Organizing Youth Events

Sit down if…

• You did not eat breakfast

• You are the key person in the youth ministry (youth pastor, head leader)

• You are organizing an event soon

• You are part of the leadership team

• You took a bath today

Alvan & Ethel Tauli

Why Do Youth Events Matter?

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Proverbs 18:9

Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

E.B.B. & F.L.O.W.

• May these acronyms guide you toward creating excellent youth events

Objective: Help for before your event proper

1 year before your event

1 month before your event

Your Event

Ends First!

•What's is your reason for organizing an event?

•Start thinking of the very end--your end.

Great Organizer?

Luke 12:16-20 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

‘But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

‘So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Ends First!

•Another end to think about--What is your objective?

•Or what is your win?

•Or what is your desired outcome?

Objectives follow Purpose

The purpose of your youth

groupobjective

What makes a good objective based on your group purpose?

•Tree planting to help our baranggay

•Voter education to encourage students to vote

•Basketball to help youth develop healthy habits

Boundaries

•Time

•Place

•Money

•People Involved

Brainstorm: Gather Ideas

Common mistake: brainstorming before you set objectives and boundaries

Brainstorming Principles

•minimize challenging, evaluating or criticizing ideas

•go for quantity of ideas (a group will help)

Group Activity

•Create a 30 minute program for high school students, to be held in school after class. Budget: as much as you can raise.

•Main Objective: The youth who attend will be eager to come to our next event

E.B.B.

•E – Ends First!

•B – Boundaries

•B – Brainstorm

Finalize Program

•Write it down! Create a written guide to be given to all involved.

•As much as possible, let all activities point toward your program.

• If you have done the program in the past, review feedback at this point

Look Closer•4 eyes are better than 2, 6 eyes are better than 4

•This is where critical thinking skills are of great use

•Consider margins for…

•time

•finances

Some Financial Tips•Work within budget

• Plan for maximum number of people but budget for the minimum (this increases costs such as registration but insures that you do not have a deficit)

• Price compare (especially for significant buys)

•Consider sponsorship (don’t forget to acknowledge those who give)

• Plan on a lower number of participants as you budget, but provide for more participants:

• Example: Your event requires that 75 books and only 50 youth show up, who is paying for the other books? One way to do this is still print the 75 notebooks, but plan on only 50 attending. This way if only 50 come, you have covered the expenses, but if more come you have extra. This principle works with all expenses. When you figure your total costs, DIVIDE ALL THE EXPENSES BY THE LOWER NUMBER (50 in this example).

Ordain• Delegate (don’t be afraid to give

responsibility)

• Youth events should have youth in them (“The biggest factor for a youth returning to your program is that they see people of the same age being a part of the program.” Len Kageler)

•As a key person you need to be there (The bigger the working committee, the more you need someone to oversee.)

Work on Things

• Work on things that need to be done before your event.

• Permits (down-payments if looking for a venue)

• Promotions

• Games

• Nametags

• Registration forms (can be electronic)

• Backdrops

• Evaluation Forms

F.L.O.W.

•Finalize Program

•Look Closer

•Ordain

•Work on Things

Sample Event: Youtube Party!• End in mind: Have an avenue to invite non-believers to know more of the

youth group.

• Boundaries: Two hour program, at youth room, from 8pm-10pm

• Week before event: invite young people and their friends ask them to post a link to at least two of their favorite Youtube videos

• Day before event: screen videos, make sure wi-fi is available, buy snacks, prepare needed forms

• Program Proper

• Run youth group videos while waiting

• Opening Prayer and Introduction

• Play videos on big screen and serve snacks (45min-1 hour)

• Ask people to vote for the funniest, most touching, wackiest, most original, etc.

• Give awards

• Close in prayer and invite people to join the next event