Big outreach events are fun & can be fruitful, but can also leave people & the church budget exhausted. Our church examined the fruitfulness of outreach & saw that more people had connected to Christ & our church through relationships & neighborhood events (block parties, small groups, neighborhood BBQ’s, etc.), than our big, expensive Spring Easter Egg Hunt. Doesn’t mean we should never do it again. Even if it seems unfruitful, seeds were sown & relationships cultivated. You never fail when you reach out in the name of Christ. But we wondered if we could put our money into Spring Outreach that had proven the most fruitful in our context & could give incentive for us evangelicals to actually get to know our neighbors. So our teams came up with the Neighborhood Outreach Basket. This Spring they provided two: Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt basket & the Neighborhood BBQ basket. Basically, a starter kit for a party!

And maybe your church can do both! Whatever it is, do something to gather people & cultivate relationships toward the Gospel.

For more info on throwing a block party check out my post Why Block Parties? And check out the Bridge Church Block Party Manual. For more info on Creative Outreach Check out my post Proven Ways to Plant Seeds & Cultivate Relationships.

Update: Here’s a couple of pics from a recent Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt in St. Tammany Parish.