Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

At the Intersection of Faith and Food

Home
Food and Religion
8 Fun Church Event Ideas To Boost Church Attendance

8 Fun Church Event Ideas To Boost Church Attendance

Last updated on: November 5, 2023 at 10:13 am by Sarah Leadon

0 Comments

8 Fun Church Event Ideas To Boost Church Attendance 2023-11-05T10:13:11-05:00 Sarah Leadon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

People conversing at a church event.

Erika Giraud Unsplash

Church event ideas that worked 20 years ago just don’t work any more. When I was growing up, the church was filled with life. People were excited about coming to on Sunday and and even more excited about church events.

Now, it seems like life has been sucked out of some churches. The pews that were filled with people are now covered in dust.

So, how do we change and get more people interested in our churches? By hosting events that interest them. Here are 8 church event ideas to draw more people to your church.

Movie Night

Movies are always a great way to get people to come out. The key is choosing relevant movies. Most young people aren’t going to come to see a movie that is 50 years old. So, choose movies that are current or that people want to watch.

The easiest way to find out which movie to watch is by asking your church members. Send a text or email to your church group or ask them in person which movie they want to see and choose the most popular movie.

Once you have watched the movie, you can discuss it with your congregation. Ask the group if they like the movie. Ask them what their favorite part of the movie was. Ask them if they learned any life lessons from the movie.

Museum Day

Museums are an excellent activity for kids, teenagers, and families. Museums allow people to learn about a particular subject. They also stimulate creativity and create the perfect environment for people to ask questions or connect personally with the history of a place, people, animal, or object.

You can pick a day and visit a local museum. For example, you can take them to a Lego museum, an art museum, a history museum, or a dinosaur museum. To uncover which museum people will connect with more, ask your congregation. From there, you can choose the most popular option and visit the museum. Museums are also a great option for church events because visit other museums in your area periodically throughout the year.

Real Talk Night

When I was a pre-teen, sometimes my church would have lady’s night. While I do not remember all the things we talked about, I do remember a portion of the event dedicated to answering questions. We would write questions down on pieces of paper so it was anonymous, and a leader would read and respond to each question.

This idea is great for men and women, boys and girls, and people of all ages because it creates a safe space for people to talk. Safe spaces are lacking in many churches today, but they are so important. Safe spaces allow meaningful, trustworthy relationships to develop.

If people are afraid that it will get back to their parents or their business will get out, place a suggestion box in a less frequented area of the church. They can place their question, comments, or queries in the box, and you can discuss them during the meeting.

When addressing their questions, do not answer them in a judgmental way. Do not be offended if they ask tough questions like why God took someone they love away. Answer their questions as honestly as possible without judging them or questioning if they truly believe in God.

Cooking class for a church event.

Edgar Castrejon/Unsplash

Cooking Night

A lot of church event ideas include food because everyone likes it. So why not capitalize on it by teaching your church members how to cook? You can invite a chef or one of your church members who loves to cook to teach your church members how to cook a dish.

For example, you can teach your church members how to make simple dishes like mac and cheese, lasagna, and spaghetti Bolognese. You can also teach them how to make dishes from different cultures, like butter chicken, sushi rolls, and pad Thai.

Mystery Dinner

Mystery dinners are the perfect idea for your next youth group meeting. The idea is to create a coded menu that the attendees will have to figure out to decipher the menu item. For example, golden spirals would be rotini pasta, and pillows of life would be bread rolls. The coded menu will keep them engaged throughout the entire event. Coded menus are also a great idea for Thanksgiving or Christmas-themed events. Everyone is used to seeing turkey and ham on the menu. It could be a fun idea to see if everyone can figure out what’s on the menu.

Volunteer Day

Churches serve the community, so why not have volunteer days? Many organizations, such as assisted living facilities, soup kitchens, and homeless and animal shelters, need help.

You can ask your church members to volunteer their time to lend a helping hand. Volunteer days are also great for graduating high school students since they usually have to fulfill community service hours.

You can make volunteer days a monthly or bi-monthly event. Overall, volunteers will help your local community organizations and foster relationships between your church members and members of the organizations.

Mental Health Fair

Mental health is sometimes forgotten in the church, but it is very important. Mental health affects our ability to focus, make decisions, develop relationships, how we react to stress and so much more.

This is why you should plan a mental health fair. You can invite mental health professionals to talk about topics such as how to cope with stress to inform your church members about mental health.

Your church members can also ask the experts questions about mental health. Like real talk night, you can give your church members pieces of paper and pens to write their questions down and have a leader read them out so everything stays anonymous. Either way, a mental health fair is the perfect idea to draw more folks to your church.

Community garden.

Paige Cody/Unsplash

Church Community Garden

A community garden has many benefits, including alleviating stress, beautifying your church property, and providing access to fresh produce. But the biggest benefit is that a community garden brings people together.

A garden is not a 1-day project. It will take weeks or months to complete a garden.

Therefore, it will give your church members time to get to know one another better. It’s also the perfect ice breaker for new members or visitors since they can learn more about your church and its members.

You can also donate produce from your community garden to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, church members in need, or other organizations that need donations. This can inspire more people to tend to your garden because it would not just serve the church but the entire community.

Yes, church attendance is down. But it will not be down forever. Use these event ideas to attract more people to your church and hopefully convert them into long-term members.

Food and Religion

Religious Events

business and religion

church events

food and faith

religion

Previous Post

October 15, 2023

How To Get Teenagers And Millennials To Become Church Members