Parks

Doggie Treats
People often love their pets like family members. Either make from scratch a great doggie treat or buy them from a gourmet pet shop. Wrap several with a ribbon and a connection card and give them out at parks or dog runs.

Pet Festivals
This one takes a fair bit of organizing, but you will gather hundreds of people. Seek out pet food sponsors and local vets to do advertising along with your free event. Advertise through press releases, TV connections, radio announcements and you will have a large audience. Give out LOTS of connections cards. Consider taking photos of people with their pets if you want to go first class.

Hot Dog Grilling
Like 'em or not, grilled hot dogs bring everyone nearby together. Even with providing the dogs, buns and condiments, this is an affordable outreach. We put up a banner that reads, "It's Party Time!" Provide music and you've got a party that will draw strangers like a magnet.

Helium Balloons for Kids
Balloons are festive. Kids are attracted to them from hundreds of yards away. We give them to the children while we talk to the parents and offer them an explanation with a connection card.

Polaroid Family Photos
A couple will hold on to a decent photo of themselves for years. If you want to get fancy, have a photo frame that is tailor made for the instant photo-sized picture. Attach a sticker of your church’s logo and phone number.

Picnic
Similar to the hot dog outreach but with more frills. Throw a picnic with all the trimmings for anyone in the park that happens along. Instead of a traditional church picnic where only church attendees are invited, we bring food for outsiders.

Ice Cream Coupons
Approach a local ice cream store and explain your desire to give away thousands of ice cream coupons. Chances are the owner/manager will be willing to give you a good deal on ice cream coupons. Attach a connection card to the coupon and you'll have a project that just about everyone in town will respond to.

Gatorade at Biking Trails
Some health conscious folks like runners, bikers and generally healthy people, don't drink soda. Offer them Gatorade or bottled water instead.

Pictionary in the Park
This was a popular game in the late 1980’s – similar to Charades but allows for the use of a white board to draw hints. We play this in parks, and complete strangers join us. When they correctly guess the answer, we allow them to take the next round. After 15-20 minutes, we take a break, serve soft drinks and talk to the crowd one-to-one.

Flower Seed Packets
Give out flower seeds to celebrate Spring. Some companies offer the option of having your church name printed on the outside of the packet.

Face Painting
Children love to have pictures painted on their cheeks or foreheads. Even an amateur artist can make a child’s day by painting a face. Purchase paints designed for face painting – tempera paints can leave a rash. Note: We recommend you don't paint the child unless the parent is nearby and gives permission.

Doggie Dirt Cleanup
It's an unsavory job, but someone has to do it. Jesus said, "If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, be the servant of all."

Does that include all breeds? Actually, it's not that tough with the right equipment. (You can find scooper equipment at a local pet store.) Give a connection card to pet owners and park officials in the area.

Doggie Wash
Go through the park looking for dogs and their owners. Use the recommended dog shampoo sold in pet stores. This is best done around your neighborhood. The best workers and organizers of a dog wash are kids. Two ten year old boys recently touched their entire neighborhood by blanketing all the houses with a homemade flyer explaining their project. They later reported washing sixteen dogs and one reluctant cat. They also provided a flea collar to each clean pet.

Golf Balls
Imprinted balls are surprisingly affordable. The average golfer loses three or four balls per outing. If it's lost on the course, another golfer will pick it up later with your logo and phone number on it.

Golf Tees
Imprinted tees cost just a couple of cents per tee. Golfers can never get enough of these. Some golf courses will give them away for you at their counter.

Golf Ball Cleaning
Most golfers carry dozens of balls in their bag. Sure there are golf ball cleaning machines spread throughout the course, but most don't take the time to clean them. With the permission of the course, set up a simple clean up station and clean golf balls before golfers begin their round.

Pump-up Spray Water Bottles
On a hot day at an amusement or theme park, there's nothing as refreshing as a quick blast of cool mist. Use with caution–some people don't enjoy being sprayed! The person who came up with this idea tried it at Walt Disney World in 103°F weather with his family and had great feedback.

Lamb's Lunch
Throw a sit-down lunch party for residents at a low-income housing development. (See the appendix to Steve Sjogren's book Servant Warfare for more information on this outreach.)

Matthew's Party
Out of his joy in finding Jesus, Matthew threw a party for his friends after his conversion. This is similar to a Lamb's Lunch but with games and activities added. This is a great activity for newcomers to learn outreach who are fearful of being asked to do something in which they aren't skilled. (See the appendix to Steve Sjogren's book Servant Warfare for more information on this outreach.)

Clowns
Bring a team of clowns to hand out candy or balloons. This adds fun and excitement to the atmosphere of sharing God's love.

Bottled Water Giveaway
Many people prefer water to soft drinks. Ice down bottles of water in Igloo coolers for an alternative to soft drink giveaways. Use the same drink connection cards.

Lollipops / Blowpops
Great giveaway items for parks. Purchase at Sam's for around 6¢. Inexpensive but effective.