As summer ends, the back-to-school season begins. Are you ready? If you are still getting out of summer mode, we are here to help you kickstart those ideas and strategies to prepare for all the families that will be attending your church.
Create Excitement!
We understand how difficult it is to say goodbye to summer. It’s hard for families to put away the beach gear and exchange it for school supplies and routines. But there are lots of things to be excited about as people head back to school and back to ministry! Here are just a few ways to get families and kids excited about the season.
o Move Up Sunday
Dedicate a special Sunday church service and “promote” the kids from one class to another. Make a big deal about it, almost like a graduation ceremony for the kids as they move on up. Start with the 12th graders first by having them graduate into the adult worship service, then have the 11th graders move up to the 12th-grade class and keep going down the line, moving all your kids up a class. This is a great time to rally around the kids in your church and make them feel special. We even have a special Move Up Sunday church media bundle to help you promote and brand your church service.
If it’s too much to do in the sanctuary, think about how you could apply this to your youth and children’s ministry services.
o Start New Small Groups or Home Groups
During the summer, church attendance usually drops and families tend to be caught up with summer vacation plans and enjoying the nice weather. As families start to return to church when school starts, it’s a perfect time to launch new home groups at your church.
Provide a variety of groups and locations for people to choose from. Groups could be young married couples, singles, adults with grown children, and anything in between. Either way, your congregation will love having different options. Also, small groups are a great way for newer visitors to get plugged in at the church. Check out our Life Group church media bundle to promote and invite others to join. Print out extra flyers and give them to members of your small groups to invite friends and family!
o Increase Communication of Events
Often, one of the most difficult struggles for churches is the promotion and communication of special events, outreach opportunities, classes, or small groups at the church. One of the easiest ways to keep your congregation in the loop is with the use of your very own church mobile app. Not only will it keep church members up to date on the latest events and outreach opportunities, but all of your audio/video sermons, blogs, contact information, small group info, and live streaming are also available!
Our church mobile app connects directly to your church website, meaning you publish content once, and it shows up in multiple locations. You can also send custom push notifications directly through the app to update users on urgent prayer requests, last minutes changes, or reminders of special events. Learn more about all of the amazing features a mobile app can provide your church here!
o Build Your Church Team
Creating excitement around your church team is just as important as the back-to-school ideas listed above. One way to provide opportunities for people to learn about your ministries is to host a volunteer drive or a “job fair” at your church. Dedicate a Sunday after the church service to promote various ways members of the church can get involved in various ministries or outreach programs. Promote your volunteer drive with this church media bundle here.
Back-to-School Ideas for Church Fall Programs and Outreach
As summer winds down and fall rolls in, consider hosting events or outreach opportunities to help people get plugged back in. Have a picnic. Enjoy the upcoming football season. Attend fall concerts or festivals. Here are some other great events you can incorporate into your fall schedule.
o New Church Member Fellowship
Host a back-to-school gathering for new families in the church to mingle and get to know each other more. Make it a monthly or bi-monthly event for the school season. Members in your church will love being able to share this time with others and also share food.
o Prayers and Coffee
Create a special time for parents to get together during the week after they drop their kids off at school. This time can be used for prayer and building each other up. You’ll find that this will be one of the most popular events of the week.
o Date Night
Provide free childcare for your church and community while the parents go out on the town for a date night! This not only helps to bless the parents and provide a way for them to spend time together, but it also helps bless your city with more business as you are encouraging your church to go out on the town for dinner and a movie. Open this event to other families who may not attend your church.
o Serve The Community
Get together as a church body and look for ways to serve your community. Perhaps its partnering with a local program like Habitat for Humanity, cleaning up a local park or offering to serve concessions at a school sports game. Whatever you end up deciding to do, members of your community will love seeing your church involved and living out the gospel.
o First Responders Breakfast
On September 11th, honor all the brave men and women who are first responders in your city by hosting a free breakfast for them and their families. This is a very powerful way for your church to give back and bless those who are willing to lay their lives down for others, every day. Download and use this September 11th graphics bundle for this special event.
Back-to-School Fundraising Ideas
Back to school can be a hard time for families who are struggling financially. There are so many different ideas for back-to-school fundraisers.
o Fill A Backpack
Partner with a local school or a shelter and get a list of children who need backpacks and school supplies. Purchase a backpack for each child, then recruit your church congregation to take home a backpack and fill it with the needed supplies plus any extra goodies, like a gift card to purchase new clothes or a children’s Bible. The kids and parents will be blown away by this very special gift!
o Partner With a Local School
Contact a local school and help them out this coming school season by buying supplies for the school and the kids. Public schools and teachers need supplies just as much as the children. If your church doesn’t have many funds, try sponsoring a classroom to provide supplies. Your church can gather together and drop off the supplies and some gift baskets for the school staff and teachers. The school will love this support and it is a great way of spreading the gospel and showing God’s love to a local school! You can help promote this event with this school supply drive media bundle.
o Create A Back-to-School Fundraiser
By far one of the simpler yet impactful ways to support families in need is by creating a back-to-school donations fund with your online giving platform. Create a brand-new giving form and place it on your church website or mobile app, share it on Facebook or email, and even add a QR code to your church bulletins. You can easily set up a giving form in just minutes!
Creating an online giving form allows members to support children and families who may not have the time or money to shop for supplies. Once you have collected the funds, go on a shopping spree and buy the needed supplies for the families. Then you can host a back-to-school event and invite all of the families and hand out the supplies.
Back To School Media
One important back-to-school idea is to make it a big deal during your church service for a whole month. While some kids in your church may already be in school, or some are homeschooled or about to start, there is still a ton to celebrate and your kids will love feeling the support and encouragement.
Using back-to-school graphics and media during your church service is just one way of doing this. With hundreds of back-to-school church graphics and media, Sharefaith has everything you need to celebrate in style, including church motion graphics, countdown timers, worship backgrounds and worship video loops, bifold and trifold church bulletins, church flyers, church newsletters, and website banners. All of these are fully downloadable and easy to make your own with various formats in UHD 4K, HD, SD, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, No-Text, and more.
Other Fantastic Back To School Ideas & Resources
Back-to-School Sermons
Inherently, this is the time of year that breeds an atmosphere of change and transition. Don’t let that lull you to sleep and miss this opportunity! New opportunities result in an onslaught of new challenges that are just waiting to bombard anyone who decides to separate from the pack of sheep. They can easily become the target for the enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion waiting for this opportune moment to pounce.
Now is not the time to wait and be on the defense. Be proactive with these 12 Back to School Sermons to help prepare both parents and kids for the school year. Be on the offensive!
Back-to-School Bible Verses
In addition to the sermons, you should engage in your own Bible studies at home with your families. Are you feeling anxious? Worried? Overwhelmed? Self-conscious? Well, God has a lot to discuss with you. These Back to School Bible Verses cover anything from anxiety to worry, trust to discouragement, the temptation to purpose, and anything you need for strength. The Bible is full of encouragement for you and your family.
Back-to-School Checklist For Sunday School Leaders
Check out this checklist for Sunday School leaders. You’ll feel empowered to face the back-to-school season and conquer it. Plus, we’ve added the top 10 back-to-school memes for Sunday School to add some fun along the way!
Back-to-School Church Website Design
This may seem like an odd thing to include for back to school, but it is very important! Think about it, with the new school season, families start coming back to church and even new families start looking for churches to attend. While you may already have a church website up and running, it might be time to give it a little tender love and care. Check out this ultimate church website design guide for anything and everything related to church website design. Follow the guide and you’ll have a stunning, brand-new church website just in time for the new school season!
Updated August 2022