Event Prep

Event Checklist

Preliminary Planning

 

Meet with your key leaders to discuss what you’d like to see happen as a result of my visit. Have them read “God Space” and discuss the outwardly-focused ?’s to prime the pump.  You will find other proven ideas below to help you make the most of my visit. 

Introducing the Value of Outward Focused Living 

 

In most cases busy people will not put one more thing into their schedules unless they are convinced it will be time well spent. The following ideas are intended to help them come to this conclusion. 

  1. If feasible, bring me in to speak two to three months in advance. While I’m in town, I’d like to meet with your leadership team to cast vision for my visit and better understand your unique context.
  2. Two months out: Start selling God Space books at $15 each. To wet people’s appetites for purchasing the book, encourage them to read the first two chapters for free by sending out an email blast with the God Space sample. Each week, have someone from up front share one power quote from the book that they found helpful. Go to PR quotes for some suggestions. Remember, early readers create a buzz and provide the best PR possible.
  1. Use the clips, promo-flyer, PR photo’s, announcements, endorsements, and participant’s comments found on my website for promotion purposes.
  2. Have everyone respond to the following question via e-mail. If Doug could address just one thing in his workshop that would help you in your efforts to share your faith more effectively, what would it be? Collect and synthesize the results and send the results on to me two weeks before my visit.

Workshop Needs

 

If you are planning to bring me in for a weekend workshop, I would like to arrive on Friday in time to meet your sound technician and room coordinator so that we can set everything up ahead of time. This takes the pressure off if something needs to be tweaked and allows everyone to walk into Saturday in a better frame of mind. In most cases, I would be available to preach the next day if my workshop is on Saturday. This is another way to expose the folks who did not come on Saturday to the outwardly focused conversation. Some faith communities have me preach on Sunday morning, then have me do the workshop on Sunday afternoon or evening. I have no will of my own in that matter. You know your people, so I will defer to your insight when setting the time for the workshop.

1. See “Tech-list” Resources menu above.

2. An “Atmosphere Technician” to ensure I have a swivel stool, a small table just big enough for my laptop, a table for book sales, and chairs set up around round tables (if possible), so that small groups of four to six can be formed, and a drink & snack table for break times.

3. An M.C. to introduce me, round people up on breaks, and make announcements.

4. Someone to sell books before, during the breaks, and afterwards.

Be Prepared to Answer the Following Questions:

 

Who will be in the audience you’d like me to speak to. Tell me about your audience’s dominant belief systems, and what you are hoping to accomplish by bringing me in.
Where will this speaking engagement take place? Describe the room and what kind of an ambience this place has. I am somewhat of an atmosphere technician and believe that there are many factors that contribute to true communication taking place.
Are you open to ideas on how to reach your objective?
What are you willing to do to ensure that this speaking engagement is well attended and followed up?
After we dialogue through these questions, I will prayerfully consider whether I’m the right person to fulfill the divine assignment you have in mind. If I believe I am, I will propose some ideas for topics then.

Workshop Guarantee

 

My partnership with Group Publishing has everything to do with a similar commitment to REAL learning. I can’t say it any better than they already have, so I am borrowing their guarantee and making it mine. You can expect my workshops to be REAL. Why? Because different people learn in different ways, so you can expect my workshops to include a variety of methods to move people from information to transformation. That’s my REAL guarantee!

Relational – When God’s people get a chance to express what has been impressed by way of a dialogue, they learn better and retain more.

Experiential – When God’s people are given an opportunity to experience a teaching directly they tend to get it quicker and hang onto it longer.

Applicable – When God’s people are given practical, doable “baby steps”, they are more inclined towards life application.

Learner-based – When God’s people are exposed to a “REAL” learning environment, the greatest potential for moving from information to transformation is achieved. Effective learning starts where the learner is, not where the presenter would like them to be.