Dec 25, 2020
Guide to Planning End of the Year Events for Churches
One way to enjoy time together is to organize the end of the year events.
As the year winds down, it is essential to start to plan a few events even though there’s still social distancing. You can resort to embedded Livestream for these events. Here is a simple guide to help you plan your end of the year events.
Tips to help you plan the perfect end of the year church event
It is not always easy planning an event, no matter the size. Here are some helpful tips:
Prepare a budget
It is impossible to discuss events without mentioning money. This means that you need to have a budget. When there is no budget, overspending is inevitable. You don’t want to run into debt as you cross into a new year.
Write out a detailed list of all that you need for each event. After this, you can find out their prices so that you will have a grand estimate. Make sure that you leave some room for miscellaneous expenses as well. Now you can encourage digital donation towards the cause since people can scarcely gather together these days.
Start planning early
One mistake that most churches and organizations make is leaving the planning of events until the last minute. When you do this, you end up mixing a lot of things up and getting terrible results.
The whole rush stresses you out and puts you in a terrible frenzy. Don’t forget that the end of the year is laden with many events asides from church events. You’d end up wearing yourself and your team out if you fail to plan. Our advice is this, now is an excellent time to start planning those events.
Choose the right venue
Not every event is best suited for your church hall. You need to match your events with the right venue to pass the message across and set the tone.
When choosing your venue, you must consider so many things. Examples include crowd management, seating arrangement, security, decoration, etc. In these days of social distancing, you also need to check for Wi-Fi coverage to enable the Livestream of events. This will come in handy if you cannot have in-person services or events.
Meet with vendors
Vendors are a vital part of every event. Now that your date is set and you are putting things in order, reach out to your vendors. The easiest way to check for vendors is by working with the list in your budget. This list will give you a picture of what you need and who can supply it.
It is important to meet with them early enough so that there are no disappointments or last-minute surprises. Any of these could jeopardize all the work that you are doing towards preparing for these events.
You can’t afford to not put down your arrangements in black and white and make the discussion official. This makes the vendors know how serious you are. Ensure that you set penalties or fees for defaulting vendors as well.
Spread the info early
You don’t announce an event in church one week to the time and expect a great turn out. Impromptu announcements never get as much turn out as events that are announced early. There are several ways to spread the word about your events. A few includes:
• Social media.
• Church management software such as ChurchPad.
• Emails
Doing this ensures that invitees reserve the time early enough. Encourage your invitees to register for each event early. If the events cost some money, you can add an early-bird incentive. When they register early, you have a picture of how many people you are expecting. This makes it easier to plan the event. Don’t forget to add RSVP contacts to your invites.
Encourage invitees to come with friends
Don’t forget that every event that you organize, end of the year or not is an avenue to grow your congregation. Seize this opportunity as much as you can by encouraging invitees to come with friends and family. What does this mean for the invitees?
Make use of a software
A church administration software like ChurchPad makes a whole lot of difference when planning such events. Wondering how? Here are a few examples.
First, you might miss out on reaching out to some church contacts. With this kind of software, you can contact everyone on your database. Such software makes it easy for you to target smaller communities within the church circle.
This software also come with platforms for mobile giving. It helps you to encourage digital donation and automatic giving from your congregation and even guests. The advantages of using an app at such times are too numerous to count.
Request feedback
You need feedback after each event. You can’t give yourself accurate feedback, so you should get it from your guests. This will help you when planning future events as you’ll know what to improve on.
Conclusion
In wrapping up, don’t be overwhelmed with the process. There are several ways to cut down the load, like delegating responsibilities and using ChMS such as ChurchPad. Did we leave anything out?
