Are you planning an event – or thinking about it and whether it’s possible? You’ve got an opportunity to give your group an unforgettable experience that brings people together in a profound way, forging new relationships.
You can give people the gift of rest, fellowship and inspiration. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the potential complexity of an event or know where to start and what you should be putting on. Here are 4 steps to preparing for a conference.
Step 1: Find your event's purpose
In order to know your event's purpose, it will help to find a need that you can 'fix'. For example, the need could be, 'building church unity'.
Putting this need as the focus of your event gives you a clear direction. You can then go on to explore session ideas and themes that are in line with your purpose.
Read more about finding your event's purpose
Step 2: Know your audience
Who will this event be for? Just like knowing your ‘why’, knowing your ‘who’ is vital for making an event that really works.
Maybe you’re catering for a specific group e.g., men in their 20s/30s, or a more diverse audience, like a mixed age and background church congregation. Your audience will have an impact on the size of the event, the theme and more.
Learn more about knowing your event's target audience
Step 3: Explore ideas and themes
So, you’ve got a sense of needs or opportunities that give your event a purpose, and an audience you’re trying to reach. Now you can use these ideas to develop an overall theme for your event.
A good theme should be specific, relevant and interesting. It could be something like:
- ‘Faith and social justice in an unjust world’.
- ‘How to reach families with the gospel’.
- ‘Getting back to the heart of worship in an age of distraction’.
You could then come up with some sub-themes if you like, to go deeper into the different areas.
Hear our top 5 themes for Christian conferences
Step 4: Write content and choose speakers
When preparing content for your event session it's important to be clear and simple in your message. To be engaging, you could share personal experiences related to the topic, run slides, and even do a Q&A.
Learn some tips on preparing a Christian talk
In order to have a successful event, it's vital to find the right speaker. When looking for a speaker, make sure they can work with your theme and address your topics. Your audience needs to connect with the speaker so this is important to bear in mind.
Read more about choosing a speaker for your event
If all of this seems like a lot, don’t worry! Take your time with it and work through the most important things first. Putting together an event can be great fun and incredibly rewarding. We hope this guide helps inspire you to make it happen.
We are a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to serving Christian groups with our family-friendly conference centres. Both our Derbyshire and Hertfordshire venues are fully equipped with all you need to enjoy an all-inclusive quality conference with your group.
