How to Grow Your Church During the Summer

How can you get people excited about church in the summer? With some creative thinking, your congregation can view that challenge as an opportunity. To help you get started, we’ve brainstormed ideas to infuse new energy into your church during the busy summer months when worship attendance and involvement often decline.

Let’s start with worship. Encourage youth to lead a service. Or invite gifted seniors to switch up the music by playing an atypical instrument like an accordion, harmonica or banjo. Choose an outdoor venue—a park, lakeside, a river bank—to worship. I once attended an old-fashioned style mission festival in a cow pasture. Yes, the cows were moved for the day. And, yes, volunteers cleaned the pasture of cow pies the day prior. What a novel experience to sit on a wood plank “pew,” sing old gospel hymns and listen to a retired missionary in God’s beautiful outdoors. A potluck followed.

Food always draws people. Follow an outdoor worship service with a picnic and old-fashioned games like gunny sack and three-legged races. Your church can provide meat for the cookout. Ice cream socials are another easy option, especially during berry season. Or serve root beer floats. Invite not only your members, but the community to this free social gathering. In my city, one church pairs music and food during a summer series of outdoor Holy Smokes concerts. Church volunteers smoke meats and prepare homemade BBQ pizzas with proceeds from food sales going back into the community. It’s a win-win as members of all ages work together to offer a relaxing evening of food, entertainment and family fun. Be sure to check local ordinances and other food prep and service regulations.

There are many creative ways to connect with families during the summer. Offer a free movie night, indoors or out, complete with popcorn and beverages. Organize a multi-generational scavenger hunt with cool prizes like ice cream treats from a local shop. Give kids and their parents sticks of chalk to recreate God’s world in art and/or write faith-based messages on church and/or neighborhood sidewalks. Sponsor a kids’ bible story coloring contest. If you want to give parents a break, plan crafts, games and more as part of a Kids Night Out, no parents allowed.

Community outreach is also key to building church involvement during the summer. Make your congregation visible by, for example, setting up a stand at a local farmers’ market, county fair or other community event. Offer give-aways, information and an invitation to visit your church. Every June my Minnesota church serves a free community lunch during our city’s annual Heritage Days celebration. Hundreds attend. You can always do something as simple as host an Invite Your Neighbor to Church Sunday. Celebrate visitors by giving them free movies tickets, a mini devotional or some other small gift.

Consider hosting a car show in your church parking lot. Or plan a special Sunday for worshipers to drive their vintage vehicles to services. I’ve been to a show at a rural Minnesota church that also included tractors and pickup trucks. Feature the creative talents of your church family at an outdoor art show. 

Now that your creative juices are flowing, there’s one more thing to consider. Promote, promote, promote. Submit stories to local media outlets to create community awareness. Equally as important, use social media—Facebook, your church website, email and Twitter—to spread the word and build excitement. Afterwards, share photos on social media to sustain that excitement. Summer offers many opportunities to think outside the box. Embrace this time to be creative in your church ministry and outreach. Let your imagination fly. Have fun and give all the glory to God!

Audrey Kletscher Helbling loves church potlucks, festivals and other food events, especially those held outdoors. Minnesotans love their summers in a state known for its long winters. So churches in this far northern location think creatively and plan lots of outdoor summer activities, which Audrey embraces with enthusiasm.