In recent years we’ve seen numerous stories on the news about pastors being attacked, shot and killed on church property.  People vandalizing the church and defacing church property.  Church members being stalked and medical emergencies.

Church Security Video from Associated Press

An ideal security team includes more than policing your property and protecting ministers and members.  A full service security team should include:

• Proactive approach to dealing with violence
• Theft of church property or members property
• Plan to deal with vandalism
• Medical team on standby – members who are doctors, nurses, paramedics

What kind of plan has your church put in place?  It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but you should have a plan.  Your local police department can be of assistance.

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Last week I wrote about planning and hospitality during our Pastor’s anniversary celebration.   The celebration went well.  We had one local speaker and two speakers from out of town.  I enjoyed the planning stage of the event and look forward to the next one.  This is one of the reasons I write so much about hospitality and planning for our guests.  In case you haven’t guessed, my spiritual gift is administration.

I love to plan events.   Every little detail is important; the smallest detail can make or break a successful event.  Even though I enjoy it, I must admit that event planning is a lot work.  It doesn’t just happen.  A lot goes into the planning, organizing and executing the event.  A good team is worth its weight in gold.

I am a strong believer in ministries selecting staff and volunteers based on their spiritual gifts.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration . . . (1 Corinthians 12:27-28)

God gave each of us at least one gift, but just like He doesn’t make us accept Christ, He also doesn’t make us use our gift.  We choose whether or not to use them.  Proverbs 18:16 says “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”  Using my gift, has allowed me to travel the United States and abroad.

Check List & Time Tables

A check list is an essential tool for event planning.  Check lists keep you on track and remind you of what’s been done and what needs to be completed.  Some things to include in an event planning checklist are:

• budget for event
• honorariums to be paid
• anticipated income
• date of event
• venue for event
• site visit (if applicable)
• caterer or cook (if applicable)
• meal service/set-up (if applicable)
• audio visual needs
• number of people expected to attend
• guest speaker/psalmist/musician
• travel arrangements for guest
• travel to and from airport (inbound and outbound)
• hotel reservations
• hospitality basket
• registration fees (if applicable)
• registration set up
• product table
• volunteers needed
• marketing (website, flyers, post cards, radio/tv ads . . .)
• event set-up and breakdown
• post event evaluation (what worked, what didn’t, how to improve)

A time table takes the check list to another level.  Time tables are especially good for teams because they keep everyone on task. Use a time table to to assign tasks and establish deadlines. A time table tell you when a task needs to be completed and by whom.

A final word about building your team.  Even though event planning is mainly planning and organizing, that does not mean each team member needs to have the gift of administration.  Your team needs people who are creative and people with the gift of helps.  The more diverse your team, the better.

When we plan events at our church, I work with our business manager.  Even though we both have the gift of administration, our gifts are a little different.  She is people oriented and I am task oriented.  Together we make a good team.  We bring in other people who are creative and some with the gift of helps to round out the team.

These are some basic event planning tips that will get you started with your event.  For questions, please use the comment section.

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About ten years ago our church was planning a Praise and Worship Conference.  We invited a speaker who is well known and gifted to minister in the area of praise and worship.  We were excited when he accepted our invitation but when we received a contract, we were taken aback.  This was a first for us.  The contract literally sat on my desk for a few days because our pastor was trying to decide what he wanted to do.  We didn’t know how to take it.  Eventually, we agreed to the terms and signed the contract.

There was nothing outrageous in the contract, it just caught us by surprise.  At the time we had grown to a membership of about 500 and were accustomed to inviting a speaker and giving him (or her) an honorarium that we deemed appropriate.

About a year later our pastor was invited to a small rural church in another state.  We purchased our plane tickets, were taken to a motel and prepared for the three day revival that Pastor was asked to preach.  At the end of the three days, Pastor was presented with a very small honorarium and the church said they didn’t realize they had to reimburse his plane fare.  They did  provide dinner each evening, but no arrangements or per diem was made available for breakfast and lunch.  Obviously if we were staying at a motel, there was no restaurant on site.

At the time, as his personal assistant, I traveled with Pastor when he had speaking engagements.  My job was to take care of pastor, the business end of things and our ministry products.  Even though my expenses were generally paid by the host church, I didn’t mention my expenses.  Nor did I say anything about the honorarium and meals.  I did, however, talk with them about Pastor’s air fare, which they paid.

After this incident, we understood why some ministers require a contract.  While we still don’t require a contract, we make sure it is understood that Pastor’s air fare, hotel and meals should be provided by the host church.  We leave the honorarium up to the host church.  Sometimes it is small, sometimes it is very generous.  It averages out.

If your ministry has never received a contract from a minister or psalmist there are a few basic things that might be included:

• Travel – This part of the contract will specify travel preferences.  It may require the host church to make the travel arrangements or specify how to reimburse the flight.  If traveling by automobile, the contract may give a travel fee.  It may also require travel reimbursement for a ministry assistant who travels with the guest.
• Local Transportation – The contract may give some particulars about being picked up from the airport and hotel.  It may request a certain size or type of vehicle.
• Hotel – A certain type of hotel may be requested either by way of hotel rating ( 3, 4 or 5 star) or a specific hotel may be requested.  Some contracts may simply say a “full service hotel.”
• Honorarium – Some contracts give a range and some give a specific amount the speaker/singer expects to be paid and when they want to receive the payment.
• Ministry Products – If your guest brings ministry products to sell, they may request a certain space and someone to help with the products.  The contract may also point out that sales from products will not be deducted from the requested honorarium.

Most of the contracts we receive are reasonable.  Occasionally we receive one that is not; it is up to the ministry to accept the contract or not.  If we think the contract is unreasonable and we still want the person to minister for us, we will try to negotiate the part(s) of the contract with which we disagree.  If we can’t come to an agreement, we gracefully back out and don’t sign the contract.

Basically, the purpose of the contract is to ensure that the guest receives fair compensation for their ministry and they are comfortable during their trip and their stay with the host ministry.

Related Reading:

How to Host a Guest Speaker

Go the Extra Mile for Ministry Guests

10 Ways to Make Out of Town Speakers Feel Welcome at Your Church

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A Web Presence

Every ministry should have a web site.  Establishing a web presence is a lot cheaper than it was years ago.  Your ministry can purchase a domain name for less than $15, depending on where you purchase it.  Web hosting can be purchased for about $100 per year and you can find a company to build a basic site for you for a minimal fee.  If push comes to shove, you can use templates and build a very basic site yourself.

I saw  a church web site that had two pages:  a home page and an about page.  It gave the church’s location, phone number, service time and directions.  It provided some information about the pastor, their mission statement and what they believed.  It wasn’t much but at least it provided the main things people want to know.

Phone Calls

Your church should have voice mail, an answering machine or an answering service.  The voice on the voice mail or answering machine should be pleasant and clear.  Whichever method you choose, a reliable person should be responsible for checking messages and returning phone calls.  The person who returns the calls should be knowledgeable and professional.

Correspondence, Data Entry and Record Keeping

If you can’t afford a full time staff person a part-time staff person or a committed volunteer can get the job done.  Another option is a virtual assistant.  A virtual assistant can take care of all your correspondence, data entry, record keeping and even phone calls from their home or office.  Everything is done electronically.  Your virtual assistant can live in your city or across the country.

These are just a few things to get you started.  Got questions, ask them in the comment section or send me a note from the Contact page.

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I didn’t know any of this either until I read an article by The Copyright Queen.  My church, like many others, thought it was ok to set up a big screen tv, let the members gather with snacks and party food and enjoy the Super Bowl.  Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The controversy blitzed churches when NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek Baptist Church‘s “Super Bowl Bash” on the church’s web site in January 2007 and overnighted a letter to the pastor demanding the party be canceled. Pastor John D. Newland said his church would not break the law. The NFL did not change their position for Super Bowl 2008, and warned that it would consider legal action if any church allowed a public viewing on TVs larger than 55 inches (this limitation is stated in the Copyright Law).

For the full article, here’s a link to her site – Christian Copyright Solutions.

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