Friendly Reminder: Back To School Time is Here

As our calendars turn from July to August, back to school time is upon us. Chances are good that your church has some sort of event planned that focuses on students and their families. Whether you are hosting a children’s health fair, offering space for sports physicals, giving away school supplies, or having some sort of fun back to school bash, now is the perfect time to show the young families in your community that you love and support them.

The question for us as worship planners is how we will amplify that message in our services. In-worship student specific events like the blessing of the backpacks is a great start. However, I wonder if we can push it even further than that.

What if you planned a sermon series that would be attractive to young families and started the Sunday after your big back to school event? What if you started or “relaunched” a Sunday School class or small group specifically for young families? What if you offered a parent’s night out kid-sitting evening the Friday before the start of school so your community’s parents could have a night of fun before all of the extracurriculars kick in?

These are just some basic ideas, but the underlying thought is this: one-time events are great for making points of contact and attracting visitors, but if they show up and realize that your interest in supporting them was a one-time thing, you can’t blame them for not coming back. You don’t need to become an “all parents/kids, all the time” type of church, but if you make some sort of investment of time and/or resources throughout the excitement of the first few weeks of school, you can build the foundation for a lasting connection.

Image by Flickr user Comrade Foot. Used under Creative Commons License. Cropped from Original.