Kidsfest Kids Carnival- what a great outreach idea

If you are looking for ways to reach out into your community and invite kids and families into your church, how about a Kidsfest- kids Carnival.

I had the opportunity to visit Southern Hills Baptist Church in Las Vegas this past Sunday as they announced the Kidsfest they will be hosting in October. Kidsfest is a carnival with bounce houses, carnival games, face painting and other kid friendly activities. This carnival is free and is open for the kids who attend church at Southern Hills as well as anyone else who wants to attend.

Here are a couple things you might think about for planning a Kidsfest of your own.

• Set a date and begin praying and planning. You might want to consider weather, when you are planning this event. If your church is in the south, summer might not be a good time as it might be too hot. If you are up north, winter might not be good because of the cold temps and possible snow. Spring and fall might be best, or consider having it inside your church if your church if you have enough space.
• Put together a team. Make an announcement on a Sunday morning or send an e-blast to your newsletter list of parents (hopefully you already have this list) or make an announcement on your facebook group asking for volunteers.
• Games team
• Bounce house team
• Food team
• Advertising team
• Other
• Ask your games team to each build a carnival game. It's easier for 20 people to each build 1 game than one person to build 20. Here is my Pinterest page with several carnival games that you can use.
• Most bounce house companies will come and set up their inflatables for however long you need....no worries their. Just make a reservation.
• Send postcards to everyone within a geographic area of your church, and give several of these postcards to the kids and families in your church so they can invite other friends and families they know (see the postcard at the top).  You might also want to consider setting up a Facebook page for this event and boost it to a targeted list. (Let me know if you need help with that).
• Find a way to follow up with all who attend so you can let them know all that is available for their kids and families at your church, ie Awana, VBS, Parent Classes, etc. Maybe a drawing for prize if they provide their contact info.
• Have fun! 

This is a great way to reach out into your community. This year Southern Hills is praying that God will send 3,000 kids to their Kidsfest...what a GREAT outreach.