When planning church events, it’s important to focus on aligning with your church’s overall goals and mission, rather than chasing after what may be popular or trendy at the moment. While it’s tempting to plan events that seem to be generating a lot of buzz or excitement, these events may not necessarily align with your church’s broader objectives or contribute to the spiritual growth and development of your community.
Instead, take the time to clearly define your church’s mission, values, and long-term goals. Use these as a guiding framework to inform the events you plan, ensuring that each event serves to advance your church’s larger vision and supports the spiritual journey of your attendees.
This may mean saying “no” to certain event ideas that may be popular or appealing in the short term, but do not align with your church’s goals. It may also require you to be creative in finding ways to adapt popular event formats to better fit your church’s unique needs and priorities. By staying true to your church’s mission and goals, you can create events that have a lasting and meaningful impact on your community.
So, what makes a successful event? It’s not showmanship, style, or numbers. Instead, consider that a successful event should meet the following criteria:
- Define Church Event Goals
Every event needs to have a defined purpose tied to our mission. Before diving into the planning process for your church events, it’s crucial to take a step back and define clear, measurable goals. These goals will serve as the foundation for your event planning and help you evaluate the success of your efforts.
Start by considering the broader objectives of your church and how your events can support those aims. Are you looking to foster deeper spiritual connections within your community? Attract and engage new members? Provide opportunities for personal growth and transformation? By aligning your event goals with your church’s overall mission, you can ensure that your efforts are contributing to the greater good.
Once you’ve established your overarching goals, break them down into more specific, measurable objectives. These might include increasing attendance by a certain percentage, facilitating a specific number of new connections or small group signups, or seeing a measurable increase in engagement and participation. By setting these quantifiable targets, you’ll be able to track your progress and make adjustments as needed to achieve your desired outcomes.
- Look To Change Lives
Healthy church events spark stories of transformation – the ultimate measure of impact. When planning church events, it’s important to keep the focus on the ultimate goal: creating experiences that have the power to change lives. While logistical details and event logistics are certainly important, they should never overshadow the deeper purpose of your gatherings.
Instead of getting bogged down in the minutiae of event planning, step back and consider the transformative impact you want your events to have on your attendees. What spiritual truths or lessons do you hope to impart? What meaningful connections do you want to foster? How can your events inspire and empower your community to grow in their faith and live out their beliefs in tangible ways?
By keeping this end goal in mind, you can infuse every aspect of your event planning with intentionality and purpose. From the themes and content you choose to the activities and experiences you curate, everything should work together to create a holistic, impactful event that leaves a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of your attendees. When your events are designed with life-changing transformation in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating truly unforgettable experiences.
- Make Church Events an Easy Invitation
Create church events are so engaging that people naturally invite friends, especially those outside the church. One of the keys to creating successful church events is ensuring that they are easy for attendees to invite their friends, family, and community members to join. By making your events accessible and welcoming to outsiders, you can extend the reach of your church’s message and create opportunities for meaningful connections and spiritual growth.
Start by considering the practical aspects of your events that can make them more inviting. Is the location convenient and easy to find? Are the event details and schedule clearly communicated? Are you providing clear instructions and resources to help attendees extend invitations to their networks?
But it’s not just the logistical elements that matter – the overall atmosphere and vibe of your events should also be conducive to bringing in new faces. Foster a warm, inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and valued, regardless of their background or familiarity with the church. Encourage your community to be hospitable and engaging hosts, helping newcomers feel at ease and connected.
By making your church events easy and appealing to invite others to, you’re not only expanding your reach but also creating opportunities for meaningful relationships and spiritual transformation to take root. As your community members bring their friends and loved ones into the fold, your events can become powerful catalysts for growth, both within your church and the broader community.
- Repeat the Church Events That Work
In the world of church events, it’s tempting to want to try new and innovative ideas with each gathering. While this can certainly be an effective approach, it’s also important to recognize the value in repeating what has worked well in the past – with success being spiritual progression in those who attend.
Carefully analyze the events you’ve hosted previously, taking note of which ones resonated most strongly with your community and achieved your desired goals. These “winning” events can serve as a solid foundation for future planning, allowing you to build upon their success and refine the elements that made them so effective.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to put a fresh spin on these proven event formats. Experiment with new themes, activities, or speakers that can breathe new life into familiar concepts. By striking a balance between tried-and-true elements and innovative additions, you can create events that feel both comfortingly familiar and excitingly novel for your attendees.
Additionally, be mindful of the timing and frequency of your repeated events. While some annual or seasonal gatherings may become cherished traditions, it’s important to avoid the trap of stagnation. Regularly assess the relevance and impact of your recurring events, and be willing to retire or reinvent them if they no longer serve the evolving needs of your community.
- Ditch It If It Doesn’t Disciple
Only repeat events that demonstrably help people take next steps towards Christ. As church event planners, it’s important to constantly evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the events we create. While it can be tempting to hold onto familiar or popular event formats, we must be willing to let go of anything that fails to contribute to the spiritual growth and discipleship of our community.
This means scrutinizing every aspect of our events, from the content and activities to the overall atmosphere and engagement levels. Are attendees leaving these events feeling inspired, transformed, and equipped to live out their faith more boldly? Or do they simply leave feeling entertained or mildly engaged, without any meaningful impact on their spiritual journey?
If an event consistently falls short of its discipleship goals, it may be time to consider retiring it or completely reimagining it. This can be a difficult decision, especially if the event has been a long-standing tradition or a crowd-pleaser. However, the ultimate purpose of our church events should be to deepen the faith of our community and equip them to make a lasting difference in the world.
By being willing to let go of events that fail to achieve this purpose, we make room for new, more impactful experiences that can truly change lives. This may require us to step out of our comfort zones, experiment with new ideas, and challenge our community in fresh ways. But the payoff can be immeasurable, as we witness the transformative power of events that are laser-focused on discipleship and spiritual growth.
With over 25 years of ministry and leadership experience, Anthony Hilder helps people, leaders and churches thrive by aligning culture, strategy, and action, www.anthonyhilder.com.
