Cannon Balls and Community

Alden enjoying his time at Water Park Night 2025. All photos by IsaacCropsey.com

 How Water Park Night became a Summer Staple

How do one-time events end up becoming annual Griggs traditions? We ask ourselves that often–as it feels like we’re always stumbling upon new traditions.

Typically, it's because we had an idea that seemed out of reach—but we were willing to try it. Then we did try it, and it went pretty well, so we tried it again. Next thing we know, it’s on our annual calendar. 

That's the story behind Water Park Night which we just held for the 3rd Summer in a row. Julia Henderson, our children's minister, was looking for a summer kick-off event and asked our neighborhood kids what they would want to do. They asked if swimming was an option. So Julia started researching and came up with the idea of renting out the Greenville County water park on the West Side and inviting the whole neighborhood.

We weren't sure exactly how it would go, but we figured we'd give it a shot. It ended up being one of the most fun and missional events we had hosted in a while.

Neighborhood Network kids pose for a photo.

The water park we're talking about is 7th Inning Splash Park. There's a great splash pad, plenty of giant umbrellas, and a slide that basically gives you the sensation of being flushed down a massive drain. It's amazing (and very reasonably priced to rent out for a two-hour time slot).

We have to rent it out to make the outreach happen because we bring a bunch of kids and teenagers on our church vans, and we need to know we leave with the same number of kids we started with. It's hard enough to keep an eye on some of our kiddos on land, let alone in water.

Yet, it ends up being a pretty stress-free event for our leaders—because when you rent out the water park, it comes with about a dozen lifeguards. So our leaders are free to just have fun right alongside the kids. We are grateful for how easy the staff at 7th Inning Splash makes it to bring in a large group.

In fact, the hardest thing about Water Park Night is reminding kids to bring their own money for the concession stand, since entrance is free. The first year, we made the mistake of getting one kid an ice cream cone from concessions. Before we knew it, we had to buy like fifty of them—because once you say yes to one kid, you can't really say no to the next. This year, Julia started bringing extra snacks with her. Great stewardship, Julia.

Neighborhood Network kids in the splash pad.

One thing that surprised us was how many people took us up on our offer to come out for an evening swim. We don't have to advertise Water Park Night very heavily to attract a good-sized crowd from the neighborhood. That’s because it’s more than a free ticket to the water park, it’s a call to community, and a chance to connect with your neighbors and, in our experience, people are craving that kind of opportunity. 

A lot of families join us, a lot of our kids' parents come, and it gives us a great chance to get to know many of our neighbors in Jesus’ name. That was one of the major signs that this would become a yearly thing.

Julia says, "What I loved about Water Park Night was so many families came out together, and it gave us a chance to connect with the parents as well as the kids. And, of course, the kids had a blast—so they asked about it as we approached the next summer."

Like we said, we've now gone three years in a row, and we're one of the first groups the water park calls in the fall to make sure we're booked for the next year. So, we will be back.

What ministry idea do you have that seems kind of tricky? Try it! If it tanks, try something else. 

If it goes well—congratulations. You’ve just uncovered a new tradition.

Cam, a long time Neighborhood Network kid, going down the giant slide.