There is a corn maze nearby, and our original plan was to go there. We’ve taken students there in the past and they always had fun. But one of our football-loving dads said he would put together a tailgate party for the biggest local football game of the year (we have a nice rivalry going between two local High Schools) so we did that instead. He got all the equipment, bought or had burgers and soda donated (so none of the money for this event came from our youth ministry budget), and even contacted the Knights of Columbus to cook the food. Since he did all the work, I got to spend the entire time hanging out with students and their parents.
There is one key that made September and October’s events a success: The Parents. The parents put everything together, brought their teenager, and their teenager brought their friends. We did some minimal advertising, but I doubt that had as much impact as students inviting students.
Calling parents is always a good idea. Think of any positive reason to call and do it.
