No More Outreach Events
Tim Schmoyer has abandoned youth group outreach events. He lists some good reasons, too. Is it not better to equip students to evangelize one-on-one? When is the last time you saw an outreach event reach a significant number of unchurched teens? Is it different for every church/community.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
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yeah great point. i gave up outreach events 5 years ago.
the amount of energy to attract a few non-believers was not worth it.
grace and peace.
Thanks for the reply. Have you found a better strategy? What do you do for outreach now?
I’d be interested to hear any “other ideas” you get, Nate. I’m down for not doing events - like most bi-vocational leaders probably - but what else? Sometimes I feel like I can teach and equip for personal evangelism until the cows come home, and students just don’t do it.
im curious what you guys would see as the goal for outreach events?
to me i think they are REALLY important at building a strong community for our kids. maybe not that the “unchurched” become christians, but that they feel a part of the group and connected.
and also i think they are really important for the volunteer staff to have the time to build relationships.
id love to hear your guys thoughts
Hi again Geoff. The two things you mentioned are very important–building a strong community among your students and your volunteers. But if that is the purpose behind outreach events, then they aren’t really outreach events anymore are they?
The outreach events that I think are worth abandoning are those that take a lot of time and money but have little “outreach” impact–they just turn into entertainment events for regular students.
Plus, when you place too heavy of an emphasis on outreach events, without realizing it you can encourage a mindset among your students that says “if I want to share Christ with my friends, I need to bring them to an outreach event”–which is quite contrary to what we should be teaching them–to share Christ openly and concisely with every opportunity.