Church Events: How to Become a Learning Ministry

Have you ever planned a church event, but the response was disappointing?

I have.

Early in my ministry life I had several events that delivered tough ministry lessons.

Attendance was low.

Excitement was lacking.

And the event didn’t help people, relationally or spiritually.

It was hard picking up the pieces, but the failures helped to solidify a key principle for me.

You must become a learning organization.

Here’s what I mean.

The best way to improve your ministry events and communications is by documenting what worked and what didn’t.

It will save you from repeating errors of the past, and help you improve with each event you have.

This works best in 2 stages: Planning and Follow-up.

It can be as simple as a Google Doc, or as complex as a multi-page spreadsheet with analytics.

The point is to help you formalize your thoughts before getting buried in the details and delivery.

Here are several things you should consider documenting for your next event:

Planning Your Church Event

several months before the event

1. What is the main purpose of this event? connection, outreach, evangelism, training, etc.
2. Who is the target audience? i.e. age, gender, life stage, etc
3. How does it add value to their life, or leave them better off for participating? Whats in it for them?
4. What is the compelling reason they should attend? If they had to chose between events, why should they pick this one?
5. Where does the audience spend time? What communication tools will allow us to reach them?
6. What would make this event be a win?
7. What would make us consider this event a lose?

Follow Up for your Church Event

within 2-3 days of the event while details are still fresh

1. Was the purpose of the event clearly articulated to the audience? What would help clarify this in the future?
2. What type of questions did the audience ask about the event? How could communications be more clear to avoid similar questions in the future?
3. Did attendees leave feeling valued and better off for participating? How could we do this better going forward?
4. What promotions worked best for this event? Why?
5. What promotion worked least for this event? Why?
6. Based on the initial purpose, was this event a win or a loss? What practical steps would help improve this in the future?
7. Are there any additional take-aways that might help going forward?

Start to do this, and you’ll find what I did from these tough ministry lessons…
A learning organization reaches more people.