Events Team Manual

Events Team

Manual:

The events team is the can-do team – ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes! From car park to foyer, pre-service, praise and worship, prayer, MC, the message, altar call, finish of service and post-service, the events team facilitates church services and events across the weekend and midweek. This manual is designed to give you insight into what we do, why we do it, and how we do it.

HILLSONG CHURCH EVENTS MANUAL (JUNE 2009)

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The Events Team… This manual is designed to give you insight into what we do, why we do it and how we do it. The events team is the can-do team – ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes! We work together to get the job done AND we always remember that people matter. Let’s focus on what matters most, even in the midst of pandemonium or accomplishing the many tasks at hand - God-encounters! WHAT? You may be wondering ‘what is Events’? Answer: we are facilitators. WHY? We facilitate worship, God-encounters, salvation, fellowship, family, healing, community and SO MUCH MORE… Have you realised that first impressions count? A church service doesn’t start when Praise and Worship commences. It begins the minute someone drives onto the church property. The carpark is our first impression. Everything after that adds to their experience and plays a part in allowing God to work in amongst lives. HOW? How we do it: PRACTICALLY (on weekends, at Conferences and / or any of the special events throughout the year) Believe it or not, the following elements build on each other and hopefully highlight the importance of each role no matter how seemingly insignificant…

The Car Park and Outside Experience sets up the Foyer The Foyer sets up the Pre-Service The Pre-Service sets up the Praise & Worship The Praise & Worship Sets up the MC & Prayer The MC & Prayer sets up the Pastor and Word The Word sets up the Altar Call The Altar Call sets up the Finish & Post Service The Post Service ends in the Car Park when they drive out…


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As the Events Team, we set up the House for the thousands of people that come through the doors each week, ready and expectant for what God is going to do in their life. - Have you ever been to a restaurant, and the music was so loud you

couldn’t hear the person across the table you were talking to? Doesn’t it annoy you? That’s why we monitor the sound levels in the foyers

- Have you ever been to a public bathroom somewhere and realised a few seconds too late that there’s no toilet paper in the dispenser? That’s why we check the bathrooms

- Have you ever noticed that when it’s too warm in a room you are more prone to falling asleep, and when it’s too cold, you wish you could leave? That’s why we monitor the temperature in a service

Excellence For us, Events is about excellence. There is a party at our place, every weekend, and we invite EVERYONE (family, friends and guests) to come… and we set up the house accordingly! We often remind ourselves (when we do the mundane, unglamorous and go unnoticed) that there is a reason behind why we polish bin lids, vacuum and re-vacuum areas, wipe glass, remove trolleys from the car park, and all the other countless little things – we do it because we are house proud! If you were organising your own party, no doubt you would put in ample time and effort to make things beautiful. Everything from cleanliness, to décor, food, to the atmosphere and music… This is what we do and we’re doing it on behalf of our King. That’s why we put every effort into making things EXCELLENT We are excellent because we serve an excellent God.


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An Overview of the things we do We are a team that sees need and fills it, finds a problem and fixes it, lends a helping hand with a happy heart and doesn’t get intimidated by any task, big or small. We make things happen, we flag questions, we suggest ideas and offer feedback or concerns (through our team leader) and we never dictate or tell people what to do. We empower our leadership by keeping them informed and giving them the opportunity to decide what and how we will action something. Remember our purpose: We exist to facilitate and coordinate. The Event DNA:

A seamless event has an ease, calm, a grace, a ready-for-anything feel about it and a feeling that it is running by itself! Always be mindful that the Events Team exists to welcome and host and that we don’t want to look like a group of people rushing around on radios telling people what to do…

We want to highlight the importance of being invisible. We are not on the Events Team to be seen or be heard – we are here to serve!

Even during the busier moments, we can always SMILE and take the time to walk slowly through a crowd.

Don’t feel overwhelmed. A great Event’s secret is this: 98% of the time is spent looking like we know what we’re doing, 2% of the time is actually figuring it out! – this will eliminate the panic Our heart is that people will leave our House with their heads lifted, shoulders back and dignity to face the week ahead… every little, seemingly insignificant thing we do, adds to this! WITH EVERYTHING, go back to the WHY… and the WHY should always go back to the ONE… ** WHY do we have a car park team? Because we want to make it easy for everyone to find a parking space and get to their seats without any hassle. We try to eliminate the frustration of having to find a parking space before walking in… ** WHY do we polish bin lids, wipe fingerprints off glass and make sure the building doesn’t smell? Because it’s GOD’S HOUSE and He wouldn’t have it any other way! For a person who has had a hard week, walking through a clean church building shows that we have gone to the effort to make them feel worthy. Worthy of a clean and welcoming home, worthy to be dignified… worthy that someone would go to all the trouble to make sure their church experience is great. Go on… think about what you do at your church and take it back to the WHY and the ONE!


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Practical Tools for YOU The next few pages are some practical tools we have implemented in helping us plan, execute and debrief our weekend services.

THE EVENTS TEAM

THE WEEKEND SUMMARY

CHECKLISTS

SEATING PLAN

ANNOUNCEMENT CARD

HEADCOUNT

SERVICE NOTES


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THE WHAT: THE EVENTS TEAM

THE WHY: You can’t do it on your own… and why would you want to? Every team member has different gifts and talents they can bring to the table. Pulling off a weekend service requires a strong team that is committed to the same goal and purpose.

THE HOW: > Realise that the events team exists to facilitate God to move in his Church. Know the vision and heart of your Church and Senior Pastor. The Events Team are the hands and feet of making this happen – and this is an honour…! You don’t need a big team to make Church great. You just need a team that has caught the vision and is willing to go the extra mile. Split areas of your church into ‘bite-sized’ chunks that a team member can then easily oversee. For example:

Team Leader – funnily enough, leads the team! This person releases the Event Coordinator to work directly with the Pastors and other departments for the big picture part of events

Atmosphere: Foyers – takes ownership of everything that happens in the foyers… the basics + all the extra fun things that happens regularly or once-off!

Atmosphere: Outside and Kids – making sure these areas are

set up, pumping and ready to host families

Service Success: Internal Auditorium – managing seating, ensuring seat drops and handouts are correctly distributed, oversees the ‘atmosphere’ of the internal auditorium. This person is the ‘eyes and ears’ of your team during a service.

Train up your team to be multi-talented. Flexibility is the key! Imagine if you could assign anyone to any task and be confident that the area you put them in will be completely set up to the standard (and beyond) of what you would expect?!


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THE WHAT: THE WEEKEND SUMMARY

THE WHY: Set your team up for a win. Empower them to take ownership of their area by giving them the right information to do their job well. An empowered team is a productive team.

THE HOW: This is a weekend summary / overview noting the big picture things your team should know. The one we use is broken down into specific services and covers information like: Speakers // Service Components // MC Notes // Other useful information + a brief overview of what is happening at our other campuses… it is like a mini overview of Church at four different campuses! (see attachment 3. ‘Weekend Summary’)


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THE WHAT: CHECKLISTS

THE WHY: The purpose of a checklist list means the basics are always covered. It sets a standard for each service and hopefully triggers ideas for other areas that a team member can improve. It gives each team member a responsibility – something they can take ownership of. HOWEVER, it’s always great to emphasise that a checklist is a ‘guideline’ only. Don’t let a checklist dictate what you do. Encourage the team to keep looking for things to improve, and take forward.

THE HOW: We have broken up the checklists into each area with each person takeing one checklist to ensures their area is covered pre-service, during the service and post service. Make sure the team is familiar with these checklists, as this means you don’t have to follow up on all the basics every service of every week! (see attachment 4. ‘Checklists’)


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THE WHAT: SEATING PLAN

THE WHY: Never underestimate the importance of a full front 2 rows! Set the preacher up for a win. The two front rows are a great place for you to put key team and leaders who will carry the atmosphere of a service and lead by example. Body language says more than words. Make sure your key team – the people who ‘get it’ are up front, supporting the preacher, leading the atmosphere of a service. A seating plan also means there is one less thing for the pastors to worry about. You can release your Senior Pastor to do what he/she needs to do without having to worry about where they will be sitting and if they will have a seat or not.

THE HOW: We facilitate this through a seating plan. It can be as simple as an excel spreadsheet - like the one we use here. (see attachment 5. ‘Seating Plans’)


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Our seating plan is broken up into sections and individual seats. As each person arrives, we direct them to their seats and ensure any empty seats in the front rows are filled with leaders and confident people – a visitor coming for the first time may feel uncomfortable to be seated in the front row. Make sure you are thinking of the big picture (atmosphere) as well as the ONE!

The above three documents (Weekend Summary, Checklists and Seating Plans) make up the ‘Events Summary’ which we print as a booklet and distribute to our team before each service. (See attachment 2. ‘Events Summary’).


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THE WHAT: ANNOUNCEMENT CARD

THE WHY: The MC has a big responsibility to lead the church service in such a way that is clear, concise and time efficient. On top of this, the MC also has to recall many important details so the purpose of an announcement card is to provide them with the means to recall the big picture elements during the service.

THE HOW: Below is a standard ‘outline’ of our services and we note this in chronological order on our announcement card. We would include:

Times for key service components Praise & Worship: Worship leaders, songlists (we note the ‘last

song’ so the MC knows when to get up on stage) Other service components the MC may want to be aware of: prayer

requests, communion, baby dedications, baptisms, offering, church news, send kids to kids program (if applicable) etc

Key points to highlight during the ‘MC Spot’. This is where the MC takes some time to emphasise any upcoming events or highlights in church life.

Speaker information Anything to announce at the end of the service

(See attachment 6. ‘Announcement Card’)


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THE WHAT: HEADCOUNT

THE WHY: It IS all about the numbers. Every number represents a person, we count people because people count. Tracking attendance for every service, every weekend helps us to look out for any trends such as quiet times, track growth,– there are MANY factors that contribute to the attendance of a church service. This helps us with forward planning.

THE HOW: We count discreetly and in discreet locations with clipboards that shut. We don’t discuss numbers over radio, or with other people, not because numbers are a secret, but they aren’t our story to tell. Accuracy is critical. We always have at least 2 people count every section, with checks in place to make sure our counts are always accurate (never more than a difference of 5 people for example, in a section of 200 seats). To make the process simple and easy, we use:

An auditorium ‘map’ to help us with counting

(See attachment 7.a ‘Headcount Map’)

A Tally Sheet to collate all the figures (each person fills this out)


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(See attachment 7.b ‘Headcount Sheets’)


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> A headcount ‘card’ to report the numbers (See attachment 7.c ‘Headcount Card’)


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THE WHAT: SERVICE NOTES

THE WHY: Keeping a record of what actually happens each service is integral. It helps you to keep track of things to improve / change and this info will come in handy in when planning future events!

THE HOW: We use this document to collate service notes each weekend. We allocate someone on team each service to take notes of key

service components (Worship Leader / MC / Speaker) and key event highlights (baby dedications, baptisms, links to other campuses).

Each service there is always things that can be fixed or improved for future weekends, and we note these down under ‘action points’. This is followed up each week to ensure it is fixed for the following weekend.

Finally, we keep track of notes for the next year. This is particularly useful when we have an Easter or Christmas service, or another service that will be repeated the following year and has service components specific to this service.

Taking notes like these and adding them to relevant checklists helps us to not make the same mistake again – don’t recreate the wheel!


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(See attachment 8. ‘Service Notes’)


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What does a typical weekend service look like for the Events Team? Let’s use a 9am service as an example: 7:45am Team Briefing

Get the whole team together and distribute your weekend summaries

Assign tasks to each team member Empower, encourage, inspire the team

7:55am Get Started!

Check out the team ‘checklists’ to see what different areas are covered.

Check, double check and triple check that the House is ready to open its doors…

8:15am Volunteer Prayer Meeting 8:20am Make sure the House looks / sounds / smells / feels amazing!!

Are our car park team are at their positions and welcoming people as they drive in - is it easy for a person to find a car park?

Is there a great, buzzing atmosphere outside so that new-comers aren’t ‘overwhelmed’ by the Church experience?

Are there pastors at the doors welcoming, saying hello, mingling with the crowd, making people feel welcomed and at home?

Is there a host in the parents’ room ready to assist a mum/dad coming in with their baby?

Is there a team member in the auditorium making sure pastors and key team find their seats?

8:55am It’s about to begin

Is the ‘pre-roll’ music playing in the foyers, encouraging everyone to come inside and take their seats? A good start to the service sets the rest of the service up for a win.

Have all the pastors found their seats? Make sure the front few rows of church are filled with life!

9:00am The service

Once the service is underway, this is our opportunity to ensure all areas are looking great for the end of the service.

Headcount: discreetly and confidentially! Always be ready for whatever needs to happen!!

10:30am The ‘end’

Handover to the team from the next service


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THE EVENT COORDINATOR / MANAGER

WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM… WITH OTHER TEAMS We don’t work exclusively… in fact, we work with every team to make sure our weekends are strong. An Events Coordinator needs to be versatile and flexible… Typically, and on any given weekend they work together with:

The Carpark Team The Hosting Team The Welcome Lounge Team The Production Team The Television Team The Maintenance Team The Kids Pastors and team The Service Pastors and team The Campus Pastor The Senior Pastor And everyONE in between!

Apart from having the flexibility to work with and alongside all other teams, big and small, the Events Coordinator is also always thinking ahead. They ask questions such as: What is the Senior Pastor / MC going to want to know and do I have the

answer? What is the flow of the car park? What is the weather like? Will it rain? Does the Car Park Team need to be

ready with ponchos and umbrellas? Does the temperature in the building need to change before it gets too hot or

too cold? Etc etc etc


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So there you have it… As you can see, there are many facets to the Events Team. We exist to facilitate worship, God-encounters, salvation, fellowship, family, healing, community and SO MUCH MORE… And how do we do it? PRACTICALLY A willing team with hearts that are willing to go the extra mile is powerful. When this is coupled with effective leadership, planning, management, and attention to detail; you will find that you have added a touch of excellence that can only be found in God’s house…

…We are excellent because we serve an excellent God. We hope you have caught the heart behind what we do... and that the insight and the tools found within these pages will help you take your church forward. This is what works for us. Be inspired to contextualise and outwork the ‘heart’ within your church context. It won’t necessarily look the same. Don’t forget… Everything we do has a WHY. Every WHY goes back to the ONE. Every ONE, MATTERS TO GOD.

Events Team Manual

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