Ministry Monday

Hello friends! How do you like the new look? I am still working to perfect it and add some new things. I need to give a huge thanks to Beginner Beans's post on Blog Design for Beginners. Ya'll really need to check it out! Thank you Trina for your tutorials! They are great!

Today is the start of a new feature on my blog. I’m calling it Ministry Mondays. I plan to talk about general ministry themes, highlight curriculum I have used and would recommend, recap ministry events I have planned, etc.

For my first Ministry Monday I want to talk about planning an event. I have been planning work related events for 4 years now. I plan several events each year ranging from small retreats to a conference that over 2 ½ days and runs approximately 1,500 people.  I hope today to share with you some basic principles to help you plan your ministry event.

Determine the Event. The planning starts when we choose to host an event. So consider, what kind of event are you planning? 

Consider who you want to reach. Who do you want to come to your event? Knowing your target audience is key to many of the choices you will make along the way.

Pin point your goal. What is the overall outcome you desire? Is your event primarily for fun or is it more serious with a deeper focus? Do you want to create close tight knit community or have an open group where new people are welcome? 

Seek Guidance from the Lord. I am just now seeing that I have mostly made event planning about me. In so many ways, it has been my little kingdom. God is calling me out of that and into something entirely different. It requires me to depend on Him when it comes to how an event should go. What scripture should I go to? Who should I ask to help? As I’ve told you recently, He is doing this even in calling me toward planning a specific event. Often we plan an event and then ask God to bless it. How dare we treat ministry this way! Seek God in the beginning and allow Him to direct the planning every step of the way.

Determine your budget. What you can spend determines the choices you make. So make a financial plan and see what you think things will cost.

Search out Ideas. Pinterest  and Etsy is great for this! Remember to keep your budget in mind as you do this. It’s like when I went wedding dress shopping, I didn’t try on anything I could not afford. Don’t fall in love with an idea that you can’t afford to pull off. Friends are another great source. Talk to your friends, and bounce ideas off of them. They may some some great ideas that you have not even considered!

Define the date and time. Many times this comes down to just picking a date and time. But you need to consider when your target audience is available. It wouldn’t help me to plan an event for working women during the work day. They simply won’t come. However, you also will never be able to accommodate everyone. Pick the best date and time you can, but don’t make it rocket science.

Making a list: List making is my love. I seriously love a good detailed list. There are many ways to do this. I encourage you to write down as many details as you can about your event. I prefer to do this on the computer. I brain dump all the details out of my head and onto the computer. Then I sort them accordingly. Depending on the event I may sort by due date (When doing this I always ask myself what is high priority?) or by category (Food, Supplies, Etc). Sometimes the planning happens in stages and you need to accomplish A before you can accomplish B (kind of like a pre-requisite in college) If I am planning a larger event, I also create a timeline for myself. I break all the planning tasks into chunks so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

Create a team & divide duties: I don’t know about you, but I am terrible when it comes to asking for help. However, I have learned in event planning that you cannot do it all.  And if you do try you will likely lose your mind! We all NEED help! So ask your friends, your family, people from your church, coworkers, etc. Then let them help you. Actually give them duties. If someone can’t attend the event, maybe they can still help by baking cookies, or ordering food, or another pre-event task. You will be blessed by the help and they will be blessed to help.

Get the Word Out: Remember how we talked about knowing your target audience? Well, this is a reason why. My promotion must fit my target audience. I still think one of the best ways to invite people is by personal invitation. When someone walks up to me and says “Hey would you like to go to such and such with me?” I am much more likely to go. However we live in 2013 so don’t miss using social media. I must confess, I don’t tweet and I am just starting to use Instagram. So, work social media best you can. Personally, I like to use Facebook Events. Don't forget about that little thing we are all attached to called the cell phone. Red Stamp is a great app to use where you can create an invitation and text message it to you friends.