Homecoming

by Eddie Pipkin

My wife and I were in Georgia last month and had the joy of attending the annual Homecoming gathering at the little country church where we were married forty years ago. This congregation was founded in the 1860s, and they have a once-a-year tradition of welcoming back those who have passed through their doors, however long ago that may have been. There’s a special speaker and dinner on the grounds. It may seem like a quaint, old-timey custom, but, really, more institutions ought to be embracing it. It’s fun, it’s a great opportunity to reset and reinforce the vision of the organization, and it gives people an excellent chance to reconnect.

The homecoming special event is perhaps considered a rural tradition or a Southern tradition (definitely a Protestant tradition), but there are vestiges of it across cultural institutions and geographic regions – hello, home football season! Football alumni, like church alumni, are given an opportunity to celebrate and honor their connections to a community that was important to them in a former era of their life.

The vibe is joyful, as I noted in the introductory paragraph, and it has the flavor of a family reunion, where you’re bound to reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in ages. People are hungry for that vibe right now in an uncertain and unpredictable world.

It’s fun and uplifting to remember happy and meaningful times. For local churches, it’s an easily designed day of nostalgia. You can keep it as simple as you like, or make it as complicated as you dare. At the little country church we attended, the dinner on the grounds (spread out on a long picnic table like some Norman Rockwell al-fresco buffet), it’s a potluck, so the preparation and clean-up are minimal. The big tradition there is homemade lemonade, mixed up in a giant wooden barrel in the bed of an antique Chevy pickup. It’s a big hit. Your local church will have its own spotlight tradition you can lean into.

The guest speaker always has some historical connection with the congregation, and the choir and some soloists and musicians get to shine up their best efforts. Meanwhile, it’s a good benchmark for spiffing up the building and the grounds. It turns out to be one of the highest attendance days of the year, right up there with Christmas and Easter.

All of these positives would (and do) apply to any local church that decides to embrace a special Homecoming Sunday, whether or not they have a 160-year history. Ten years is probably plenty of time in this era of high mobility and frequent moves as a starting place for such a function. Congregants and staff from former days stop in and catch up. Grown kids come back to the site of some of their happiest memories as children and youth. Smiles all around, and it’s an optimum chance to reinforce the narrative of who this church is and why it and its mission matter.

On that note, such a Homecoming is also a great opportunity to introduce or reinforce a new vision for the future, since any solid future vision will always work from the foundation of what has been best about the past. Sometimes, people who have become disillusioned and disconnected will even be reenergized by this updated vision and use the springboard of the Homecoming to wholeheartedly reconnect.

The hyper-welcome atmosphere produces a great chance to bring along visitors. It’s a natural entry point. It’s also a comfortable occasion for reconnecting for those who have drifted away, not just the passionate former ministry participants mentioned in the previous paragraph, but those who have struggled with their faith or lost track of once important relationships. For those folks who may have felt the urge to come back to church but find the idea of the initial return visit too awkward and uncomfortable, a Homecoming event is an easy, friendly no-questions-asked portal for return.

Keep the focus on the fun and the celebration. Keep it relentlessly positive. Give people a chance to hear and share stories that highlight what has been and currently is great about your community. Include lots of pictures and videos! You can delegate the planning and the festivities to different groups in the church, giving everyone ownership and responsibility.

The Homecoming idea is not limited to the entire church congregation either. It works well for smaller subsets of ministry, like the youth program or the children’s ministry of the music ministry (that one can be a lot of fun, bringing back talent from the past and showcasing them with the best of the talent from today). Anywhere you could use a boost or a burst of creativity, the Homecoming concept can get it kick-started.

Do you and your crew routinely celebrate Homecoming? If so, what form does it take and what tips would you share for those who are not hosting this event? If you’ve thought about something similar but haven’t done it, why not? What’s holding you back? What images dance in your mind when you think about the possibilities of moving forward with this idea?

Go for it! You’ll be glad you did.