to simply “be with” your neighbors. Volunteers can become sidetracked with their job assignments and lose track of the why and intended outcome. In their busy-ness to do their job well (i.e., serve food, park cars, etc.), they aren’t necessarily focused on meeting new people and building relationships. For those gifted in hospitality and easily relating to people, ask them to mingle, chat with people, make all feel welcome and comfortable, thank people for coming, etc.
Slow Your Roll - The mere essence of trunk or treat is not conducive to relationship building. Community members walk car-to-car, collect candy, and move on within seconds. Create opportunities where relationship building and connection can more likely occur. For example, offer face-painting for the children and post a friendly congregant to chat with the parent or caregiver while waiting. Create a cool photo background and offer pictures. Collect contact information to send the digital or printed photo to parents. Set out tables and chairs and offer hot dogs or other kid-friendly food. Have table hosts available to chat with guests and offer connection and hospitality. Offer a bounce house for children and a hospitality volunteer to chat with parents while the children enjoy bouncing.
Get Their Name - Have you ever had a blind date? If contact information is not exchanged at the end of the date, then likely things did not go well. If connecting with neighbors and building relationships are the event’s why and intended outcome, how can you continue building relationships if you have no way to stay in contact? Offer a drawing for a valuable, relevant gift as a means to collect names. Have a follow-up team ready to write postcards and send to attendees thanking them for coming in the days following the event.
By deploying these simple strategies, your entire event can have a completely different outcome. The resources (time, energy, dollars, etc.) invested in the event will have a much better return on the investment. By re-thinking the methods used for hosting connection events, a church can host fewer connection events but expect more fruitful and effective outcomes.
If your church is hosting a connection event, invest in some of the strategies suggested and explore these additional resources for even more insights:
Free Bridge Event Handout - Discover more insights and ideas for how to effectively connect with your neighbors.
Bridge Event Webinar - In this 60-minute on-demand webinar, you will learn the ins and outs of a bridge event and how to leverage every step in the planning, implementation, and follow-up for the best Kingdom impact possible.
