Are you ever surprised when someone says, “Wow! Christmas just snuck right up on me!” or “I can’t believe I forgot your birthday. I meant to send you a card.”? Neither of these dates comes as a surprise as Christmas is always celebrated on December 25th, and a person’s birthday is also an annual event. The problem is the lack of planning for them. Why you should plan your church events a year ahead is probably one of the most significant things you can do to benefit your church body and community.
Approach
When it comes to church planning a year ahead, working through it chronologically makes a lot of good sense, but what if you took a different approach? I don’t know about you, but I’m a write-it-all-down-first type of girl, then I build around what I know. Church calendar planning can be done similarly, even if it’s out of order. It’s very refreshing to think about a calendar with absolutely nothing on it begging to be filled in with all kinds of purpose-filled community life-building and activity!
- To properly plan church events, you have to start with the non-negotiable dates in the church’s life such as the holidays, especially Lent and Advent.
- The next tactic is to review the local county school calendar for the best insight on when to plan events such as Vacation Bible School and mission trips. This side-by-side comparison will eliminate headaches for both the church administration staff and families who want to participate in more church activities and outreach events.
- Review events and important dates from the previous year(s) to determine if they should still be included.
Clarity
Planning also gives your church more clarity. How? Glad you asked. Viewing your calendar at the yearly level is a useful way to gauge what’s going on in your church body as a whole. Some of the benefits of church event planning a year ahead of time, beside the obvious of being more organized, include:
- Tracking progress
- Showing care for congregants
- Managing ministry priorities
- Setting goals for micro and macro levels
- Discovering holes for future opportunities
- Achieving your purpose
The goal of planning church events is to give people an extra opportunity to invite their friends to something of meaning. Rather than adding an event to the calendar simply to “fill the spot,” make sure that it’s something worthwhile planning. No one wants more to do. It’s not about making things “attractional” as much as it is about fostering real relationships. The impact is what you’re striving for, after all. Some of the fastest-growing churches in the Bible were those that were committed to serving their community well. When it comes to how to plan a church event, knowing your community, its interests, and the people who live in it should help shape the outreach of our church. Knowing helps you craft strategies to engage with more individuals and families like those already attending your church.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
FOR BETTER MINISTRY RESULTS
Your neighborhood needs you.
We have created a resource to help your church and its leaders. This guide will help you develop strategies for better understanding of your surrounding community. So you can reach them more effectively to experience health and growth.
Lauren is a Territory Account Manager for ACS Technologies. She’s been with ACST since 2019, working with churches of all sizes and, most recently, large churches (1200+ AWA). As the Children’s Director and Worship Leader for her church, she knows the everyday struggles of church staff. Lauren’s goal is to partner with as many churches across the country to help them move forward doing ministry.
