Are you hosting a church event soon? Looking for planning tips that can help you make your event a success?
If you’re planning an event for your church, then you probably want it to be as enjoyable as possible for those who are going to attend. Planning a successful church event like a Christian Church Virtual Worship is hard work, so you need to make sure that you’re fully prepared for the task.
Fortunately, we’re here to help you out. Here’s everything you need to know about planning and hosting a successful church event.
1. Determine Your Event Goals
The first step to planning a great church event is to ensure you have a vision for what you want to accomplish.
You should know what you want your attendees to get out of it and be sure that the event has a strong focus. Remember that your plan will be different based on whether you’re using the event as a fundraiser or if you’re simply using it to build community and fellowship. This event can be compared to the Norwegian concept dugnad russ, a typical fundraising activity arranged in Norway.
By thinking about what outcomes you’re aiming towards you’ll be able to better craft your event to meet the needs of your attendees and will give your event the best chance of being enjoyable for everyone involved.
Once you’ve determined your event goal, it’s a great idea to create a church event checklist that can help guide you the rest of the way.
2. Fill in the Details of Your Theme
Once you’ve identified the purpose of your event, you should take the time to choose a theme and create an itinerary or list of activities. Plan out your event carefully and ensure that you have a great plan for what will actually happen when attendees are there.
You should also consider getting some nice decorations for your event as well. Aim to create a strong atmosphere for the event that aligns with its purpose and with its overall theme. Look for portable staging for churches that are big enough to hold a band and all of their equipment while leaving room for everyone to move around safely. Even a few well-placed decorations can make your event more memorable and can have a huge effect on the feeling that people get while attending.
3. Encourage Attendees to RSVP
When you’re planning a church event you need to make sure that you have planned for last-minute signups, no-shows, and late arrivals. Your event should be welcoming to anyone who is late, but you should also encourage attendees to commit to coming.
It’s not always easy to get people to attend your event, and if a lot of attendees decide to drop out all at once, it can be frustrating. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure you emphasize the importance of RSVPing to the event. You may even want to offer an incentive to those who commit to the event early on.
Additionally, you’ll also want to make sure you send out reminders about the event on the days leading up to it to ensure that nobody forgets that it will be taking place.
4. Create a Clear Budget
Another thing you’ll need to think about when planning your church event is what your budget will be. Having a clear idea of your budget will help you to develop the rest of your plan and ensure that you’re aligning your efforts accordingly.
In some cases, it’s a good idea to ask for donations or to charge for attendance at the event. A more extravagant event may require extra funds. However, a smaller, simpler event may be able to be held for free with a bit of careful planning if there aren’t too many bells and whistles.
You’ll want to consider your usage of decorations, food, and other event needs carefully and change your plan depending on your budget. You should also budget for a portable toilet rental to ensure the cleanliness of the event and the comfort of the guests.
5. Form a Marketing Plan
When planning a church event, you’ll need to make sure that you market it well. If you’re marketing only to current church members then you may only need to post your event on the church website, in the newsletter, on a bulletin board, and on social media.
If you want to bring people in from outside of the church, on the other hand, then your task may more difficult. In this case, you may want to consider spreading some brochures and flyers around town or even use local print, TV, or radio advertising to get the word out the best that you can.
Whatever you do, make sure you start your marketing tasks well ahead of time to ensure everyone has time to hear about your event and decide to attend.
6. Give Yourself Extra Preparation Time
It’s also important that on the day of your event you plan time in the schedule to do any necessary setup tasks before attendees arrive. For example, if meals or snacks will be a part of your event you’ll want to make sure that you have plenty of time to cook or get the food ready for the people who are coming.
Don’t be afraid to give yourself a significant amount of extra time beyond what you think you’ll need. Expect the unexpected when prepping for your event and ensure that you have all of the time you need in case something changes or goes wrong. You’ll likely thank yourself if the worst happens and prepping tasks go slower than predicted.
7. Ensure Volunteer Duties Are Clear
If you’re hosting an event and you have many volunteers helping out you’ll want to organize job duties clearly and ensure that everyone knows exactly what their tasks and responsibilities will be. It’s wise to let your volunteers know ahead of time what their responsibilities are to ensure that everyone is prepared and completely on board for their roles.
You may also want to create an organizational chart that you can hand out to volunteers. An organizational chart should show clearly what each person’s duties are. It can also show the hierarchy of command for all of the necessary tasks for your event such as food prep, marketing, and decorating.
Making Your Church Event a Success
If you want to host a church event and ensure that attendees get a lot out of it, you need to take the time to plan accordingly. Be sure that you follow the guide above when planning your church event if you want to give it the best chance of success.
Looking for more event planning tips and ideas? Explore our blog now to find many more event planning tips, ideas, and strategies.