Ways to Do an Outreach to Other People for a Church
- A church can begin a prayer ministry for the community with no capital outlay. Members of the church agree to pray wherever they are for community leaders, servants and residents. Church members can get out and walk the neighborhoods and pray as they walk. With a small advertising budget, you might offer that people can call in for prayer using area bulletin boards, businesses and civic locations.
- If the church has available green space around it, plant a community garden. Assign plots and ask area merchants to donate seeds, potting soil and other supplies. Allow people to participate based on sweat equity. Ask people to donate some of the produce for use in soup kitchen or food pantry.
- Invite retired people, singles and stay-at-home parents to staff a community tutoring ministry. Open classes for those looking to get a GED, an afterschool program for kids or a program that teaches computer and office skills to job applicants and older adults. Ask church members to donate books, office equipment and other resources the ministry can use.
- Register the church as an Angel Food Ministries host site. Invite community members to use the program to cut the cost of groceries. The program accepts Food Stamps, but the program is not limited to low-income families. The program gives $1 to the host site benevolence fund for every box of food distributed.
- Pull area ministers together and plan joint worship services. Rotate the service between churches and rotate the responsibility for preaching and organization between ministers. Each host church can offer space for a reception after the service for refreshments, and member churches can supply the goodies. The interfaith services open a spirit of cooperation and foster understanding among faiths.
- One weekend night a month, host a parent's night out program where parents can get low-cost childcare. Staff the program with volunteers who pass a background check. Families and single parents will discover they can safely trust the church to look after their little ones and may seek out the church for Sunday services.
Several area churches may cooperate and rotate responsibility for the program. - Contact local hospitals and jails for ministry possibilities. Members may donate books to a rolling library in the facilities or train as volunteers to visit the sick and incarcerated. Volunteers would submit to a background check before they can participate. They can invite those they visit to come to church.