Tis the season for fall decorations, pumpkin spice, costumes, and Trunk-or-Treats. Soon, church parking lots and social halls will be transformed into a safe space for costumed children and their parents. While Trunk-or-Treats are fun, they are an excellent opportunity to meet your neighbors and develop relationships. Yet, it requires intentionality to ensure that a Trunk-or-Treat is fun and relationship-building. Here are five tips for your Trunk-or-Treat.
Be Warm and Friendly
Every demographic report I read indicates what people in a certain area around the church are looking for in a religious community. The number one thing is warm and friendly encounters. Your neighbors expect to be greeted well and welcomed. If not, they will move on. In addition, almost every church member I talk to tells me they started attending because they felt welcome. Sunday morning worship is no longer THE front door to a church. Instead, there are multiple front doors, and your Trunk-or-Treat might be the front door for a new family.
It will be important to train your volunteers to be warm and friendly in greeting families, handing out candy, or giving directions. You may want to consider creating a bookmark-sized “cheat sheet” of what it means to be warm and friendly at your church, reflecting on your vision or core values. Be sure volunteers are trained beyond the words “Be nice.” Encourage them to talk to people, introduce themselves to your guests, and be genuinely interested in your guests. It is helpful to remember that you are building relationships with families that may become part of your church family.
Get Their Names
We often think about tracking first-time guests on Sunday mornings when they attend worship. At the same time, you should take advantage of the opportunity to track first-time guests to community events like a Trunk-or-Treat. There are a few ways to do this.
- Set up a Welcome Center (this could be a table at the entrance) where volunteers greet families, hand out a treat bag from the church, and invite them to sign in.
- Sign-in sheets can be as simple as a printed-out form or table on a clipboard. Ask for the parents’ names, email addresses, children’s names and ages, and permission to use photos on the website or in emails. Parents will fill out what they are comfortable sharing. Only ask permission to use pictures if you are taking photos during the event, and be sure to follow through on their requests.
- The tech-savvy could create a QR code visible at the entrance, inviting parents to check in. The information asked for could be the same as above.
- If you did Trunk-or-Treat during COVID, you already have a base for sign-ins due to contact tracing. Use the process you used before, or take it to the next level.
Once you have their names, follow up with them a day or two after the event. This can be a simple email saying, “It was so great having you join us at our Trunk-or-Treat! I hope you will join us for our next family event [Name Event here]. If you have any questions about [Church Name], let me know.”
Be Invitational
Being invitational can be as simple as your warm and friendly volunteers inviting families to church on Sunday. But remember that Sunday morning worship is no longer the only front door to a church. What else can you invite families to? Is there a mom’s group? A family-oriented activity like Messy Church? Is there another family-friendly event coming up? It’s okay if the next family-friendly event is a Christmas Eve service. Be sure to have hand deliverables that volunteers hand to parents, inviting them to the event. It can be a postcard, a business card, or a magnet. Be careful not to make it a full-size piece of paper. We, parents, get many of those and often don’t look at them. You can extend this invitation at the welcome table, or, as families leave, thank them for coming and invite them again.
Be Experience-Oriented
Chaos is bound to happen when children are involved. Yet, chaos is not the norm. Create an environment where warm and friendly volunteers and a safe environment greet families. As a parent, I’m likely not to return if the event is too chaotic. This implies that the event is organized beyond, “Y’all bring your trunks and some candy.” It means being thoughtful about traffic flow, labeling homemade treats with ingredients for those with food allergies, being kid-friendly in decorating the trunks (nothing too scary), and keeping the event what Kay Kotan calls a “P-Free Zone.” This means the event is free from preaching, pressure, prayers, and pocketbooks. In other words, you don’t sneak in a sermon, pressure anyone to become a church member or ask for money. These are typical things that keep the unchurched away. Instead, be sure this event is a positive experience that warrants a return visit.
Be About Jesus
Trunk-or-Treats can be fun, but make sure Jesus is the reason. You are providing a safe, hospitable space for families to have a positive experience, and yes, they will experience the love of Christ through your actions. But be sure everyone involved knows that Jesus is the reason.
Jason Stanley is passionate about equipping and empowering local churches to make disciples of Jesus Christ. His coaching, consulting, and facilitation often include building healthier systems and connecting to those outside the church walls.