Breathing New Life into Your Events (Part 1)

Who doesn’t love a good series? Whether it’s binging on Netflix or Prime, reading a compelling book series, or geeking out over the latest sequel—or prequel— learning about a topic a little at a time can be both rewarding and fun.

In this series, I will share what I have learned about events, particularly looking at the events you may be questioning or dreading. What can we do to make an event look new and inviting? How do we attract more women to events that seem like they serve only one generation? Moreover, we’ll look at the strategy behind hosting events and we’ll consider our goals for them.

So, get some popcorn and a blanket. Oh, and you may need tissues when we talk about “teas.”

We’ve all been there: you and your team are gathered around the table at your planning meeting. You have your favorite pen, your best highlighter, and you’re cracking open your new planner. It’s time to get calendaring! But as you look at the year, you realize you’re mostly looking at a copy of last year’s calendar, you’re only changing the names of the Bible studies.

Let’s see…we’ll have the Fall Kickoff at the end of August, we’ll start a Bible study right after the kids go back to school, we’ll do a Fall Chili Night, then we have The Christmas Tea, then we’ll break for the holidays. We’ll come back in January for a mid-winter study, do the Valentine’s cookie exchange, Spring Study, Mother/Daughter Banquet, then we’ll break for VBS and Summer.  Sound vaguely familiar? Thought so.

As you look around the table at the team you have served alongside so faithfully, you know that they are pushed to the limit. You can’t really add much more to a very full church calendar. You swallow, gather a spirit of prayer, and muster up the courage to say aloud what you have been taking before the Lord: “Umm…what if we didn’t have the tea this year?”

It’s a good thing you had to learn CPR as a volunteer candystriper, because a couple of your sisters almost hit the floor. Or the roof, hard to tell.

Yep, balancing events is like the old saying about the weather. You know the one where everyone likes to talk about it, but no one wants to do anything about it?

There are some events that seem to become an institution. Because they attract a somewhat guaranteed number of people, many women look forward to them, and they pretty much get the job done, we tend to assume that there would be an uproar if we were to mix things up a little. (that’s another way to say change)

It’s the responsibility of the leadership team to, well, lead. And as the leader, you need to lead them. Sometimes, breathing new life into your events means first breathing new life into your team. Are you:

• Challenging your team and growing them by stretching them?
  Are you giving your members more responsibility as they show you how they are trustworthy and capable? If you don’t, they may grow bored or leave altogether.
• Utilizing the gifts of each woman on your team?
  Have you completed a recent Spiritual Gifts Survey? They can be very helpful, particularly as we mature in Christ. Spiritual Growth Surveys are also helpful.  Here’s a link to each:
  • Gifts
  • Growth
• Cultivating an atmosphere of learning on your team?
  Are you reading a book together? Taking one or two chapters at a time and discussing them for a few minutes at your regular meetings will allow you all to grow together.
• Creating a space for your team to feel comfortable telling you when something isn’t working?
  Are you prepared to receive constructive criticism? Your team deserves to be able to come to you with any concern and feel heard.
• Open to adding team members as needs in your church change?
  This is not a club. Let me say it louder for the people in the back—THIS IS NOT A CLUB! You will lose all credibility with your church if you treat this team as a clique of girlfriends simply gathered to have a good time. You need to consider the effectiveness and the representation of your team and then make changes accordingly.
• Being honest with team members who may be stretched too thin? (missing meetings, missing events)
  Face it, Sis. Part of the job of leading involves having hard conversations. We all go through seasons of having a lot on our plates. Sometimes we have to point that out to ensure the spiritual health of our team members and give them a rest. Women’s ministry is hard work; if it’s become too much, we need to step back and allow ourselves some rest.
• Doing it all because “if I don’t do it, it won’t get done?”
  Not healthy. Not at all. First, don’t flatter yourself. God will accomplish His goals. It’s His ministry. Second, lay that pride down and don’t pick it back up. Just because something won’t get done exactly as you would have done it, doesn’t make it wrong. And third, relying on others allows them to learn, grow, and receive a blessing.

So, take a moment to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to point out areas where your team could use a boost. And, in the off-chance that you don’t have a team, um, FORM ONE NOW! No kidding. All we have to do is look at Jesus’s example with the disciples to know that a team is essential. Feel free to contact me or your regional SBCV representative and we can help you form an effective, balanced foundation for a leadership team.