Publicizing the Kick-off Event

By Glendon Smith
The purpose of the Kick-off Event is to educate and inspire all members of the congregation. Often, a campaign Kick-off Event is the only time the entire congregation gets together for one individual event and may be one of the most exciting times in the history of the church.

A church that desires a successful Campaign Kick-off Event will do everything in its power to get the greatest number of members to attend. Printed invitations should be mailed to each church family with an RSVP card included. Things to consider including in the printed invitations are the venue, time of day, who the keynote speaker is, menu choices, availability for childcare during the event, special transportation for those who would require it and parking. In order to maximize the attendance be sure to relay to the congregation that this is a free event. Leading up to the Kick-off Event it will important to continue publicizing the event by way of the church website, email, church bulletin, and announcements at Sunday services. Encourage those who haven’t RSVP’d to do so and share what the anticipated attendance will be, who the keynote speaker is and what a great event it is expected to be.

At our Kick-off Dinner/Event in Sioux Falls, SD at the Good News Church, those who attended could be heard saying, This is the best event I can ever remember having here., It was so great to be with our church family tonight and to celebrate all that God has done and is doing in the life of our church. and We need to get together like this more often!

A relaxed atmosphere and the ability to socialize with eight to ten people at a table can go a long way toward building enthusiasm for a project. This is one of the most important elements of the entire Plan of Campaign. All that matters is that the venue must be able to accommodate all members, be free of charge to encourage participation, and have an adequate sound system to get the news of the campaign delivered.