Hosting a kids’ event takes a ton of effort, planning and prayer. By the time the event comes around, I’m ready for it to be over but just running through it without thought won’t yield the results I want. After investing so much, financially and spiritually, I want to get the most from the kids’ event I’m involved with. You can too! Get the most from your precious investment by including these points.
Practice! Practice! Hoping everyone remembers where to go and what to do isn’t a recipe for success. You have to practice to iron out any performance kinks. How will you know that something won’t work without actually trying it? Hold a run through a few days before the actual event so you have time to deal with issues.
Assemble a team you can trust. I don’t care how flamboyant or charismatic a person is, if you can’t depend on them, they don’t bring anything to the table. You can’t build an event around people who rarely come to church, no matter how many talents they have. When given a choice, pick reliability!
Consult creative people. Do tap into the creativity of your church members, even if they cannot actively participate. Explain your ideas or goals and let the creative folks offer suggestions. Pare down your choices and decide on the event details you can accomplish with the team you have.
Include some technology. Advertise your event in some new spaces like on YouTube, Facebook, even Twitter. During your presentation, use video, lighting and other technologies to make a visual impact.
Easy contact collection. It’s one of the reasons why we hold events – to collect information, so let’s do it smart. Make your contact forms small and just ask the necessary info. Visitors shouldn’t feel like they are applying for a credit card when they decide to visit your church. Besides a handy welcome table, have several volunteers on hand with clipboards to take up visitor information. Keep the entrance free of traffic.
Know your follow-up plan. Once the fun is over, it’s time to get practical. I ask a few volunteers to help me call everyone the following day. During the event, I mention the follow up event, usually a special theme kids ‘church or movie night. When people get in the habit of attending your events, you will build your children’s church!
Getting the Most from Your Kids Ministry Event
