Did you select Outreach as a ministry option for your missions trip with Thirst Missions? Are you in a sudden panic because you
thought you had a bunch of ideas but can’t think of anything now? Don’t worry! We’re here to help. Remember that you can always call your missions consultant with questions and to run through ideas – the more you tell us the better prepared we can be to support you. Remember that all ministries should support the host church as they continue to serve in their communities. There are many unique and fun ways to do that!For those of you that want to plan things out before you call here are some ideas that have worked great in the past:
Love Feast – Bring some extra money with you and go shopping earlier in the week with our staff and prepare a meal alongside our cooks for people in the community. Many of the families in the villages we work with wonder where their next meal will come from. This is a great opportunity to show the love of Christ and the local church be meeting a serious need. Use the meal time to help the members of the church connect with those who have come to the meal so they can continue to follow-up.
Sports Tournaments – This is a great way to draw the youth of the community to the church yard. Soccer is always popular but you can get creative as well! Want to do a big water balloon fight, play volleyball or kickball? Have a couple of your own teams ready and let the host church know they should have a team ready as well. This is a great opportunity to help the host church continue to show that they are more than what happens in the building on a Sunday.
Movie Night – Go to the movie theater is a luxury that most people in the villages will never do. Setting up a movie night at the church will draw a large crowd. We recommend a movie with a Christian message and there are a lot of options available now. Bring a projector and we’ll show the movie on the wall of the church. It’s helpful to stop the movie half way through and allow a couple of your team members to share their testimony and to have the host pastor say a few words. Some teams even choose to purchase popcorn for the event to add a little flair!
Family Night – This could be a game night or a carnival, anything that will provide an opportunity for a family to have fun together. Teams usually set up 6 – 8 stations with games, face paint, crafts, and food. Gather everyone together near the end and allow a couple of your group members to give their testimony and allow the host pastor to say a few words. Make sure you are mingling and getting to know the people in the community.
Youth Night – This can be a typical youth night that you put together to give the youth leader at the host church a night off or it can be a larger event that you do alongside the host church youth group. Just let us know what you would like to do and we’ll put you in contact with the youth leader of the host church so you two can talk about ideas.
Concert/skits/plays/puppets – Is your group musical? Do you have dancers on your team? Does your team like to write or perform skits and plays? This option has a huge draw as it’s not something that happens often in the villages. The host church will get the word out before you arrive. Again, take some time during the concert to share testimonies and let the host pastor say some words.
Vespers – This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the host church and praise the Lord. This would be a great joint ministry, you come prepared with some worship songs and the host church could do the same. A mix of worship songs that encompass both cultures will be rich and beautiful, a true foretaste of the kingdom!
Bonfire – A bonfire isn’t the first thing you think of doing on a hot night in Belize but this can become a great time for fellowship. Prepare songs to sing around the camp fire, take a trip to the store earlier in the week to get s’more stuff, invite the youth of the church to help you build and distribute the s’mores to guests, take some time for testimonies, or anything else you would want to do.
What other ideas do you have? We would love to hear! Leave a comment and spread the word!
–Ashley
thought you had a bunch of ideas but can’t think of anything now? Don’t worry! We’re here to help. Remember that you can always call your missions consultant with questions and to run through ideas – the more you tell us the better prepared we can be to support you. Remember that all ministries should support the host church as they continue to serve in their communities. There are many unique and fun ways to do that!For those of you that want to plan things out before you call here are some ideas that have worked great in the past:
Love Feast – Bring some extra money with you and go shopping earlier in the week with our staff and prepare a meal alongside our cooks for people in the community. Many of the families in the villages we work with wonder where their next meal will come from. This is a great opportunity to show the love of Christ and the local church be meeting a serious need. Use the meal time to help the members of the church connect with those who have come to the meal so they can continue to follow-up.
Sports Tournaments – This is a great way to draw the youth of the community to the church yard. Soccer is always popular but you can get creative as well! Want to do a big water balloon fight, play volleyball or kickball? Have a couple of your own teams ready and let the host church know they should have a team ready as well. This is a great opportunity to help the host church continue to show that they are more than what happens in the building on a Sunday.
Movie Night – Go to the movie theater is a luxury that most people in the villages will never do. Setting up a movie night at the church will draw a large crowd. We recommend a movie with a Christian message and there are a lot of options available now. Bring a projector and we’ll show the movie on the wall of the church. It’s helpful to stop the movie half way through and allow a couple of your team members to share their testimony and to have the host pastor say a few words. Some teams even choose to purchase popcorn for the event to add a little flair!
Family Night – This could be a game night or a carnival, anything that will provide an opportunity for a family to have fun together. Teams usually set up 6 – 8 stations with games, face paint, crafts, and food. Gather everyone together near the end and allow a couple of your group members to give their testimony and allow the host pastor to say a few words. Make sure you are mingling and getting to know the people in the community.
Youth Night – This can be a typical youth night that you put together to give the youth leader at the host church a night off or it can be a larger event that you do alongside the host church youth group. Just let us know what you would like to do and we’ll put you in contact with the youth leader of the host church so you two can talk about ideas.
Concert/skits/plays/puppets – Is your group musical? Do you have dancers on your team? Does your team like to write or perform skits and plays? This option has a huge draw as it’s not something that happens often in the villages. The host church will get the word out before you arrive. Again, take some time during the concert to share testimonies and let the host pastor say some words.
Vespers – This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the host church and praise the Lord. This would be a great joint ministry, you come prepared with some worship songs and the host church could do the same. A mix of worship songs that encompass both cultures will be rich and beautiful, a true foretaste of the kingdom!
Bonfire – A bonfire isn’t the first thing you think of doing on a hot night in Belize but this can become a great time for fellowship. Prepare songs to sing around the camp fire, take a trip to the store earlier in the week to get s’more stuff, invite the youth of the church to help you build and distribute the s’mores to guests, take some time for testimonies, or anything else you would want to do.
What other ideas do you have? We would love to hear! Leave a comment and spread the word!
–Ashley
