How-To Guides
These how-to guides offer hands-on strategies for various hope-sharing activities and events, ideal for printing and using with your church’s Hope25 working group or parish council. They can serve as practical resources and might also inspire unique, context-specific ideas tailored to your community’s outreach efforts.
If you have feedback or can write a how-to guide on a new activity, please email the Hope25 office: info@hope25.com.au
For the bigger picture process of preparing for Hope25 – see the Hope25 Step By Step guide.
How to run an open day
An Open Day can be a great way to demystify the church building and help people feel comfortable and welcomed. Many people in Australian society may not have been inside a church building for a long time, perhaps ever! This can mean that they feel unsure if they are welcome or if they need to do something to enter. An Open Day can help remove barriers to entering the church and build relationships with people so that they see that they are welcome.
How to run a wine and cheese night
A Wine and Cheese Night can help you bring together people to talk, share, and have a great night while also hearing about Jesus and the ministry of your church.
How to run a faith formation video course
Video-based courses that gently help introduce people to Jesus and or to renew their Christian faith have been well-established for the last twenty years. The quality of the production and theological content continues to improve. Multiple courses are available to satisfy diverse parish contexts. Examples include: Alpha, Pilgrim Course and Hope Explored.
How to host a festival
A festival is a fun way for a church to share the Gospel with our community. Festivals can be popular community events and ways for a parish or community to make a cultural connection with the community and share the story of Jesus. Hosting a festival can help people who might not come to a church service or evangelistic course to make a connection with the church. Hosting a festival as an intentional, community-building, evangelistic event can serve the local community while building relationships and showing people that Christians and non-Christians can share common interests.
*Note that a festival can be a significant undertaking. You will need a few months of lead time (suggested 5-9 months) to ensure you meet all of the requirements from your local council and the Diocese. With less lead time, you may also struggle to get any community organisations or businesses involved as it may seem to them that this is a last-minute idea rather than a carefully considered plan for event partnership.
How to host an op shop ball
Op Shops are a way for members of the broader community to interact with our parishes. However, many people do not realise that the parish and op shop are connected. An Op Shop Ball is an event to celebrate the ministry of the Op Shop and help people see the Hope that we have in Jesus as embodied in the work of the Op Shop.
How to host an op shop fashion show
Many churches around Australia have an op shop. Op shops provide a place for community members to give goods for reuse by others and a place to purchase clothes and other items. They are an important ministry of our churches and require a team of volunteers to run effectively. The purpose of this event is to bring together the church, op shop, and local community to celebrate the work of the op shop and learn about the hope that it brings and the hope that we have in Jesus. It can encourage the parish community to “own” the work of the op shop and build relationships between the op shop team, those who use the op shop, the parish, and the community. It can also be a lot of fun!