All the churches on our road host fall festivals or trunk-or-treat events at the end of October, so as the new kid on the block we decided to offer a family connection ministry event on the first Sunday of October to celebrate the change of seasons. This is one of the those opportunities to be a good neighbor to our neighbors.

A team of eight started planning six weeks in advance, using a 90-minute schedule that included 50 minutes of activities and food, 10 minutes for a message, and 30 minutes for live music.

50 minutes of connection and food activities
Each part of the Family Ministry Team organized a fun, interactive activity with prizes for the purposes of connecting with folks through conversation, hospitality, and generosity:

  • Art: Paper bag pumpkins
  • Men’s Ministry: Cornhole
  • Senior Saints: Ring toss for young kids
  • Young Adults: Pumpkin checkers
  • Nursery: People scavenger hunt
  • Children’s Ministry: Bible trivia with dry-erase boards
  • Confirmation: Puffy paint leaves
  • Youth Ministry: Pogo sticks
  • Other small groups: Chalk art, fall-themed face-in cutouts, skee-ball
    We also set up a shaded area for making Chrismons (similar to a quilting bee).

For food, we kept it simple with a chili potluck and all the fixings, with ice water. Desserts were offered through a “pumpkin walk” game, where participants could win seasonal treats from local markets.

10 minutes of a message
A lay-servant leader, experienced in public speaking and active in children’s and youth ministries, delivered a message on nurturing faith daily. His background in farming and science tied in perfectly with the theme, and he did a fabulous job.

30 minutes of live concert
We invited a local Southern Gospel group to perform and share the gospel through music. The stage was set with hay bales on the front lawn, and the multi-generational group was fantastic. This multigenerational group is well-known in the greater Atlanta area and they do this extremely well. There are so many genres of Christian music so this was a great platform for our congregation to hear and see something different done well.

Folks were encouraged to bring camp chairs and chili to share, fostering a friendly, neighborly atmosphere. A banner along the road and a simple Facebook ad promoted the event.

And I personally sent text reminders to church members who had texted me in the past two months, asking them to share the event graphic while drinking coffee and watching Nick Saban on the GameDay crew on the Saturday crew. 99 texts later, I hear we altered the West Cobb Facebook algorithms. Several couples told me they came because they saw it in their feed all weekend.

We’re still learning how to best use the spaces and resources the Lord has graciously provided. This was the first front lawn ministry event so we’ll debrief this week and make a list of what we learned.

How are you celebrating the season change this fall with your neighbors?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build…” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2