Exploring the Purpose of the "Event" as it Relates to a Growth Strategy

One of the best articles I've read regarding church events was by Tony Morgan. He was the founder and CEO of the Unstuck Group. I'm sad to say that Tony passed away in September of 2024. Take a few minutes to read Tony's article, "Why Events are Killing Your Church (and Some Signs That You Need to Stop)." It's short, and he makes some excellent points.

I certainly understand his points and where he's coming from. But it got me thinking about the growth strategy at the church where I served for many years. I would go so far as to say that this church had an "event-driven growth strategy."

What do I mean? I understand that Tony is saying that we might keep people from their family activities or what God called them to do otherwise by doing events. I get that. But when it comes to an Outreach Strategy, simply attempting to get people to attend church who wouldn't otherwise, there's nothing better than an event.

Advertising and promoting events heavily to the community is a "method" for giving people a reason (other than coming to church) to set foot on your property. Once they're there, you can connect with them and help them overcome any hesitation to attend one of your services.

The church I served held many outreach events yearly, but the four main ones were Easter, a Kids' Camp, Welcome Weekend, and Christmas Eve. While some events around these times were not on Sunday, each included an invitation to attend a Sunday morning service.

The "Easter Eggstravaganza" was a blowout event featuring bounce houses, a petting zoo, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, and a series of egg hunts throughout the morning. Over three or four hours, the event drew a few thousand people from the community, many of whom didn't attend the church. They registered and received an invite to Easter Sunday services the following weekend. Many came!

Kids' Camp was the 3rd week of July every year. Over the years, thousands of kids participated. They had a blast playing field games, making crafts, and learning about how Jesus loves them in two fun, engaging stage productions in the church's main auditorium. The kid who brought the most friends each day won a prize, and all the kids were given a "Kids' Camp T-Shirt" when they got their parents to attend a special Kids' Camp church service the Sunday after camp. Consequently, Kids' Camp Sunday (4th Sunday in July) was one of the highest-attended Sundays of the year! Many who now call the church home came on Kids' Camp Sunday and continued coming after that.

So there you go. For this particular church, at least, events were key to growth!