I wanted to share my thoughts on and our process for planning and executing big events. We’re talking about events like our Easter Eggstravaganza, Easter weekend, Kids’ Camp, Stretch (Middle School Camp), and Christmas Eve.
Planning for an event like Kids’ Camp begins late in the year with Strategic Planning. One of the activities we spend time on during our annual planning sessions is brainstorming and agreeing on an annual “evangelistic calendar.” All events (large or small) are put on the calendar at that time. This happens in October. So, I guess you can say that planning for Kids’ Camp (and other big events) begins in October of the prior year. Kids’ Camp is always the 3rd week of July.
The second major planning milestone is developing the “theme” for camp (or another big event). Ideas are floating around by January, but real effort doesn’t begin until March. In the case of Kids’ Camp, the Children’s Pastor starts researching movies, theme parks, etc. that are coming out around the July time frame. This year was “Legomania” (taking advantage of the Lego Batman Movie).
What it boils down to is the “wow” as it relates to advertising the event and creating “buzz” in the community. By the middle of April, the theme is set and work begins on creating a logo.