What is an ‘Open House’ event?
An ‘Open House’ event is simply opening the doors of your church building and inviting the community to come in and nose around. Providing refreshments and activities will also encourage people to stick around and will facilitate conversation.
Purpose
An ‘Open House’ can be effective in…
…demystifying Church for a generation of non-Church goers.
‘Church’ can be a scary and weird place for people to come along to and so opening the building with an informal, fun environment can be valuable. It encourages outsiders to see the inside of the church building and to meet people from the church.
…creating opportunities for the church family to serve together.
Here is an opportunity for young and old from the church to use their various skills and gifts.
…putting the church on the map.
Even if people don’t come, promoting the event will make the community more aware of your presence. (We have a fairly new building, and it has taken a long time to convince people in our community that we are not a Library or a Swimming Pool!)
Preparation
- Pray. Don’t miss the obvious. Gather the church to pray together. Equip the church to pray in their homes. Pray for the weather, the team, for new people, for salvation…
- Gather a team. Ask the church family to save the date and commit to serving in a specific way, e.g., as a welcomer for the first hour, before serving in the kitchen…
- Choose some activities. For an ‘Open House’ event, it would be good to think of all ages and stages that might come through the door.
Here are some ideas:
Bouncy Castle – kids love it. It’s an easy win. But don’t forget to book in advance.
Chairs and tables for guests to enjoy refreshments and watch from around the room.
Craft station – for young and old.
Games stations – these could include a ‘Coconut Shy’ or ‘Beat the Keeper’ football game, etc. Running a game that is easily visible from the street is a great way to engage passersby and draw them in.
History exhibit – set up a display about the history of your Church and life in the community. This is appealing to all generations, especially with the incentive of a quiz (with prize) for kids.
Make church literature easily available – Set up a ‘staffed’ table with information about the church, kids’ groups, small groups, etc.
Invite guests to come along to the next church service
Refreshments – Free drinks (hot and cold) and a variety of homemade cakes (labelled)
- Promote the ‘Open House’ as much as you can.
- Share on social media and ask church family members to interact and share the event online.
- Hand out flyers for the event on the street and by going door-to-door. Encourage church family members to prayerfully invite friends, family, neighbours and colleagues from the local area.
Plan
As a general guideline, running the event during the mid-hours of the day will catch more people.
9-10am: Set up. Ask all helpers to get to church an hour early to pray and then set up. Sending a few people out and about to flyer prior to the event is useful too in spreading the word. It gives people time to do what they need to do before making any plans to come along to the event.
10am-2pm: ‘Open House’ is live. Ensure you have people strategically placed to welcome guests in and to point them toward the various activities available. Also, encourage some church family members to simply come along and enjoy the activities going on. If you are a guest, it is far more appealing to enter a busy room, than to walk into a quiet atmosphere with people staring at you!
2-3pm: Clear up. For clearing up, it is wise to ask a few people specifically to come towards the end of the event to help pack away. This gives fresh energy to the team and allows those who have served for the first part of the day a chance to leave if necessary.
If there are lots of people still around by the end of your advertised time, of course, it’s ok to allow the event to run a bit over the stated time. However, don’t be too slow in ending the event since your team will be tired and there’s still packing up to do. Just note that if guests are enjoying themselves, some won’t leave until you politely ask them to! You can use this as a further opportunity to invite them to church, for example, you could say; “Thanks so much for coming today. Our building is open again tomorrow for church at 10am and this week for… We would love to see you then!”
Post
Look out for guests at your next Sunday Services (especially if you promoted them!) and midweek groups or other special events. To remember their names if possible is a brilliant way to ensure that people feel welcomed and valued.
“Peopling” is key!
Walking inside a church building for the first time is a big step forward for lots of people, but the success of the ‘Open House’ is down to how well you interact with people. Ensuring that guests feel welcome is vital. This makes it far easier to engage with outsiders and provides opportunities to hear their stories… all in the hope that you can effectively connect them with the greatest story of Jesus and his saving work. These conversations might happen straightaway or the ‘Open House’ might provide a platform for opportunities further down the line. But all interaction is important and thinking through equipping the church family to host and engage well is essential!
