Hosting a Church Movie Night
A Church movie night or Church Drive-in movie can be one of the best fellowship opportunities for your church. Whether you are showing a secular movie or a religious themed program either event are sure to be a great hit and an entertaining family fun night idea.
Why are Church Movie Nights such a great event?
A Church movie night brings the community together and is a wonderful way for community outreach within your neighborhood. It is a compelling reason to visit a church for those who do not regularly attend.
Many movies have strong messages and tell amazing stories. These stories are a wonderful way to share core values of your faith.
Your church movie night can held at a public park which is a great way to be seen & recognized in the community.
How to Organize a Church Movie Night in 5 Steps
1. Location
Scout a good outdoor location for your event
- Church Parking lot
- Grassy Area
- Local Park (can be great for community outreach)
2. When to Host a Church Family Night Movie Event
Check your church calendar. To increase participation, consider linking events to other items on your calendar like a food drive, holiday or parish festival.
3. Find a Good Outdoor Movie Provider
To take the stress out of planning, find a great outdoor movie provider like FunFlicks® Outdoor Movie Rentals. They will be skilled, be able to provide great recommendations for the movie equipment set-up. Make sure whatever company you choose, they are insured and carry proper and adequate equipment for outdoor presentations.
4. Pick a Movie For Your Church Family Fun Night
Movies can highlight themes within your church, help strengthen family, marriage and community.
Whether you choose a religious themed movie or a popular mainstream blockbuster, make sure it is aimed at the demographic that you are trying to entertain for your church family fun night. This might be the hardest part of planning your outdoor movie night!
5. Promote and Share
- Get the message out and promote you Church Movie Night
- Create Flyers
- Direct Mail
- Canvas your Neighborhood
- Facebook Events
- Church Website
- Church Bulletin
- Create Posters
- In Church Announcements
We already have projectors & sound – Can we can use?
You may have a projector and other AV equipment at your church, however, these are often mounted in your church. Choosing a great outdoor movie company like FunFlicks® makes for a stress free night. You’ll enjoy the film with your audience and you will worry less about getting everything back in order for Sunday services!
Have a Church Drive-In Movie!
Many churches have large parking lots, these make great locations for a church drive-in movie. Church drive-in movie nights are hugely popular and can provide a safe environment. If you are experiencing social distancing restrictions, car based events are often subject to different and more flexible rules.
Church Drive-in movies are fun for the entire family.
Can a Church Show a Movie for Free?
To show a movie outside the home you are required to have proper church movie licensing.
If you are hosting the event on Church property you may want to look into obtaining a site license which allows you to host multiple events throughout the year. CVLI (Church Video License) has both religious and non religious films. The cost is determined by the size of your organization.
Check if your church has a subscription to services like Formed, this would be religious based programing.
If your event is not on church property, you will need to look at traditional non theatrical church movie licensing suppliers like Swank or Criterion.
Top 5 Christian Movies for Your Church Outdoor Movie Night
1. The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Retelling of the book of Exodus is a beautifully executed animated movie which is entertaining to all.
2. Veggie Tales
Relive some of the greatest stories in the bible with the with and clean animated fun of Veggietales. Animation is bright (great when trying to start a movie at sunset). Great first movie for a family centered double feature.
3. God's Not Dead (2014)
A Christian student takes a class from a college philosophy professor and defends God’s existence.
4. Miracles from Heaven (2016)
Based on a true story, a mother searches for hope and a cure when she discovers her daughter has a rare disease.
5. Breakthrough (2019)
Another inspiring true story of faith. A teenager falls through ice and is trapped for 15 minutes. Fighting for his life with doctors fearing the worst family prays for a miracle.
Top 5 Secular Movies with Spiritual Themes for Your Church Outdoor Movie Night
1. The Lion King (1994)
Strong religious themes can be seen in the movie. Most people will thoroughly enjoy this Disney masterpiece and sing along to its amazing soundtrack.
2. The Chronicles of Narnia (2005)
The film adaptation of CS Lewis classic is truly a wonderful movie that will entertain the family.
3. UP (2009)
This Pixar movie will have many in tears after the first 15 minutes. The sanctity of marriage and the importance of love over material things is shown.
4. Star Wars (1978)
Good versus evil, with stories of forgiveness, Star Wars on the Big Screen is something that many may never have seen.
5. Soul Surfer (2011)
Based on the true story of a female surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack, the story will inspire as she shows great faith and courage to get back on her board.
Event Rentals for Your Church Movie Night
FunFlicks® Inflatable Movie Screen Rentals
FunFlicks® inflatable movie screens are professional quality at an affordable price. There's a size for everyone, whether you're throwing a massive film festival with thousands in attendance or a small birthday with family at your house. To make sure everything runs smoothly, a local FunFlicks® event technician will arrive at your location on time, set up the screen, oversee the technology, and pack it all away at the end of the screening. Booming high-definition sound, crystal-clear laser projection, and a larger-than-life display are all included when you book an event with us.
Backyard 16'
12'x7' Display
100 Guests
20 Cars
Premiere 21'
16'x9' Display
250 Guests
50 Cars
Blockbuster 26'
20'x12' Display
500 Guests
75 Cars
Elite 32'
26'x15' Display
750 Guests
100 Cars
Epic 40'
30'x17' Display
1500 Guests
150 Cars
Xtreme 50'
40'x22' Display
3000 Guests
250 Cars
FunFlicks® LED Screen Rentals
FunFlicks LED screens are perfect for day or night display in almost any environment. Utilizing electroluminescent technology, our LED screens generate light effectively at any time of day. Each panel is rated IP65, meaning they are both rain and dustproof. Day or night, rain or shine, you get to decide when the magic happens. All of our mobile LED trailers have onboard generators for portable power. Therefore, no power supply is needed. Similar to our inflatable screens, our fleet of LED screens comes in a variety of dimensions for a variety of crowd sizes. Local event technicians across the country are available to bring our LED trailers anywhere for you to enjoy video games, live sports, movies, advertisements, or almost everything else!
8'x5' LED Trailer
75 Guests
15 Cars
12'x7' LED Trailer
100 Guests
20 Cars
15'x8' LED Trailer
250 Guests
50 Cars
17'x10' LED Trailer
500 Guests
75 Cars
23'x13' LED Trailer
750 Guests
100 Cars
FunFlicks customers get 10% Off Movie Licensing through Movie Night Ministries!
Movie Night Ministries is a family-oriented organization whose ultimate goal is to provide excellent, newly released movies directly to communities throughout the United States.
