Host an Outreach-Focused Harvest Festival at Your Church
Fall is officially here! Along with the cooler temps and changing leaves comes a great time of year to plan impactful outreach opportunities at your church. These are designed to reach your community and spread the message of the gospel. They can even encourage more people to get connected at your church.
One special outreach opportunity is to host a fall harvest festival. You can get your church families involved and invite the entire community to join in on the festivities.
About Harvest Festivals
Harvest festivals are celebrated in autumn after food from the land is reaped and collected. For Christians, it’s often a way of showing gratitude for the creation that God has provided for us, particularly the nutrients for us to eat. It is traditionally celebrated now as a special time to get together in the fall, enjoy delicious food and treats, and have a celebration with games, crafts, and activities. Many churches host a harvest festival for Christians and the community as an alternative to Halloween traditions.
Harvest Festival as an Outreach Opportunity
This is an incredible outreach opportunity for your church. It’s a way to connect with your community and get more people involved, and of course, be able to share the gospel with others who might not normally hear the good news. Below are some ideas to reach out and serve those around you.
- Engage families in your church and community.
Hosting a harvest festival allows many different ways church families can get involved in serving the community. They can bring supplies, help with set up or tear down, and volunteer on the day-of. Create a sign-up form on your church website for people to register to volunteer.
Creating an opportunity outside of a traditional Sunday morning for people to enter your church doors is a strategic way to draw people in. There are many people who are apprehensive about attending a church service, but you can spread hope and share the gospel at a fun event like a harvest festival where the whole community is invited. Plus, afterward, they may be more inclined to show up on the weekend and see what your church is all about.
- Collect food (harvest) to distribute to those in need.
One way to make your fall festival an outreach opportunity is to collect canned goods and non-perishables to give to people in need. You could have people who are attending the event bring these food items as a “ticket” to enter the festival. Or simply have a drop-off box at the event and people can donate as they please. After your festival, a team from your church can distribute the “harvest” to local food banks or organizations.
- Include fun activities.
You’ll want to include enjoyable activities, games, and crafts to engage families. You can make many of these with a biblical spin on them, too!
- Life size outdoor games: Jenga, Connect Four, Cornhole
- Biblical scavenger hunt
- Craft stations: coloring pages, salvation bracelets, leaf painting, etc.
- Face painting
- Lawn bowling with pumpkins
- Hay maze
- Photo booth
- Pumpkin decorating
- Eating contest: hot dogs, pie, gummy worms, apples
- Provide next steps.
By placing the focus of your harvest festival on outreach, you’ll want to be sure to provide ways for the community to get connected with your church after the event. Have a goodie bag with a flyer with your church service information like when, where, and what to expect. If your budget doesn’t have enough room for goodie bags, simply providing a handout or postcard will work. You just want to have a way for people to know they’re invited and when to be there.
Another great outreach aspect is to have a prayer tent or designated space where people can receive prayer. This is also a good opportunity to share the gospel and really show people the love of God. Sometimes people are waiting for somebody to ask them if they need prayer. Why not infuse prayer throughout your harvest festival?
Promote Your Fall Event
ShareFaith is here to partner with you to reach more people for Christ. Our church websites and graphics can help you get the word out to invite as many people as possible to your fall festival. To learn more, contact us today and start your free trial!