Not every church has the ability to run a Vacation Bible School during Summer Break, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other fantastic opportunities for ministry with families in your community. Check-out some of these great ideas from different United churches for inspiration.
During the height of the pandemic many of our churches created take-home Sunday School or VBS care packages for families to explore. St. John’s United Church in Marathon ON called theirs “Camp-in-a-Box”, it included a family devotional, a summer playlist, and suggested activities and supplies to get kids playing outside. Dunsford United ON had “Compassion in a Box” which came in a re-usable “fruits of the spirit” grocery bag. At Grace United, Peterborough, “Take Out Church” pizza boxes were hand delivered to homes.
Common items to include are: · A devotional (check-out products from Illustrated Ministry, Salt Project, and Jesus, Glue & Glitter)
- A notebook
- Colouring books or pages with markers, crayons or coloured pencils
- A craft and necessary supplies (not everyone will have glue or scissors at home)
- Snacks: microwave popcorn, a box of baking mix (cake, cookies, brownies), s’mores kit
- Outdoor activities: bubbles, balls, skipping rope, scavenger hunt list
Even if you don’t have enough resources to run an in-person family ministry event, sending families home with a take-home activity tells them that you’re thinking of them and you want to support their spiritual growth! A letter to parents offering encouragement, or a follow-up pastoral care phone call during the summer could also go a long-way to strengthening your relationship with these community members. Share your favourite ideas from your community of with your Growth Animator (tmullin@united-church.ca), or connect with your regional First-Third Ministry staff for more support (EOORC: dducette@united-church.ca, ECORC: shull@united-church.ca, Nakonha:ka: sbernier@united-church.ca ). Your gifts of growing might be seeds of inspiration for others!