Building Bridges with Our Communities: Summer Bridge Events
As you begin to start planning for the summer, the season offers numerous opportunities for activities that reach children and parents alike and will build bridges between your congregation and the community. This past summer, I saw a simple but fun idea at one of our local churches: a water day. Pair this up with popsicles or snow cones, and you’ve got an event that provides fun for kids while allowing the parents not to have to deal with the logistics of water play in their yard or outside their apartment. An event like this also provides opportunities for parents to get to know each other in a casual setting, allowing visitors to feel more comfortable talking with church members while also creating good memories for the kids.
Summer is also ripe with opportunities to identify and meet needs in the community. One of our Wednesday night Bible classes identified a school where some students were going to be without food during the summer months. They led a fundraising effort at church which allowed us to provide food weekly to these kids. Our class selected food that was packed in small amounts due to concerns about food storage safety. We also made sure at least some items could be opened without a can opener and would not require heating up, should there be concerns about utilities or if the children needed to prepare the food for themselves.
Many churches host vacation Bible schools, but another option that can create connections between church members and their neighbors is a backyard VBS. One summer, our family participated in a Backyard Bible School experiment. One of our ministers identified neighborhoods around the city that would be ideal for this, and a curriculum was created with props that we all shared. It was easy to invite children to our yards to participate since parents were more comfortable having them go to known neighbors’ homes, and many of the parents were happy for a break. We also were able to have additional contact and conversation with neighbors when they dropped off and picked up their kids. One of the more memorable lessons involved a life-sized Goliath that one of our members had made, whom the kids attacked with water balloons. If the members in your congregation are willing, it’s fine to have both a Backyard Bible School and a traditional VBS. These programs are different enough that there wouldn’t necessarily be overlap. If the Backyard Bible School started first, then perhaps some of the children attending might be interested in coming to the church building for VBS. If you host a VBS at your building, be thinking about ways to create connection and community among the parents that attend. In many communities, especially post-COVID, the sense of community has lessened while the need and desire for community has grown. Perhaps a cookout or fellowship time could be added so visiting families can get to know others in the congregation a bit better.
The end of the summer provides opportunities to help families prepare for school. School supply drives can meet the needs of families trying to figure out how to get everything required for their children to start school. Be sure to talk with people working within the local school systems to find out what is being provided already. However, even if the school has supplies for them to use there, they may need items at home in order to complete their homework.
Other ideas which could be helpful for families are events that give ideas and information to help them start the year off right. Consider inviting a nutritionist or home economist to talk about packing healthy lunches for kids. The beginning of school also brings stress to parents as they are trying to manage children’s activities, homework, and their own responsibilities. This could be a good time to have a seminar on schedule management and setting priorities. Events that help parents do a better job meeting the needs of parenthood are great bridge events that can attract people from the community and introduce them to a Christian worldview and the congregation.
Another topic that is always valued is technology. Parents struggle with how soon to give their kids smartphones, how to monitor their use, how to regulate social media, and other general concerns about gaming and streaming content. Having a panel of experts to help parents think through this is a topic that will always have an appeal.
At the other end of the age spectrum are older people in our communities. Giving them advice on how to use technology and social media is something that will inform and protect them. The older generation also could use programs that would help them know how to watch out for scams and people who might want to take advantage of them through digital technology. Any topic dealing with technology or the older generation could be advertised widely in our community and would certainly draw members. Topics like this represent a common concern that is felt intensely and would naturally create discussion among members and guests.
Although these are only a few ideas, the possibilities are unlimited. As you are thinking and praying about what you might want to plan, listen to the needs of the community, then brainstorm about how you might be able to meet those needs. Make a short list of the top three to five needs, then choose the one that would have the most interest and would be the easiest to start. Using bridge events is a great way for the church to live out its mission and show love and concern to those around it.
