Events

If you want expert advice on event planning you should probably go to Jonathan's website http://www.blogger.com/www.thescource4ym.com. On his site you will find a book and a podcast addressing the issue as well as some event ideas.

If you want my two cents, read on. Regardless of the size of your ministry events are a great way to get students to show up. This is true if you have 4 students or 400. Here is a quick list of some things to consider as you plan your event.

• Determine the Purpose - Every event doesn't need to have a theological component. Don't try to spiritualize your middle school trip to the corn maze.
• Pick a Strategic Time - Push to have your event either during your regular youth group time or if you meet on Sunday mornings, immediately following your youth group time. We used to do our events on Friday night in order to get students to show up for something fun. The problem was they already had fun plans for Friday night. Our youth group time is on Sunday nights for the convenience factor. If a student can show up on Sunday for an event, they can certainly show up the following week for group.
• Get Them to Return - Give them a reason to come back after the event. This is not budget dependent! If you have a budget that allows you to give out t-shirts to every student who shows up the following week do it! Showing pictures or a video of the event the following week, that's free!
• Count the Cost - The larger the number of attendees for events, the more planning you need to do. There will come a time when you can't do an event every month of the year. When I first started, we had a fun event for every month: Jan - Ski Trip, Feb - PCTC Conference, Mar - Camp Tockwagh (Service Project), Apr - Movie Night, May - Bowling, Jun - MS Camp Out/HS Graduation Service, Jul - MS Mini Golf/HS CIY Conference, Aug - Movie night, Sep - Amusement Park, Oct - MS Corn Maze and Bonfire/HS Haunted House (the following week we would teach on Demons), Nov - Shady Maple (All You Can Eat Smorgasbord), Dec - Mall Scavenger Hunt and Christmas Party. Currently we do a large scale quarterly event.
• Big Yellow School Bus - Contact a local bus company for transportation. You will be surprised how affordable they are and here are three benefits: you get a professional driver, you can easily accommodate a wide number of attendees (from 1 to 72), you can actually talk to students and not have to drive!
• Cell Phone List - Put parents at ease by giving them several leaders phone numbers.
• Event Release Form - Keep a form on hand for the entire year that works as a waiver and insurance purposes.
• Split the Groups - If you want HS Students to invite their friends, don't have MS students be a part of the event.
• Bring a Friend Incentive - We've done this two ways in the past; first, the kid who brings the most friends gets a prize like an (ipod shuffle) or gets to (shave Sally's head). The second option was "for every two friends you bring you get (a movie ticket) gets a chance to win (four movie tickets). Whoever brings the most friends seems to be going better for us now because we have some powerful bringers. In the past, an incintive for everyone to bring others was better because the same kid was winning every time.
• Hang out before and after - Before and after your event, depending on the time, encourage your leaders to get together with the students. Sleepovers the night before or after the event were huge for the students.

That's all I got for now. If you have any other great tips please leave them as comments. If you have any specific questions email me!

The Big Game…

Summer is here and now the students are hanging out outside again. It wasn’t long ago that our video game room was packed and people were lining up waiting for there turn in Halo. Now basketball, football, and ultimate Frisbee are the in free time activity. I love playing outdoor sports despite the need for 600 mg of Advil the next day.

When it comes to competition, I suppose I’m not a typical athlete. I don’t really care about winning or losing. Don’t get me wrong I love to win… but I don’t get mad and stuff if I don’t. This is not the case with many of the students and even many of our leaders. They have something to prove; we have professional scouts coming to our property on a weekly basis (definite lie there).

Here are a few basic suggestions for your next big game…

Try to provide two of every sport. Have one for the athletes who love the thrill of competition and who want to win badly. Have another court/field for people who want to goof off and learn the game.

Choose the typical last student first. When it is time to choose teams and the students line up have the captains pick the students that look straight down at the ground, the ones who usually get picked last. They love it.

Ensure everyone touches the ball/disc. During our games we typically have an every other possession approach in which we alternating trying to score and trying to involve. We typically say things like “all touch” meaning that before we score everyone has to possess the ball/disc.

Create heroes. There is nothing like watching the most shy and timid student score some points. They might as well have caught the winning touch down at the Super Bowl. Make these moments come true for as many students as possible.

Remember you’re old now. You don’t have to be the best. It’s not worth the pain the next day. Take it easy on yourself.