GIVE BACK acts are days that we skip "going" to church in order to "be" the church! You can expect them to pop on Sunday morning and in Growth Groups. Here are some of the reasons we do this:
1. It’s what Jesus did and would do if He were physically still among us. He would love and serve people in tangible ways.
2. It’s a break for people who devote time “within the walls” to be free to go outside the walls, which is where our bigger focus lies.
3. It’s an introduction to serving, and we heard repeatedly, “I’d like to do this more often, not just on this Sunday.” Bull’s eye!
4. It gives us a chance to practice “with reach.” That is, we can serve alongside non-members and even non-believers, creating community so that people can belong, even before they believe.
5. It’s a bonding time for the people serving together on a project.
6. It’s a way to communicate that “giving” involves more than the offering plate. It also involves our time and talents.
7. It blesses people around us, earning the church a bit of trust for the hearing of the gospel when the door opens.
8. It’s fun. This wasn’t our primary motive, but it was certainly fun!
Guidelines 1. Appoint a leader for the event 2. Plan an event everyone can participate in 3. Keep the participation commitment as low as possible. 4. Keep the cost low 5. Keep it local 6. Keep it on your normal group night
Need ideas for your Growth Groups GIVEBACK ACT?
In Community Coats for folks (November) Chili and hot chocolate and Craft Fair! (November) Nursing Home visits w/Music Chili give away Handing out free hot chocolate Stocking clothes at Agape’s Grace Feeding first responders Picking up trash at schools, stadiums, along highways, and ball parks Or giving away anything door to door (see GO time options) Cookies, Popsicles, Hotdogs, Water bottles Buying ICEE at BK or Mcdonalds Gas buy down Give back packs for city workers, first responders, or school workers Clean someone's house Provide childcare for free date nights Mow people's grass/clean up yards Rake leaves Shovel sidewalks In Church Clean day at thePorch Clean someone's house Training day for porch volunteers Painting interior Painting exterior Deep cleaning Exterior Remodeling Landscaping Give back packs for porch people
BONUS IDEAS: 101 Outreach Ideas (You’ve Probably Never Heard Of) Chris Abbott 1. Host a City-Wide Zombie Run: Bonus Points if you do it for Easter... 2. Blacklight / Glow In The Dark Easter Egg Hunt (do it for Halloween or Christmas to stand out) 3. Helicopter Candy Drop: Buy a ridiculous amount of Candy and hire a local helicopter pilot to drop the candy in a field and then let kids go fill up their buckets with candy... VARIATION: If you can't do a helicopter, do a Rooftop Candy Drop. Just have your team throw candy off of your roof and watch how much the kids love it :) 4. Host an Indoor Paintball Tournament (or Outdoor): You can usually find companies who will set up an indoor paintball competition at your church for a good price. Don't worry, they use foam paintballs instead of real paintballs, so there's no mess. Some companies will even bring a giant inflatable arena to set up in your parking lot, so you don't even have to host it inside the church 5. Build A Treehouse: Build a Treehouse, indoors or outdoors, and let members of the community vote on style, color, the name, etc via social media. When it's built, invite the kids on your community to come check it out. 6. Indoor Slip and Slide: This one could get messy but the buzz you'll generate (especially among teens) will be worth it. 7. Chili Cook Off: Host a Chili Cook Off at your church, invite members of your community and/or local restaurants and give prizes for the best chili. You could invite local bands to play at this event as well. 8. Battle of the Bands: Host a Battle of the Bands at your church and invite local bands to compete for a prize 9. Haunted House: Turn part of your church (or an old building on your church property) into a haunted house and charge admission. Invite them to church afterwards. If you have a lot of property you could always do a Haunted Hayride or Haunted Woods instead. 10. Christmas In July: Throw a giant Christmas Party, complete with Santa Clause and presents, in the middle of July. 11. Casino Night: Rent or build some casino tables (poker, blackjack, etc) and give out poker chips to the winners. Give away prizes for whoever has the most chips at the end of the night. 12. Movies on the Lawn (or just Family Movie Night): Set up a projector outside and project a Disney movie onto the side of your church or a giant white sheet and invite people to bring their lawn chairs for a family movie night. Give out free popcorn and drinks, and let the youth group sell concessions to raise money for missions, youth events, summer camp, etc 13. Host a Fun Run: Pick a theme and a cause, and host a community Fun Run to raise money and awareness for your cause. Millennials love this... 14. Motorcycle Rally: Host a motorcycle rally and promote it at local bars and motorcycle shops. It helps if you bring in a good band too. 15. Poker Run: Just like the motorcycle rally, only you have 5 stops along the route and each biker gets one card at each stop. Whoever has the best 5 card Poker hand at the end of the Run gets a prize 16. New Years Eve Lock-In: More of a youth thing, but these are very effective at bringing unchurched families into the church with a low barrier-of-entry event. 17. Texas Hold 'Em Tournament: Rent some circular tables and a bunch of Poker chips and have a giant Texas Hold 'Em Tournament. Have prizes for the Top 5 finishers but don't use real money. Let everyone play for free, or charge a $5 entry fee and give the money to a local charity, non-profit, or overseas Missions organization. 18. Throw a Good Old Fashioned Block Party: Grill out some burgers and hot dogs, soda, carnival games, candy and prizes and then invite the whole neighborhood 19. Trick Or Treat For Canned Goods: Go door to door on Halloween and collect canned goods for the local food pantry 20. Secret Church Event: Host a Secret Church Event. Create your own event or live stream one from secretchurch.org 21. Host A Kite-Flying Day: Invite families to come to your church on a Saturday to fly kites. Buy a bunch of extra kites in case kids show up without a kite, and give out candy to all to everyone who attends. 22. Free Oil Change Saturday: Have some auto-savvy members from your church do free oil changes on a Saturday for Single Mom's in your city. If you don't have anyone in your church that can do it hire a local mechanic for the entire day to do the oil changes for you. 24. Have A Bonfire: Have a giant bonfire at your church and invite local families to come enjoy hot dogs, marshmallows and s’mores. 25. Host a Video Game Tournament: Pick a game that is hot and invite the gamer community to a to a tournament. If you don't have a lot of video game knowledge, partner with a local video game store and let the run the techie stuff. 26. Family Fun Night: Get a bunch of inflatables, carnival games, snow cones and give out tons of candy for prizes. 27. Taste of Summer Event: Buy a bunch of ice cream, or hook up with an ice cream truck (or 3) and host a Taste of Summer event with free ice cream, games and puppet shows. Get the fire department to open a fire hydrant and shoot water 30 feet in the air for kids to play in. 28. Food Truck Festival: Get some inflatables and invite as many food trucks as you can to show up at your church or a local park for Food Trucks and Fun. 29. Host A Concert For A Band: Big name or a local band, it doesn’t matter, just make it fun. 23. Mud Bowl: Set up a volleyball net, football field, dodgeball, kickball, etc, and have the local fire department hose everything down and invite people (especially teens) to come to your First Annual Mud Bowl 31. Host a Kickball Tournament 32. Host a Kan Jam Tournament 33. Host a Beer Pong Tournament: But use Root Beer instead 34. Fireworks Show: Buy some fireworks and do it yourself or hire a company to do it professionally. 35. Host A Sports Camp: Use people in your church or reach out to some high school or college coaches and have them hold a sports camp on your property. Invite neighborhood kids to attend for free. 36. Host a Media Camp: Teach local kids the basics of web design, graphic design, photography, video editing, coding, etc) 37. Host a Winterfest Event: Decorate your campus in a million Christmas lights (it doesn't have to be a million but that's a great marketing tactic) and then let people come check it out for free. You can even sell hot chocolate and concessions to raise money for the youth group. 38. Host An Awards Ceremony for local high school sports. 39. Trunk or Treat Event: Have members of your church park their cars in the parking lot and decorate their trunks, and hand out candy. Then invite kids and families to go trick or treating to each car. Give out prizes for Best Trunk Design and Best Costume. 40. Host a Business Leadership Event: Invite local business leaders to speak at your church on a week night and teach leadership principles. 41. Host a Community Dance: Father/Daughter, High School Prom, Sadie Hawkins, etc 42. Host a "Does God Exist” Debate: invite apologetics speakers to battle local atheists) 43. Host a Triathlon Sprint: Hook up with local gyms and Crossfit Boxes and host a Triathlon Sprint. They're shorter than traditional Triathlons and usually consist of a 750 meter swim, 20k Bike ride and a 5k Run. 44. Improv Night: Hook up with a local improv group or just let anyone join in on the fun. Search YouTube for some old episodes of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" for ideas. 45. Comedy Night: Hire a comedian to perform at your church and invite families. 46. Marriage Conference: Pick a theme like "I Want A New Marriage” or “Happily Never After”, etc - and host a Marriage Conference. Then, launch a marriage series the following Sunday and invite attendees to come back for the series. 47. Interview / Fireside Chat with local heroes, and community leaders 48. Appreciation Night: Invite local law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, etc - and honor them and their families. 49. Networking Event: For Young Professionals, have appetizers, drinks and name tags 50. Open Mic Night: Host an open mic just like a local bar or coffee shop and let people in the community sign up to play 51. Murder Mystery Dinner Theater: Host a Murder Mystery at your church and raise money for a local elementary school that needs school supplies 52. Photo Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of local attractions and spots that teams have to get pictures in front of. Then split up into teams and give prizes for the team that completes the photo scavenger hunt and makes it back to the church first with all the correct photos 53. Treasure Hunt: Bury (or hide) treasure around the church property and give kids a treasure map. 54. Rooftop Concert: Have a concert on the roof of your church 55. Talent Show with a Twist: Host a talent show but do it like "The Voice" where judges have to pick their favorites without looking at the contestants. 56. Biggest Loser Contest: Organize a Biggest Loser contest with prizes for the Top 3 Men and Top 3 Women. Partner with a local gym and measure BMI instead of just lbs lost. 57. Music Workshop: Have your worship team teach the basics of how to play guitar, drums, bass, piano, sing, etc) 58. Holiday Potluck: Put a twist on Potluck dinners and have one on a holiday, but make everyone bring food related to that holiday. Ex: Irish Food (or green food) on St. Paddy’s Day, Mexican Food on Cinco De Mayo, “Freedom Food” on Fourth of July 59. Indoor Mini Golf Night: Have departments in the church each create a few holes using whatever they can and, trash cans, coffee cups, office supplies, etc. (You get Bonus Points if you include a shot from the roof) 60. Pumpkin Chucking Contest: Contestants build pumpkin throwing inventions and give a Grand Prize for the invention that launches a pumpkin the farthest 61. Game Show Night: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud) 62. Ugly Sweater Contest: Giveaways and prizes for whoever has the ugliest Christmas sweater. Do this during one of your Sunday morning services. 63. Doubles Ping Pong Tournament: Way more fun than just playing singles, and a TON more fun to watch. 64. Barn Dance: Get some hay bales, country music, and hire a local dance instructor to lead some line dancing lessons 65. Card Tournaments: It can be Spades, Hearts, UNO, Euchre, etc. People LOVE to play card and it can be a lower barrier to entry than inviting them to church 66. Skate Night: Host it at your church or rent out a local skate rink for roller skating, or ice skating 67. Board Game Night: Get some board games, Monopoly, Life, Parcheesi, etc, and invite local families to come play) 68. Capture The Flag: Have a giant Capture The Flag game at your church or at a local park 69. Rent A Movie Theater / Bowling Alley / Skating Rink: Then open it up to the public for free... 70. Five Dollar Senior Prom: Throw a Prom at your church and invite local high school students. The only rule is that they can only spend $5 on their outfit) 71. Study Snacks: Go to a local college and pass out study snacks and energy drinks, especially close to week, mid-terms, etc) 72. Lego Night: Buy 10,000 legos and let kids have a blast 73. Host an “Ask Me Anything” Night: People in your community can come and ask the pastor / panel anything they want without fear of judgement 74. Brainwashed Event: Host a “Brainwashed Night” where you ask (and answer) the question: “Does God Really Exist Or Are We All Just Brainwashed?” Timothy Keller’s book, The Reason For God is the perfect resource for answering this question, or you can bring in a Christian Apologist to handle the discussion. 75. Tailgate Party: Go to a High School Football parking lot and grill out burgers and dogs and hand them out for free 76. Fitness Night: Invite local Fitness gurus / gym owners to come and give free workout lessons, eating tips 77. Parenting Conference: Teach it yourself or bring in a professional 78. Magic Show: hire a magician and host at your church or go out into neighborhoods and perform 79. Giant Nerf War: You can buy hundreds, or even thousands, of nerf bullets off of Amazon and invite kids in your community to bring their nerf guns (and eye protection) for a giant nerf war at the church (PRO TIP: you can get 500 generic nerf bullets for about $20 and they work exactly the same as the name brand darts. I did this for my son’s 5 year old birthday party and his friends still talk about it over a year later...) 80. Parents’ Night Out: Use your kids pastor and some volunteers and let parents drop of their kids for a safe night of fun (for the kids) and much-needed Date Night (for the parents). Just make sure all of your volunteers have a background check. 81. Food Fight: Make a TON of food and then throw it at each other. PRO TIP: Do this outside so you don't have to clean up the inside of your church. 82. Super Bowl Party: Throw the game up on your big screen at church and have plenty of game food (Buffalo wings, chips and dip, queso, burgers, hot dogs, doritos, etc) 83. BBQ Contest: Invite local restaurants to participate in a BBQ Contest and give away prizes for the team with the best BBQ, and then let the public vote. 84. Craft Night: This is great for families. Get the supplies and have everything ready for a Craft Night. 85. Blood Drive: Partner with the Red Cross and host a blood drive 86. Car Care Clinic: Find a mechanic and offer free auto repair for small fixes, free diagnosis, tire rotation, etc 87. Friday Groceries Outreach: Give out free food, groceries, and produce to families in need. You can even get local chiropractors, doctors, dentists, lawyers and barbers to donate their time and expertise. Do it every Friday, once a month, or as a stand alone outreach event. 88. Back To School Giveaway: Buy a bunch of backpack and school supplies and host a large giveaway event for families that need help purchasing school supplies right before school begins. 89. Move In Day at the local college: Show up at a college in your town and offer to help incoming freshman and returning students move their stuff into the dorms. Give out snacks and water and invite them to church after you help them move in. 90. Teacher Appreciation: Bake cookies, order pizza, and/or buy gift cards for teachers in your local schools 91. Perfect Attendance Carnival: For kids who have perfect attendance at local elementary school 92. Stuffed Animal Drive for kids in local Children’s Hospitals 93. First Day Parents Pray: Host a prayer event for parents on the morning after they drop kids off on the first day of school, have breakfast and coffee for parents and invite them to church afterwards 94. Adopt Some International Students at a local college and bring them groceries, invite them to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthday gifts, etc. Become their home away from home) 95. “New Here” Night: Invite new members/families to come to a dinner where they meet the pastors, staff and leaders. Give them info about the church, answer questions, feed them dinner and have plenty of coffee 96. Pumpkin Palooza: Kids decorate/carve pumpkins and get to then take them home afterwards 97. Election Day: Purchase a bible, have it personalized, highlight favorite scriptures, and hand-deliver it to elected officials on their first day in office along with a note promising to pray for that leader, mayor, sheriff, city official for the entirety of their term. 98. Baptism Bash at a local swimming pool, lake or beach (invite people in the community to be baptized for the first time, or re-dedicate their lives to Christ by getting baptized again 99. Holiday Food Baskets: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July - put together baskets of food for families in need. 100. Drop off burgers, burritos, and/or cookies to your local rehouse, police headquarters, city hall, chamber of commerce, public schools, etc) 101. Hand out free candy with church invites to your church at local mall Mind if I over-deliver? Here’s a few more... 102. Pass out ice cold water bottles at busy intersection on hot days, or at local outdoor festivals 103. Host A Special Needs Olympics with games, inflatables, snow cones, face- painting, etc and invite local special needs kids 104. Bring Ice Cold Gatorade to local high school football teams during practice (especially during two-a-days) 105. Summer Box Fan Drive: Collect box fans and pass them out in low-income neighborhoods. 106. Hire local hair stylists, makeup artists, nail salons, to provide services to a local Women’s Shelter 107. Door To Door Donuts: Go door to door and hand out free donuts to community, invite them to church 108. Paint, Fix, and Clean Up a local public school. 109. Provide free coffee, energy drinks, snacks, pizza, and prayer to families waiting the emergency room 110. Serve healthy snacks to chemo patients at local hospital 111. Hire clowns, magicians, balloon artists, to perform for kids at a local children’s hospital (but make sure to call ahead and check with the hospital first) 112. Special Needs Easter Egg Hunt: Do this at Easter or anytime during the year. Partner with local schools and invite kids with special needs. 113. Strip Club Outreach: Have women in your church hand deliver flowers to the dancers at a local strip club, tell them that Jesus Loves them, and ask if there is anything you can pray with them about (You can also do this with prostitutes) 114. Give away free meals for college kids once a week/month 115. Host a Laser Tag Night: You can buy a bunch of laser tag guns on Amazon, at Walmart, or you can even and a company to bring everything you need and you can rent it from them 116. Gingerbread House Contest: At Christmas time buy a bunch of Gingerbread House kits from Walmart and invite families to come build, decorate, and create a Gingerbread House. Give away prizes for the most creative.