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Are you looking for ways to help you set up and succeed at your next small church event? Here are 3 tips that will come in handy for success.
These 3 tips are great for women’s or men’s ministry, youth ministry, children’s ministry, special events, outreach, Spanish ministry, and leadership training!
Have you ever been to an event (or run one yourself), and it just didn’t seem to go well? It just didn’t quite flow together. Or was it a total disaster?
Often, the failure of an event was set in motion at the very beginning.
Have you ever done an event for these reasons:
- You feel pressured because there hasn’t been one in a while.
- Because we always do something in August for back-to-school.
- Churches “should” have events.
If those reasons are the starting point, the event might happen, but nobody really knew quite what they were doing, and volunteers are hoping they don’t get asked to do it next year. The only thing that was accomplished was … we got THAT one checked off the list! It was kind of a mess and discombobulated, but it’s done. And everyone is glad it’s over.
At your next ministry event, have a purpose.
- Successful events have a clear purpose.
- In a successful event, your team feels confident in their task.
- Successful events have volunteers that feel valued and are wanting to do it again.
Core Value #1: Know Your Event Purpose
Without a clear purpose, you will lack direction and won’t know if you hit the mark of success.
Every event needs a clear and concise purpose. This purpose should guide you in each aspect of planning. However, suppose the purpose-objective is too general. In that case, you may miss key details in planning, not meet the event’s original intent, and flounder during the whole process from planning to evaluation.
Think about your target audience and the specific need you want to meet. Once you fine-tune your purpose, everything you do should further that very purpose. When you have several things you want to accomplish, it may be time to separate them into different events.
Knowing the purpose helps your team:
- Plan your event
- Keep focused
- Understand the value of your event
- Realize the value of their participation
- Evaluate your event accurately
Define Your Event Purpose
Grab a piece of paper and write out your thoughts about the event you want to have. Write out a few notes on why you are having it, what needs it will meet, and who you want this event to be for. These three thoughts will be the basis for helping you write out the purpose.
Why – What – Who
Once you have these three things written out (the why, what, and who it is for), your purpose should become more precise. You will take those three items and put them into a phrase. For example, let’s suppose a team member suggests you have a backpack giveaway. Your purpose would probably be, “To provide backpacks to students who may not be able to afford one.” As you start developing your purpose, you can tweak it until it’s right. And once you have a purpose statement you like, don’t change it!
Write It Out!
Every event should have a purpose written out. Whether it is a backpack giveaway, Christmas gala, or Bible study, develop your purpose and write it out! Your seemingly straightforward event can quickly morph (with great and super ideas) into something very different from what you envisioned without a written purpose.
When your event morphs into something else, it can frustrate volunteers, confuse your people, and planning can go amuck! Write out your purpose to keep your planning purposeful and on track!
Every aspect of your event should go towards accomplishing your purpose.
As you do this, consider whether you have any part of the event that deviates or does not go towards your purpose. For instance, a live praise team is fantastic, but do you really need them during a community safety event where you have someone checking car seats and bicycles, as well as passing out bike helmets? Possibly you do, but maybe it detracts from your purpose because parents are focusing on the music, and their children are running around without supervision.
Core Value #2: Set Up Volunteers At Your Church For Success
Do you lack volunteers? Do your volunteers seem less than excited? Maybe it’s because you aren’t setting them up for success.
Do your best to set up everyone involved in your event for success. When you do this, it shows you care about your people. Everyone, including leadership, volunteers, and participants in your event, should have what they need to succeed. Planning with this strategy in mind will be an invaluable asset. It’s a mindset to develop but will make a positive difference in everything you do.
Setting people up for success …
- Helps your leadership do a great job
- Energizes volunteers and can instill a desire to go above and beyond at your event, as well as become a regular part of your team
- Gives your participant a great experience –– this can lead to a great word-of-mouth promotion for your ministry
- Adds value to anything you do in the future
How To Set Up Your Team For Success & Manage Your Volunteers Well
Setting up your team for success isn’t complicated. However, it takes a little bit of time and is helpful if you have a few others helping you.
Take time to set up your team for success. This will set you, your team, and your ministry on the right road to a great event!
What Is The Purpose Of Your Event?
First of all, to set up for success, you need a clear and concise purpose for your event. Then, once you have your purpose, talk with your planning partner (or team) about what this event will look like from a participant’s perspective from the beginning to the end.
Think about the different parts of your event:
- How will this happen?
- What parts are there to it?
- How does the event start and end?
- What supplies are needed?
- Who is the point person for each activity?
- Set up & clean up
- Food/snacks, table, trash can
- Decorations
Who Is The Point Person, & What Do They Need To Be Successful?
Once you have a general agenda, the next step is to identify who will be in charge and what supplies they need to do their task well.
If you want people to wear name tags, have …
- Someone at a table drawing people in to get a nametag.
- Name tags and pens or markers to write their names.
- A place for the paper backing of the stickers to go for trash.
By providing all the supplies needed, you have set up your name-tag person for success.
If you have snacks at a painting party, be sure the snack person has (or knows where to get) everything they need to run their station well, from tablecloths & supplies to food & serving utensils. If needed, meet with your volunteers at the beginning of setup and give them a tour of the kitchen. Tell them everything they need to know so they can do a stellar job with snacks for your painting party.
Set Up Your Team & Your Volunteers For Success!
They will need …
- A clear understanding of the event’s purpose
- A leader who helps everyone stay focused on the purpose
- A good understanding of expectations for their part in the event
- Clear, complete, and accurate information for their role in the event
- Tools and supplies to do their job with excellence
- Authority to make some or all decisions within their domain
Finally, it is so essential for your team and your volunteers to know the purpose of the event, how their task is valuable, and how what they do makes a difference and contributes to the event’s success.
Core Value #3: Volunteer Appreciation Goes A Long Way
Valuing volunteers is crucial to your event and your strength as a leader. When a volunteer feels valued –– that they are more than just “a number,” and what they do is important to the success of your event, they are more confident and will often go above and beyond for you and the event.
Volunteer appreciation is more than giving a thank you card.
(Although, that is a good thing to do!!)
Valuing volunteers …
- Starts with setting them up for success
- Continues by checking in with them before, during, and after the event
- Finishes with notes or gifts of appreciation after the event is over
Remember, your volunteers are just that. They are volunteers who …
- aren’t getting paid to help you
- do it voluntarily
- help out of the kindness of their hearts
- don’t have to stay –– they can walk away at any point in time.
It is to your advantage to treat them well.
How To Value Your Volunteers
There are many ways to show value to your volunteers. Of course, people respond differently to accolades and kudos. However, showing appreciation in any way will most likely be appreciated.
- A phone call or email before the event thanking them for helping.
- Depending on the event, free water bottles or snacks during the event for volunteers.
- Touch base during the event; connect with them. Tell them they are doing a great job, you appreciate them, and ask if they need anything.
- Thank you notes after the event
- Small gifts or tokens of appreciation: These gifts don’t have to be expensive and can even be fun, such as a “candlelight dinner” –– give them a frozen pizza and a gift bag with a candle in it. Add a pack of guitar picks to your card for a volunteer that plays guitar. A plate of homemade cookies or a small hand lotion are great gifts.
- Yearly appreciation dinner for volunteers from all your events that year
There are many ways to appreciate your team and your volunteers.
Be intentional.
Be appreciative and let them know it!
You Can Do This In Your Church Ministry
Practice these 3 core values to elevate your events to a higher level!
As you fine-tune your purpose for your events, you will find that you have more significant results in accomplishing your goals. In addition, as you evaluate your events, you will see clearly what worked and what should be changed next time because you evaluate based on whether or not each part worked to fulfill your purpose.
Setting up your team and your volunteers for success can only be a good thing. In doing this, your volunteers will have the confidence and tools to do a great job. Also, it helps establish a level of trust and relationship, setting the foundation for working together in the future.
Finally, as you practice the art of communicating to your volunteers that you value them and that you are thankful for their efforts, you will see something change in your volunteers. They will get a spring in their steps and a smile in their heart. Plus, you will most likely see that they will not only accept your request to help, but they will ask to be a part of what you do at the next event.
3 Tips For Small Church Ministry
- Be intentional & have a purpose!
- Set up your team for success!
- Value your volunteers!
The Bonus: The more you practice as a leader these core values and model them to your teams, in turn, they will begin to catch on to the concepts and follow suit with their own ministry endeavors.
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Great blogpost!!!!