For the past 10 years my family and I have attended Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, TN. During this time we’ve watched God do amazing things through the church and in particular, the youth ministry. Our daughter grew up in this ministry (check out the LHSM FB page), so we’ve seen first hand how God used this ministry to positively impact her life.

Brian Mills is Long Hollow’s student pastor and he is passionate about reaching young people for Christ. In a previous post, I covered Brian’s 5 keys to selecting a location for your church youth camp (read here). In today’s post I’m going to share his thoughts on how to program your youth camp for maximum spiritual impact.

1. Build around evangelism – It all starts with the speaker. They should be good communicators and passionate about sharing the Gospel. It’s also important to remember the kids (and adults) need a fresh face, a fresh voice. Not one they’ve heard on Wednesday night for the past year.
2. Worship – Select a worship band that’s humble and willing to do what is asked of them. Their focus should be solely on leading kids in worship.
3. Keep the program fresh – Don’t fall into a rut each day. Interject games, videos, laughter and other ideas to get the kids relaxed and more open to the Gospel when your speaker takes the stage.
4. Be intentional creating groups – Camp is a great opportunity for students to play together and get to know each other. This can make a huge difference when they get back to school in the fall.
5. Keep them busy – Students don’t like to get bored. Keep the schedule moving and engaging. The more free time you give them, the more opportunity for them to get into trouble.

Remember, camp is day one in the youth ministry year. It sets the stage for all that will happen the next school year. As a result, don’t procrastinate when it comes to planning camp. The longer you wait, the more you run the risk of camp being haphazard and not as powerful as it could be.

For camp to be successful, students need to have fun, enjoy fellowship and be impacted by the Gospel. What are you going to do today to help make it happen?

Here is what we’ve added in January by category:

Marketing/Promotion
Six Deadly Marketing Myths Busted – Using real data and science, learn to protect yourself from these superstitious bits of bad advice and become a better inbound marketer…

Site Selection
The RFP -  From Accommodations to Food and Venues to Transportation, Learn How to Write an Effective RFP…

Contracts
Defensive Contract Negotiations – Risk management tips and strategies help your organization avoid disputes and losses…

Retreats/Meetings
Concentrate on Content – The primary reason most people attend conferences is the educational content…

Meeting Planners
The Great Shift - Meetings and events enter the world of academia…

I hope you find these helpful and remember we have many more than might interest you  in the Meeting Planner Resources section of the blog.

Retreats and meetings matter.  Whether you are booking a staff retreat or your organization’s annual conference, remember these 8 quick tips to help you create a successful event:

1. Pick a destination where your attendees WANT to go. While you would hope they want to attend because you’ve planned a great agenda, it doesn’t hurt to hold the meeting in a location where people want to go.
2. Create a sense of anticipation. Help them see this is a retreat or conference they simply don’t want to miss.
3. Enhance your evening gathering by creating a theme to provide a unique experience. Try to give them something they will remember when they get home.
4. Build a little free time in the schedule. Hopefully you’ve chosen an interesting location so be sure to give them some time to enjoy the local area. It amazes me how some groups that come to Ridgecrest don’t allow time for their folks to enjoy all the areas of Asheville and Black Mountain have to offer.
5. Use technology to your advantage. Look for ways to provide information and allow registration via technology. Many of your attendees are packing smart phones and want to use them. Let ‘em!
6. Don’t plan every meal. Give your attendees some private time and opportunity to check out the local dining scene. It will save you money too!
7. Give attendees easy to read information. Be sure to tell them the who, what, where, when and how.
8. Offer a variety of activities to better meet the varied interests of your attendees. Not everyone enjoys a screaming run down the zip line!

What about you? What are some tips that have worked for you? Please feel free to share them with our readers. Thanks!

I know, hard to believe, but 2011 has come and gone and ready or not, 2012 is here!

As you prepare for what God has in store for your ministry in 2012, I thought the following 2 articles might be of some help as you plan your retreat, meetings or conferences.

Meeting Trends for 2012 – Here are a couple of the projected trends that really jumped out at me:

• Meetings are moving towards being more interactive, with less dependence on talking heads. This gives attendees more opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences with an expert/facilitator.
• Moving away from standardized activities. Instead, more groups are looking to take advantage of unique, lcoation specific options. Even better if the activity incorporates in a learning component.
• A renewed interest in simple, fresh food with a creative local twist.

5 things meeting planners will have to do this year – These 3 things are all related:

• Bandwidth – It may not be enough just to make sure your event venue provides WiFi. If there’s not enough bandwidth, your attendees are not going to be happy with slow, slow speed. Even if it’s free!
• Mobile – With as many as 85% of smartphones able to access the Internet, does it make sense for your conference to be accessible via the Internet? Be it an app, or a mobile-friendly conference website, chances are your attendees want to be able to get it on their phone.
• Tech-free zones – I know, I know. After the first 2 this one may not make a lot of sense. However, people can get connection overload and providing time to disconnect allows people to connect the old fashioned way…face to face.

What about your thoughts? Where do you see retreats and conferences going in 2012? Are you planning to make any changes in how your church or ministry connects with people?

Rejuvenate Magazine is another great resource for Christian meeting planners and in a recent issue, they published “The all out no holds barred straight forward fundamental carefully chosen feverishly compiled complete list of useful meeting planning advice”, I know it’s a mouth full but great advice none the less. I thought I would break it down by area and we’ll take a few months to get thru all of it and maybe even add some of our own. For those of you who can’t wait, click here.

Communication

• Don’t be afraid to stay in communication. Be willing to ask basic questions like ‘How do you like to keep in touch?’ Some people are phone people and others prefer e-mails. - Pat Davis, The Protestant Women of the Chapel
• Remember the old real estate axiom – location, location, location? Well, think instead: communication, communication, communication. - Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, Mennonite Church USA
• It seems obvious to do a site visit for an event, but sometimes there isn’t adequate funding – especially for new events – to travel and see the facility beforehand. This can cause major issues. To lessen those problems, communicate all your needs to the host location and facility beforehand, especially if you don’t see the site in advance. - Will Engle, American Volleyball Coaches Association

Inspiration

• Enjoy the journey, and know where you are going and leading. You can’t do it alone; travel in the direction that God leads you. - Larry D. Collins, North American Christian Convention
• If you believe in what you’re doing, just keep on pushing forward toward it. Look at your marketing and pray for ideas that don’t cost a dime. - Amy Cato, Lifeway
• We need to shift our thinking from building programs to building relationships with kids. - Hank Hilliard, Young People’s Ministries
• We all wish to be good stewards. If we really take seriously what we understand as our role as humans responsible for God’s creation, then there is a moral and theological obligation for people of faith to take care of what we have been given. - David Melton, North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church

What do you think? Do you have any additional advice on Communication & Inspiration you’d like to share? We would love to hear from you.

Advice reprinted with permission from Collinson Media and Events – http://www.rejuvenatemeetings.com/.

When considering options for function room setups, the most important factor is to understand the meeting’s objectives. The design is crucial to making sure goals are met.   With goals and objectives at the forefront, next look at audiovisual requirements, speaker needs and traffic flow, taking into consideration participant safety, comfort and accommodation for people with disabilities.

Here are the standard meeting room set-ups to consider for your next function:

Theater Style
This is the best setup for a large group where writing is not necessary and food is not served. Chairs are set in rows facing the speaker, stage or focal point of the room.

Classroom Style
This setup is best for meetings where attendees need to write or use a computer. It allows for minimal interaction between attendees and is best used for lectures and training meetings. Chairs are set at 6-foot or 8-foot tables facing the presenter.

Conference Style
This format is ideal for smaller groups where attendee interaction is a main objective. Seated around tables, participants have a direct view of their colleagues to facilitate discussions. Specify what type of table arrangements you need based on the objectives of your meeting:

Boardroom: One solid, rectangular table that can be an existing table in a hotel meeting room or created by putting together 30-inch-wide tables. This setup is best for a board of directors meeting with heavy discussions as participants are in closest reach to each other.

U-Shape: Tables are arranged in a horseshoe, which is ideal for meetings that need to facilitate discussion between attendees but also include an audiovisual presentation set at the opening of the “U.”

T-Shape: Best for a panel, presenters or lead management that needs to sit at the top of the “T” and direct the discussion down the length of the tables.

Hollow Square: Best for meetings that do not require an audiovisual presentation. If the hotel has serpentine tables, request a rounded hollow square setup to maximize seating on the ends. If these are not available, straight tables can be placed at an angle creating an angled hollow square setup.

Multi-Sided Shapes: Multi-sided shapes such as a diamond or octagonal are best for larger groups of 20 or more. They comfortably seat nearly every attendee at the end of a table and provide direct sight and voice communication to
participants.

Banquet Style
This setup works best for meetings that require food and beverage service and where participants are asked to break out into small groups. Setup includes 60-, 66- or 72-inch round tables with chairs around the entire table or only on one side.

Have you used another type of set-up, how did it work for you?  Please share your ideas in the comments.

Rejuvenate Magazine is another great resource for Christian meeting planners and in a recent issue, they published “The all out no holds barred straight forward fundamental carefully chosen feverishly compiled complete list of useful meeting planning advice”,  I know it’s a mouth full but great advice none the less.  I thought I would break it down by area and we’ll take a few months to get thru all of it and maybe even add some of our own.  For those of you who can’t wait,  click here.

Trade Shows

• Give out trinkets (pens, magnets, paperweights, etc.) with the date of next year’s event on it.  - Susan Perry, The Perry Group
• When it comes to sponsorship, if you don’t have the time to invest in it or don’t have the skill set to organize it, outsource it.  - Louise M. Felsher, CMP, meeting and event consultant
• This positive environment is composed of many small details. Putting down carpet, for example, creates a more comfortable environment. As a result, they may stay on the show floor two or three hours longer, making them more likely to spend more.  - Susan Friedmann, “Meeting & Event Planning For Dummies”

Volunteers

• Try to get people within your organization to volunteer. If they have a reason to come and get something out of it, they will be more likely to be excited about volunteering.  - Stephanie Hudson, Providence Events
• Just because someone is willing to step up to the plate doesn’t mean that he or she will be a productive volunteer. You want to know how they get along with people and work on a team. For big events, a selection team can help to weed out inappropriate candidates and let them down gently without having it seem personal. Just accepting someone who expresses interest in volunteering can sometimes do more harm than good if that person alienates or undermines others on the team. I would rather have eight really good volunteers than 25 I’m not sure about.  – Hank Hilliard, Young People’s Ministries
• Rather than referring to them as volunteers, we call them conference assistants. The team of assistants dons staff vests for events. It is important to empower volunteers to offer quality and effective customer service.  - Robin Kluever, International Network of Children’s Ministry

What do you think?  Do you have any additional advice on Trade Shows & Volunteers you’d like to share?  We would love to hear from you.

Advice reprinted with permission from Collinson Media and Events – http://www.rejuvenatemeetings.com/.

As if paying attention during our daily routine is not difficult enough, we thrust people into a condensed conference experience and demand they give us their undivided attention. We ask them to focus wholeheartedly to the topics and networking until they leave.

Here are some helpful tips when planning your conference to keep you attendees attention.

1. Brain Drain
Attention, learning and retaining memory drain the glucose levels of our brains. Our glucose drops considerably based on the task we are doing. Attendees that show up to a conference session with low blood sugar are likely to be tired, listless and inattentive. And an increasing number have diabetes which impairs the speed of cognitive performance.

Tip: Make sure you are providing the right foods for thought during breaks and meals.

2. Our Brain’s Surge Protectors
The physical process for learning begins within 15 minutes of exposure to new information. The biological process of building mental connections gets stronger within an hour and takes up to six hours to completely form. If the synapse strengthening process is disturbed, the memory is lost. In addition to that, our learning improves when there are adequate spacing and rest intervals instead of ongoing exposure to new material.

Tip: Presenting more content per minute guarantees that little will be learned or retained. Ask presenters to cut content and allow for more meaning-making.

3. Blocking Flow
During a conference, either you can have your attendees’ attention or they can be making meaning of the information. Unfortunately, both cannot occur at the same time. And for learning to occur, they must have time to make meaning.

Meaning is generated internally. It takes intentional effort and requires time. External input (offering more information) conflicts with the processing of prior information and meaning-making. It blocks the natural brain’s flow of learning.

Tip: Ask presenters to allow time during the presentation for participants to discuss, think about and reflect on their main points.

4. Safety First
Conference attendees pay attention to the content only when it is “safe” to do so. To your participants, outside influences such as calling on individuals unexpectedly to answer a question is like a potential predator. In risky environments, learners cannot focus on processing information.

Tip: Teach presenters to ask for volunteers to respond to questions. Create a safe environment where attendees feel calm and divergent views are welcomed.

5. Get Up
One of the brain’s primary fuels for attention is amines. Amines are the brain’s uppers. Amine levels increase and decrease naturally during the day. Low amine levels lead to inattention and fatigue.

Tip: Help presenters learn to read their attendees’ body language so they know when the amine level has dropped. They should look for bored stares, people having trouble keeping their eyes open, yawns, etc. To increase amine levels, presenters should give attendees a break and invite them to get up and walk around, go to the restroom, etc. Amine levels increase with movement.

6. Recycle This
For long-term memory to form, the brain needs to recycle the proteins within neurons. To recycle the proteins, the brain must have time to incubate or settle after receiving new information. This means learning improves with shorter times devoted to listening to content and more rest time (giving the brain a break from listening).

Tip: Encourage presenters to present 10-20 minutes of content and then give the audience time to reflect, think or discuss.

Conference organizers need to make some hard choices about what to offer. Adding more content to a conference schedule does not increase learning. Conference organizers should focus on quality content and brain friendly experiences instead of adding more, more, more.

What are some tips that you’ve used or experienced that help eliminate these barriers?

We’ve talked about Rejuvenate Marketplace here before and the value to Christian meeting planners who attend.  Rejuvenate Magazine is another great resource for Christian meeting planners and in a recent issue, they published “The all out no holds barred straight forward fundamental carefully chosen feverishly compiled complete list of useful meeting planning advice”,  I know it’s a mouth full but great advice none the less.  I thought I would break it down by area and we’ll take a few months to get thru all of it and maybe even add some of our own.  For those of you who can’t wait,  click here.

Youth Events

• Inviting the community to come together to be a part of youth events is important. There are a number of local networks of churches. The National Network of Youth Ministries is a great place to start to find other churches in the area.  - Ken Allen, Dare2Share
• Accommodating teens’ biorhythms means starting morning sessions around 10:30 and letting kids stay up later. Setting up expectations before youth arrive on site is important. Kids get missional if you cast them in that light, and a little positive peer pressure goes a long way.  - Mark Matlock, Youth Specialties
• The first thing we do is talk to the hotel to find out who else will be there and what else is going on at that time. We’ve had hotels tell us honestly that there are weeks we don’t really want to come.  - Chuck Wallace, Student Venture, Campus Crusade for Christ
• We make sure all doors to the event space are locked except for one set where parents drop off their kids and another set where parents pick up their kids. At registration, parents sign their kids in and get a pass that allows them to enter the room. No pass, no entrance.  - Nita Leckenby, Children’s Conferences International
• Look for a band or worship leader who is humble and prays while leading, has a certain level of professional skill and understands they are not doing a concert but leading people to God in prayer.  - Scott Anthony, St. Joseph and St. Patrick parishes
• Everything this generation deals with is based on technology. To be relevant, use video, multimedia, Internet, social media, text messaging – anything to do with technology because that is how kids today relate to the world.  - Marquis Boone, Real Anointed Worshippers
• You need to be intentional and have a team of people dedicated only to promoting green initiatives. It is something that interests youth of today so much.  - Kymone Hinds, Central States Youth Ministries
• Anyone who works with children at events needs to fill out a written application, which should be followed up by checking references and a criminal background check.  - Joy Melton, author, lawyer and minister

What do you think?  Do you have any additional advice on Youth Events you’d like to share?  We would love to hear from you.

Advice reprinted with permission from Collinson Media and Events – http://www.rejuvenatemeetings.com/.

When you take a stand on Biblical truth, it’s not a matter of what will you do IF you’re attacked. You will be attacked. People will say terrible things about you, your organization and/or your church. Things that are untrue, mean-spirited and many times, personally hurtful. How do you respond?

In the following video clip, Bill Hybels (Willow Creek Community Church) does a great job of responding to one such attack. The background here revolves around a last minute decision by Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks,  to back out of speaking at the recent Global Leadership Summit hosted by Hybels and the Willow Creek Association. Schultz’ decision was a reaction to an online petition to boycot Starbucks if he were to speak. The driving forces behind the petition believed the Willow Creek Association to be ”anti-gay” and thus did not want Schultz to speak at the event.

After watching the video, I’d love to hear what you think. Do you agree with how Hybels responded? If so, why? If not, how would you have responded?