It’s VBS season and for many churches, the event is seen as an outreach. We want to get as many kids as possible through the door, show them the way to Jesus, and then hopefully get them to come back on Sunday.

But when you put on outreach events, it’s important to realize that not everyone is seeking Jesus, not everyone is new, and not everyone is a prospect for coming to your church. This isn’t a reason not to do the event, but we need to be aware.

Just as Jesus told in his parable of the Sower and the Seed, not every seed falls on fertile ground.

There are three groups of people who attend your VBS (or any other outreach event for that matter) and each one has different needs, but only one will help you grow your church.

In this post we'll look at each of these groups and which one needs the most focus.

1. Your Church People

When you first announce your VBS or other event, the first group of people to hear about it will be the people who already attend your church. We put a lot of time and energy toward making this announcement. We announce from the stage, put in the bulletin, make a booth, create a social media post and more.

The majority of the people who will hear it will be people who are already bought into your mission and vision. You need these people to lay the foundations for your event.

They’re your volunteers and most engaged participants.

They’ll be the ones to invite their friends to the event and beyond.

They’re the ones who will be with you before, during, and after the event.

I would argue that the size of your event is directly proportional to the size of this audience. If you can’t get them to come, then you either have little support or your overall numbers will be low.

For example, a church of 100 will have an outstanding VBS with 25-50 kids while a church of 1000 will have an outstanding VBS with 250-500 kids.

The church people make a difference and may be your most important attendees, but they shouldn’t be the focus of your efforts during and after your event.

2. Church Hoppers

When I’m talking about VBS, I call them VBS hoppers, but I’ve seen them at all my outreach events. These kids will attend every VBS, Egg Hunt, Trunk or Treat or whatever any church is doing in the tri-county area. Their mom is a logistical genius, mapping out all the things their kids can do over the weekend and the summer.

When this new kid walks through your door, your volunteers will get excited.

It’s a new family!

They love Jesus!

They ask all the right questions!

But then you find out they attend another church down the street.

You may get them to leave their church and join yours, but there are some ethical concerns with that strategy.

I don’t want transfer growth. I want to see new converts.

Hoppers are important because they talk. They’re the experts on all things family events on social media and in their friend circles. They will make or break your event simply by word of mouth.

When I was really trying to grow my VBS in Montgomery, I said my goal was when they talk about all the VBSs in town, mine was the one they had to attend. It’s hard to say if I ever got there, but I do think we were close.

Hoppers make the event bigger, but they're not going to help grow your church down the line.

Which brings me to the third and final group.

3. The Unchurched

These people don’t have a church home and their kids may have never attended a church in their lives. They don’t really know about Jesus or what all this is about. They were invited by one of your church people or heard about it through a church hopper. Maybe they saw one of your social media ads or found you through a Google search. Whatever it was, they're here and we're excited about it.

A lot of times these kids are rough around the edges and might drive your volunteers crazy. However, these are the ones I get excited when they make a decision to follow Christ and overjoyed when they come back on Sunday.

I believe this is the group of people that we should put our focus on. Every outreach should have a mechanism to invite people back to church otherwise you’re just throwing an elaborate party. Think of your event as an onboarding process pointing them to a deeper relationship with Jesus and the church.

I’ve tried a lot of different methods to get them to come back. After parties at the end of VBS or the following Sunday, providing prizes on Sunday, invite cards, emails, phone calls, family services and more.

While most of the advertising and marketing energy leading up to VBS may be spent on your congregation, that energy needs to shift to the unchurched during and after your event.

I wish I could tell you the silver bullet to get these people to come back but now being at church number 4 in as many different communities, I don’t think there is one. I’ve found it’s not only different for each community; it’s different for every family.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. I like what Craig Groeschel says,