Summer Outreach Prep

While visiting friends recently, I munched on chocolate-covered pretzels while I listened to Benji, age three, tell me about his new bike and his plans to swim in the BIG KID pool this summer. We were laughing and sharing stories as we ate pretzel after pretzel. When the pile was down to the last one, Ben paused mid-sentence, pointed to the bowl, and said, “That one is for you, JoJo.”

“Wow!” I thought, “This pretzel-wielding preschooler has the gift of hospitality—how can I get him on my VBS team?”

For Teachers

Coach Your Kids

Outreach programs are awesome, but your connections with the community won’t last beyond the season unless you have a few people like Benji on board! So coach your kids in hospitality, reminding them of how God welcomes us into his family and calls us to welcome others.

• Talk with your group about what it feels like to be the “new kid.”
• Brainstorm ideas for making guests feel special and included in every activity.
• Role-play your ideas, practice introductions, or split your kids into teams to create fun skits about greeting visitors.
• Pray together and anticipate that God will send new kids to your group who will become part of God’s “forever family”!

Know Names

Calling kids by name sends them the message that they aren’t just one of the crowd, but are known and valued individually (not only by you, but also by God).

• Here’s a memory trick: the first time you meet a kid, make a point to use his or her name three times throughout your class time.
• Listen closely to how kids pronounce their own names. Kids with unusual names (like Jolanda, for example), are used to responding to all sorts of inaccurate enunciations, so it’s a great relief when someone gets it right!
• Play name games to help all the kids get to know each other and you. Have kids share their names and add a motion, a favorite animal, a rhyming word, or anything else that will get a few giggles and get stuck in your head.

For Coordinators

Key Connections

Scan your summer church calendar with an eye for other ministries that might intersect with kids. Might the healthy marriage class attract some moms and dads? Might the Gospel Fest involve little ones? Chances are there are many people in your pews that will send kids your way if you keep them in the loop.

• Collect stories of kids’ growth and spiritual insight from teachers, volunteers, and parents. Keep these stories on the tip of your tongue when you catch the ear of the senior pastor, council members, and ministry team leaders.
• Put kids’ ministry on the radar of leaders of your church’s women and men’s ministries. Explore ways you can provide support for each other’s ministry this summer. Slip them fliers with notes attached to help them direct parents to programs their kids might enjoy. Celebrate together the ways God is reaching the hearts of adults and kids.
• Connect with church members who are also well-known in the community. Mrs. Marceline, a member of Hope church, lives about eight houses down from the church and knows EVERY kid and parent on the block! Make sure you keep the Mrs. Marcelines in your congregation up to date on the kids’ calander.

Connecting these dots in your congregation may mean a more wholistic witness to your community this summer!