eQuipping

Things to Do with Your Ministry Partners


[UPDATED: July 6, 2023]

Have you discovered fun and/or meaningful things to do with your ministry partners?

I wrote Appreciation Gifts for Ministry Partners and then wrote part two about what you could do with your ministry partners. Don’t worry; most of these ideas are affordable. By the way, if your friends “pick up the tab” for an expensive outing, be sure to pay for your meal together or give them a thank-you gift (see part one of this series).

Invite your ministry partners to visit you at your place of ministry. For a very positive Cru experience, encourage them to go to the JESUS Film Tour in Orlando if you know they’ll be in the area (whether or not you live in Orlando). If you live in Orlando, join them, of course.

Nothing wrong with eating out, but for a change of pace, share with them the fun things you like to do and be willing to enjoy their interests and hobbies. I’m confident my ideas will help spark some creative ways to have fun, get to know each other and express your appreciation for their role in your ministry.

You’ll even discover things to do with a family who “has everything” or doesn’t want a gift. Don’t panic when you learn they will be in town (or you’ll be visiting them).  If you’re at a loss for what to do together, I hope you’ll bookmark this post and return to it when you need ideas. (See NOTES for another excellent resource for ideas.)

Things to Do with Your Ministry Partners

Because we live in Orlando, there’s plenty to do here, so I’ll include some specific tips for our headquarters staff in the second half of this post. If you don’t live in Orlando, you might still read through those ideas because some of them will work for other parts of the country, too.

MAF plane at Sun n Fun 2015

In the photo, I’m standing next to an MAF plane at the annual Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in and Expo in Lakeland, Florida. (JAARS shared a joint display area with MAF.) Our ministry partners are pilots in Alaska and treated us to this Expo. We had a fun day looking at planes, learning about their life in Alaska, and watching the air show.  We paid for our dinner afterward.

The Sun ‘n Fun Expo also has early morning hot air balloon launches on the schedule.

Every May, the same field in Lakeland hosts the Up, Up, and Away hot air balloon festival. You’ll need to check closer to the date for details.

You may have air shows in your area, too.

Do Something Together with Your Ministry Partners

Do some Google searches for what is coming up and plan a trip around that, if possible.

  • Look for historic places and re-enactments.
  • Many cities have miniature golf. Several cities have The Putting Edge (glow-in-the-dark putt-putt).
  • Escape Rooms are a fun group thing to do and can be found in many cities.
  • Gourmet food stores have, tasting parties, cooking classes, and events.
  • Arrange for a Painting with a Twist art session.

Some things we’ve done with our ministry friends:

  • went to a pro sports event
  • spent a weekend at the beach
  • had a group game night
  • spent an afternoon together at a National Park
  • went golfing
  • did several Disney-related things (see Orlando section below)
  • went to an attraction or event
  • spent a morning birdwatching
  • enjoyed an air show together
  • toured Savannah, Georgia, for the weekend
  • went to a concert or a movie
  • enjoyed a local artisans’ mall and witnessed to some shopkeepers
  • strolled through formal gardens and museums
  • shared the Kitchen Sink Sundae at the Beaches & Cream Soda Shop

Take Your Ministry Partners Somewhere

Many places have affordable annual passes, so when you have visitors come to town, they might join you. We’ve done this with Kennedy Space Center. When the kids were younger (and I was homeschooling them), we’d buy an annual zoo or an annual science center family pass which are suitable for free admission to hundreds of similar places across the country. These family passes give you more for your money since you might also visit these places with your partners on your trips to other cities or, again, when they visit you.

Many public places offer free admission days. National Parks and State Parks have free admission days. National Public Gardens Day occurs annually on the Friday before Mother’s Day, with free admission to over 500 gardens, arboreteums, and zoos. If you have a Bank of America account, you have free admission per bank card to many museums the first full weekend of every month.

My friends, Leendert de J. and Jing de V. in the Netherlands, recommend going with your partners to a Journey of Generosity (JoG) conference. The annual gathering for 2017 will even be in Orlando, Florida, from April 28th – 30th. This video explains the concept.

Leendert shares, “It’s a great experience to connect in a safe setting with your partner. No extra money requests, but a great opportunity to talk about generosity together and with others. We have done this with couples out of our team of partners and they really enjoyed it as a gift. One now helps me lead JoG small groups in the Netherlands.”

I know some of you have invited ministry partners to join you on campus or go on mission trips with you. We went to hear Dr. Bright speak at an event many years ago with ministry friends.

Orlando Ideas (or Your City, Too)

For the Disney ideas I’m about to suggest, boat rides on the property are free and can be a fun way to get around between resorts. You will probably need a meal reservation at the resort.

If you want to visit a Magic Kingdom resort, enter the parking on the far right, tell the attendant which resort you’re visiting, and they’ll wave you through. You do not need to pay for parking. The monorail will take you to all the resorts in that area. You’ll only need one reservation.

  • Disney-specific
    • Take a family to walk around The Art of Animation resort at Disney (best playground).
    • Go to Disney Springs for a variety of things to do. Check out T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe, even if you don’t eat there. Earl of Sandwich is a popular eatery, so you’ll wait in line. There are giant Lego displays, a miniature train, and a carousel for the kids.
    • Explore one of the Disney resorts together. Sit by the fire at Wilderness Lodge and watch the geyser near the lake go off on the hour.
    • We like to go to The Grand Floridian or the Polynesian, ride the monorail, and watch the electric water parade and the fireworks across the lake from The Magic Kingdom.
    • Go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge early in the morning to see the animals and enjoy the African breakfast buffet at Boma (pricey, but cheaper than dinner).
    • Some resorts have big chocolate easter egg sculptures every spring.
    • All the resorts have large gingerbread houses in December.
    • Walk around the Boardwalk area and rent a surrey bike.
  • There’s plenty to do in DeLand, which has a historic downtown and many eateries. Catch a Stetson baseball game or a concert on their beautiful campus (details here).
  • Gatorland is an affordable half-day park.
  • You might have a favorite thing to do over in the International Drive area.
  • The Gaylord Palms is amazing just to walk around. You’ll have to pay for parking. Do the Mediterranean buffet. Check out their Christmas events.
  • Hang out at Jetty Park for the beach or watch the cruise ships or even a rocket launch.
  • Go on an airboat ride.
  • Old Town Kissimmee has lots to do.
  • See the manatees in the winter at Blue Springs State Park.
  • Take the Winter Park canal boat tour.
  • Also in Winter Park, The Morse Museum of beautiful Tiffany glass has free admission every Friday evening, November through April. Some Fridays have musicians.
  • Walk around Celebration, Florida. Check out some of their events. The Market Street Cafe is an affordable restaurant. The Columbia restaurant is a well-known Florida chain with a Spanish menu. Rent bikes behind the Bohemian Hotel.

Groupon or Living Social discounts are great for your city or the one you visit. You may reimburse them when you have proof that you were using them for a valid reimbursable expense.

In Summary

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the usual going to church or eating together. Whatever activity you choose, will you be able to have natural conversations? Will it be too noisy, or will you be in a situation where you’ll be listening to a tour guide and unable to talk? Breaking the mold of what people are used to doing together might make your time together more memorable for all of you. I hope these have sparked your own ideas to express your appreciation for your team and get to know them better.

Don’t forget to use natural opportunities to share your faith with others when you’re with your ministry partners. They’ll be blessed and, hopefully, encouraged to share their faith as a way of life, too.

Do you have ideas to share?

Pass these ideas along to your friends!

NOTES:

What do you think?

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