76 Church Event Ideas Your Parishioners Will Love

If you're on the hunt for new church events that spark connection and engage every age group, you've come to the right place! At LPi, we help thousands of parishes across the country with communication tools (like awesome parish bulletins!) to share the Good News, and, in doing this work, we’ve compiled a master list of church event options, just for you.

Whether you’re planning for Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas, or simply looking to strengthen your parish’s year-round fellowship, this post is packed with fresh, doable church event ideas. From church fellowship activities to church activities for kids, you’ll find both tried and true as well as new, creative ways to bring your parish community together. Bonus: we’ve included standout Christmas church events, parish Easter ideas, and even Lent activities for kids that go beyond the usual.

Hoping to raise some money? Many of these events can also be easily turned into fundraisers! Let’s make your next gathering one people will remember.

Seasonal Church Events

The following is our master list of events to follow the liturgical calendar.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter:

• Mardi Gras Party — Traditionally celebrated by using up any treats and sweets in your house that are commonly given up during Lent.
• Ash Wednesday Service — This is a day when many people who are curious about Catholicism come to church. Be mindful to set up a welcome table and include a welcome note in your pews and bulletin.
• Stations of the Cross — Praying the Stations of the Cross brings people closer to Jesus’ passion and helps us journey through Lent.

o  Different ministries can lead the Stations at different times.

o  The youth group can act out the Stations.

o  Consider a “shadow” Stations of the Cross.

• Simple Soup Suppers — Can be hosted by different ministries (don’t forget to forgo meat if you host them on a Friday!).
• Friday Fish Fry Dinners — A popular way to encourage people to fast from meat on Fridays, this can be hosted by different ministries.
• Family Lent Event — Families come to learn about Lent through age-specific crafts, music, and teaching. Distribute family coin or rice boxes to collect change that can be donated on during Holy Week.
• 24 Hour Fasting Retreat — A retreat where everyone fasts for 24 hours (in solidarity with those who are food-insecure) and refocuses on prayer.
• CRS Rice Bowls — Hold an event where families take home CRS Rice Bowls after an explanation about what the bowls are. Can double these up with a soup supper or a fish fry!
• Communal Reconciliation/Penance service — Often held during Lent, these are a great way to encourage many people to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.   
• Seven Churches Visitation on Holy Thursday Night — Organize a group to visit seven different altars of repose at seven different churches while praying and reflecting on the passion of Christ.
• 40 Hours Devotion — The Eucharist is exposed on your altar in a monstrance available for adoration for 40 hours. Can also be observed during Advent.
• Healing Mass — Invite your parish and anyone in need of healing to attend a Healing Mass where the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is administered to those in need.
• Family Easter Egg Hunt — This can be a multi-generational, multi-week event that engages the entire church! Event one: invite parishioners to donate candy to stuff the eggs. Event two: invite the high school youth group to an egg-stuffing party. Event three: invite another parish ministry to help hide the eggs the morning of the egg hunt. Event four: family easter egg hunt!
• Group Rosary — Invite parishioners to pray the Rosary out loud after Mass together.

Advent and Christmas:

• Family Advent Event — Families come to learn about Advent through age-specific crafts, music, and teaching. Go home with Advent wreaths families built together.
• Angel Breakfast — Children and parents eat angel-shaped pancakes and cookies for breakfast, and learn about Gabriel’s visit to Mary while making crafts. Also a great opportunity for a toy drive or giving tree gift drive.
• St. Nicholas Day Celebration — Invite someone to dress up as St. Nicholas and teach families and children about the saint. Have everyone leave their shoes at the door to receive little treats in them, like oranges, nuts, and chocolate candy.
• Christmas Shopping Double Feature Movie — Host a double feature movie night (or day) in your church hall for youth so that parents can get some hours to go Christmas shopping! Serve popcorn and hot chocolate. This can be a fantastic fundraiser!
• Giving Tree — In the weeks leading up to Christmas, invite parishioners to donate gifts for those in need in your community.
• Breakfast with Santa — For families, use this opportunity to teach who Santa Claus is, the history of secular Christmas celebrations, and how it all relates to Jesus. Bonus if people bring presents for the giving tree to donate!
• Las Posadas Candlelight Pilgrimage — Transform your parish hall into a “small Bethlehem” and guide families on a candlelit walking story about the Holy Family’s search for shelter.
• Nativity Play — Children act out the nativity and teach about Advent.

More Church Event Ideas for Year-Round Outreach

But wait, there’s more! We’d be remiss if we forgot all the incredible event opportunities during Ordinary Time. The best time for a parish event is now!

Spring Church Event Ideas:

• Parish Open House — Invite neighbors, newcomers, those who advertise in your bulletin, and your surrounding community to visit your parish and learn about your mission!
• Ministry Fair — Don’t forget to include people from each ministry and encourage them to serve in different ministries. Sign-up forms are a must!
• Health Fair — Bonus if you can include services for seniors!
• Graduation Mass & Celebration — Be sure to celebrate those graduating from many different programs, not just college!
• St. Patrick’s Day Dinner — A great opportunity to build community and raise some money while also learning about Irish heritage.
• Spring Cleaning Service Project — Students need service hours, families need an activity to do, and your parish buildings and grounds need a spring cleaning!
• Parish Mission — Often includes multiple nights of talks, teachings, music, and even small group discussions.
• Adoration & Worship Night — An event with praise and worship music and adoration of the Holy Eucharist.
• May Crowning of Mary — Invite youth and families to participate in the May Crowning with prayers, songs, and crafts to make their own crowns for a Mary statue at home.
• Blessing of the Motorcycles — As the weather warms up and people uncover their motorcycles for the year, make sure to bless them for safety on the roads. This can easily turn into a fun parish family event with a BBQ!
• Care for Creation Cleanup — Highlight and celebrate all the ways your parish is caring for the Earth, teach about Laudato si’, and organize a parish grounds cleanup to prepare for summer. If you serve food, don’t forget to use washable plates, cups, and utensils instead of single-use plastic and paper ones!

Summer Church Event Ideas:

• Church BBQ — Everyone loves a good BBQ! Consider holding a talent show, cook-off, or raffle to make it even more fun.
• Ice Cream Social — Nothing brings families and kids together like an ice-cream social after Mass!
• Family Field Day(s) — After Mass, have a field day with organized games for anyone who wants to play basketball, capture the flag, etc.
• Mass on the Grass — Outdoor Mass on your church grounds or held in a local park.
• Summer Concert Series — Invite musicians from your parish to perform their music or have your parish choir sing!
• Outdoor Movie Nights — Invite parishioners to bring lawn chairs and blankets to watch a movie together on the lawn. Serve popcorn or ice cream!
• Convalidation Day — For those who married outside the Church, it’s a day to come together as a group and have an official Catholic wedding, all at once.
• Parish Yard Sale — A yard sale of items collected from parishioners is a great way to raise money for your ministries.
• Youth Group “Moving Up” Party — Those moving out of one ministry age group and into the next are welcomed by the new group and celebrated. For example, elementary youth who have aged out and are entering the middle school youth group in the autumn, or recently graduated 8^th graders joining the high school youth ministry.

Autumn Church Event Ideas:

• St. Francis Pet Blessing — In honor of St. Francis and his love for all of God’s creation, invite your members to bring their pets for a special blessing and social.
• Family Trunk-or-Treat — Halloween trick-or-treating but spice it up and make it a contest where families decorate the trunks of their vehicles in the church parking lot. Families go trunk to trunk to get candy, visit, and award prizes for best decorations!
• Vocations Fair — During Vocation Awareness Week, set up a ministry-type fair after each Mass, celebrating vocations with representatives of each available with resources.
• Vocations Meal — Invite parishioners to meet and hear from local seminarians, priests, brothers, or religious sisters.  
• Fall Cleaning Service Project — Don’t save all the cleaning for the spring! Invite parishioners to help get your buildings and grounds ready for winter. Serve hot chocolate and donuts.
• Thanksgiving Food Drive — Partner with local initiatives to donate food for those who are food insecure in your communities.
• World Mission Sunday Fair — Invite missionaries and representatives from missions’ organizations to speak after Mass or during coffee and donuts.
• Month of the Holy Souls Events (November) — There are many ways to remember those who have passed during November, including: 

o  Dedicate daily Masses for the deceased — Encourage parishioners to do this.

o  Memorial Mass — A communal mourning for all those who have died in the past year.

o  Novena for the Holy Souls — Advertise this ahead of time and send out daily emails to remind participants.

o  Dia de Los Muertos Event — Partner with your parish members who celebrate Dia de Los Muertos to host a parish event celebrating those who have passed.

• Grandparents’ Day — This is a great autumn festival idea. Celebrate Grandparents’ Day in September with cider and donuts, crafts, face painting, maybe even an autumn campfire with s’mores. A special invitation to grandparents and grandchildren is a must! 

Winter Church Event Ideas:

• Valentine’s Day Dance — Invite old and young to boogie the night away for Valentine’s!
• Pancake Breakfast — Hold these after early morning Mass to battle the cold, dark winter mornings.
• Craft Fair — A fantastic way to showcase parishioners’ talents and invite the community together.
• International Food Festival — Invite members to register to participate by cooking and sharing their cultural favorites with the whole parish!
• Winter Coat/Clothing Drive — Ask parishioners to donate new or gently used winter clothes for those in need this winter.
• Cake Walk & Bake Sale — A tried and true way to raise money and have some fun!
• “Bundle of Joy” Baby Shower for Unwed Mothers — Encourage your parish to donate newborn and early infant gifts for those in need in your community. Focus on the gift of life and practical support.
• Newcomers’ Gathering — These can be held multiple times a year. Invite new parishioners to come and meet ministry leaders, staff, and your pastor to get integrated and learn about the parish.
• Parish Priest AMA (Ask Me Anything) — A dinner with your pastor where people can write questions on a sheet of paper and he can choose which to answer. Fun and informal!
• Engaged Couples Pizza Party — Gather everyone getting married in the church that year to get to know each other and share their experience of engagement and wedding planning.
• Toddler Adoration — Invite your pastor to lead young families in Eucharistic Adoration. Let the toddlers be toddlers and learn, keep it short, and have snacks afterwards. A great way to check in with young families!
• Parish Winter Talent Show — Approve talents ahead of time and have some fun!

Bonus: Church Event Ideas for Parishes With a School:

Does your parish have a school? If so, don’t forget these events:

• Back-to-School Clothing Swap — parents get together for a back-to-school clothing swap.
• Back to school Mass and Party — Hold a special Mass for school families and staff the weekend before the first day back and throw a special reception for them.
• Parent Ministry Nights — Special talks or group gatherings to minister to parents with school-aged children.
• Alternative Spring Break Service Event — Plan a service project or service trip as an alternative to the usual student spring break shenanigans.  Often targeted toward high school and college students.
• Graduation Mass & Celebration of Accomplishments — Hold a special Mass for those graduating from your parish’s connected school. Highlight the accomplishments of each graduate during Mass or in a poster you hang at church.
• Teacher & Staff Appreciation Dinner — Don’t forget your staff and teachers! Encourage school families and parishioners to host dinner in their honor.
• New Family Welcome Dinner — An opportunity for ministry leaders to welcome new school families to the church community as a whole and get them “plugged in.”
• Catholic Book Read-a-Thon — Just like the read-a-thons of old, but this time, students come to church for an afternoon and read books from the parish library, or Catholic books they’ve brought on their own!