Now that we have moved into our new building and now that promotion weekend is behind us, it is FINALLY time to start the Summer season. This Summer, more than any other, we are adhering to the "Cheap and Easy" philosophy of events. Other than our Summer camp and one other over-nighter, all of our events are super cheap and super easy for students to attend. No sign ups, just show up.
The trend with our families seems to be the more spontaneous they can be with their decesion to attend an event, the better the attendance. I wish they planned for youth activities the way they plan for sports and school events, but they just don't. We decided to quit fighting the system and try to join it. So things like dodgeball, frisbee golf on campus, open Refinery nights, meet us at the park etc. are quickly becoming Summer-time staples.
Would be curious to hear your thoughts and experiences...
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8 comments:
I have also taken this approach this summer. Yesterday i showed the original Star Wars trilogy from 2pm - 10 pm. Had about a 1/3 of the kids watch the movie and the rest that showed up played pool/wii/carpet ball or football. It was great to just connect with kids for 8 hours without doing an all-nighter! I asked if they could bring $2 for pizza, but that's it. I will definitely do more stuff like this that is just a "Come hang out" event.
We did the "cheap and easy" thing last summer and it really worked so we are taking it a step further this year and raising the spontaneity quotient a little. We're sending out mass text messages and posting to our website the day before and sometimes the day of a gathering/event. Should be fun! We'll see if it works :-)
I'm curious how that impacts your volunteer team. Do they like it this way as well or do you just do the events with paid staff?
that actually sounds great. i worked hard to plan a lot of big stuff this year, and even advance plans, it got killed with the sports and stuff. so i like the thought behind it.
I am also curious about the staffing of the events. My concern has always been not having adequate supervision. Let's say we do a day at the park and 100 kids show up and it just the 3 staff for the afternoon....
Kurt, being new to the area we have already seen this idea and approach be very effective. All our monies and energy for big stuff is being poured into our student facility makeover so we have have plenty of just hang type nights & events. All our times this summer are just show up. Bonfires, Scavenger hunts on campus, Game On style games on our front lawn.
Would be interested to compare notes in the fall
We've embraced the "laid back" approach for a few years now. Hang out nights, a day of boating, a day at the park and one cheap camping trip is all we "planned".
We have had some stuff planned this summer but it is a lot more laid back than during the school year and last summer.
Does anyones church scale back some of their activities during the summer?
Does your youth ministry scale back or do more during the summer? what do you guys think?
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