BEFORE THE EVENT
It’s helpful to start with a blank canvas and the question: ‘What do we want our event to look like?’ Once you’ve answered tis you can then work backwards from that vision and create step towards achieving it.
Know your target group. Young people will only turn up and invite their friends to an event if it captures their interest. Don’t try to meet every sub-culture’s needs, because you’ll end up falling between all of them.
Involve young people in the planning process. This will really help you ensure you’re creating an event that will interest people. Try and create team roles for different aspects of the event (i.e. publicity, games, refreshments, welcome, set up etc.) and ask young people to volunteer in areas that they feel gifted in. If you’re going to do a series of events, gradually give them more responsibility in their chosen area.
Advertise well: in person, online and via social media (speak to your young people about setting this up if you need to).
Be proactive about telling the wider church, and ask them to pray for you.
Gather a team. Ensure they’re available for set-up, the event itself and set down. Assign important roles such as a first aider.
Create a detailed itinerary with timings, and allocate roles for the event itself.
Do a dress rehearsal of the evening. This will really help avoid any unforeseen hitches and give you a sense of how long things will actually take.
THE EVENT
In a nutshell, the event needs to be something that captures the interest of local young people and communicates an accessible message. It’s also pretty important that the young people don’t leave feeling that the event they expected had a massively ulterior motive. Be transparent. Young people won’t suffer the whole ‘free breakfast if you sit through a 45 minute presentation’ routine. If you’re worried that the event is going to be ‘too holy’ or ‘too fun’ - side with too fun.
Allow plenty of time for setup. You don’t want to be caught on the hop by early birds.
Be aware of your recommended adult to young person ratios and have a few adults on call, should more young people turn up than anticipated.
Gather your team at least an hour before to do a final briefing and to pray.
Be ready to receive and welcome young people 20 minutes prior to the event’s start time.
Be welcoming. Smile, say hello, offer food, and find out the young person’s name if you don’t know it. Treat new people as if they’re guests. Remember: the vehicle for the message needs to be as good as the message itself. It’s no good preaching a gospel of grace if we’re not demonstrating it in the way we interact with the guests.
Orientate. Tell the young people what the evening is going to look like. Be specific in terms of timings, as this will be helpful for young people who like to know these things.
Make sure there is always something to do. A couple of quiz sheets, a pack of cards and a frisbee should do the trick.
Don’t spend too long on one activity. A variety will help you hold attention, even if it’s just a different way of expressing the same point.
Try and incorporate a sense of friendly challenge on at least one of the activities (i.e. a silly game that will be enjoyable for those who aren’t competitive but challenging for those who are).
Here’s the really important bit: when you speak about God, make sure you tell stories, give examples, explain well and avoid jargon. Talk about who he is and what he’s done, rather than who they are and what they’ve done. The aim of an evangelistic event is to tell people the good news about Jesus, not the bad news about them.
Keep the message simple. Try and have a theme or point running all the way through that can act as a resounding ‘take away’ for the young people.
Before the event ends, make sure you invite the young people to a future group or event, so that they’re aware of the fact that they’re always welcome.
Take photos*. When you’re feeding details of the event back to the church/PCC/ elders, one photograph that paints a picture of what went on is often better than any number of words. (*Ensure you have permission before taking photos.)
AFTER THE EVENT
The one thing that is crucial immediately after the event is to gather the team together before set down starts. Once you’ve done this, it’s good to do two things:
1. Get everyone to share one thing that encouraged them.
2. Pray to thank and praise God for the event.
Any criticisms or concerns about the event can wait until at least the following day, save anything that concerns the welfare of young people or team. People are particularly vulnerable to being hurt by being criticised (rightly or wrongly) directly after an event. Finally, don’t forget to report back to the wider church after the event has happened. The key to different ministries within a church working well together is consistent and honest communication.
Stuck for event ideas? Here are a few of Team Youthwork’s evangelistic event suggestions:
Fireworks Night bash: silly games, Guy Fawkes making contest, fireworks.
Outdoor concert or battle of the bands.
Primary school style sports day: egg and spoon, sack race, obstacle course. Who doesn’t love a bit of retro?
Big screen World Cup match and BBQ: lots of fun, particularly if your team’s not playing.
Life-sized board games night: Cranium, Monopoly and Risk all work brilliantly when transposed into life size. Note: often involves high volumes of cardboard and running.
