The Pumpkin Patch

After a very hot summer, fall is finally here. With the fall season, comes opportunities to reach families through family events.

Many, if not most churches do a fall festival. This is a great way to get unchurched families on your church property.

Other churches equip their families to be a light and witness in their neighborhood.

Both of these are great ways to connect with families.

This past week, I was in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and had another idea about connecting with families. I took this picture of a pumpkin patch for families. Notice they also had bounce houses as well to add more fun to the experience.

What if? What if your church created a pumpkin patch for families? A pumpkin patch where families could come and have the experience of picking out a pumpkin together. Even better, what if you could offer this as a free event? I believe you would have the potential to have hundreds of contacts with families who would stop by for a pumpkin.

The purpose of the bounce houses? This would engage the children and give you time to talk with the parents as they waited.

How would you get the pumpkins? It might be having a fundraiser? Or budgeting for it in your operating or events budget? Or taking the money you were going to spend on the fall festival and using it toward a pumpkin patch instead?

What if you had staff and volunteers at the pumpkin patch? Ready to make connections and engage the families who stopped by.

What if you had the pumpkin patch on your church property? Would it be a great way to make a first impression on families? Could you invite the people who stop by to your church?

Today's families are looking for experiences to have together. It would about more than just stopping by to grab a pumpkin. It was be an interactive experience that they could use to make a memory together.

Your turn. What do you think about having a pumpkin patch? Has anyone tried this? How did it go? What are some other ideas to reach families this fall? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.