Park Outreach Guidelines
Guidelines for the Park,
Festival,
or Market Outreach
We always say we either want to create a crowd to share with or join a crowd that’s already happening. This event takes you where the people are and joins their fun. Find a park or pool area and serve and share. This event works well at a poolside or street party or at market day or Small Festival.
Six weeks out, decide where you want to hold the outreach and what you want to do to serve others unconditionally. One way to discover opportunities is to check out city events calendars (websites are an amazing thing, and you can usually find out what events are planned in your area.) You can also visit the local city government office or ask at the local coffee bar. Pray for wisdom and the right place and project.
Four weeks out, now that you have brainstormed on what you would like to do, settle on doing one or two things well. Give away popcorn and drinks; dish out gelato and bring a DJ for a karaoke contest (have a good prize, like a dinner for two gift card.) Cook up some local inexpensive cuisine and make sure you have cold waters on hand. Rent a cotton candy machine with plenty of wet-wipes on hand. Think through what you want to do and what it would take to make it excellent. Ask for help from people at church. Begin recruit servants. You’ll need 8 to 18 depending on the project. Multiply your servants by the number of shifts of two or three hours if you serve all day.
Three weeks out, reserve machines, supplies, tents, tables, chairs, helium tanks if you giveaway balloons. Make sure you have the outreach event on the Calendar at the church. Finalize servant team and meet in between services one Sunday or at Small Group Bible Study and pray for the outreach event. Decide who will pick up, set up, shop, serve and tear down for the event. Delegate what you need to delegate.
One week out, check the weather forecast and plan a rain day for the event as a back-up plan if you need to. Gather all the supplies, buy all your drinks, popcorn, and last minute list items, make sure the site is planned well and the team knows when and where to meet. Don’t forget to take plenty of come and see church invitation cards, tracts, and a Bible portions and New Testaments.
Should I ask permission, or just show up: This is a good time to address this question. The rule of thumb is: if other vendors have to ask permission or pay, you should ask. But if not, its really better not to open that discussion. Keep a good relationship with the local government offices and ask if you need to. The larger the event, the more likely you’ll need to ask permission. And if other vendors are paying for space to be there, you will need to not only get permission but pay for the space to set up and serve. If it is a public place (not owned by a private person or company) and what you do won’t distract from the event itself, just go for it. The worst thing to happen? They might ask you to leave, and you can leave gracefully with an apology if the person has the authority to ask you to leave (if not, you may want to ask why and stall while you complete the servant project.)
At the event. Make sure you are set up plenty of time ahead. Popcorn takes about a half hour to pop enough to stay ahead of the crowd. Pray before the time to start and get outside the “enclosure” and meet people early on. That will warm the crowd up to you.
What to Expect/What to Say: You usually have to get the “party going” by inviting people to come over for free popcorn and drinks. Announce who you are and what you are giving away, and just boldly give it away. You may need to walk around and give things away first, then point people to the servant location. When the question “why are you doing this” comes up – try something like: “We’re from a local church and just want to show God’s love in a fun and practical way,” or “We’re from (fill in the blank) and we wanted to help bring a smile to your face today.” If they are open to know more, give a “come and see.” People will look for “the catch.” Give them an opportunity to be curious before you begin handing out materials about church. Let them come up with the questions before you begin answering them. And let the fact that you are having fun be contagious! So have fun!
If you would like a printable copy, click on this link for an A4 Word Document. If you need evaluation, invitation card or other information, leave me a comment and I will email you additional resources.
All For Him,
Rick