Congratulations! You’ve just pulled off another successful event! You’ve taken out the trash, locked up the building, and now you’re starting to wonder…what would I do next time?

Taking the time to debrief your events is a key part of ministry. Without proper review, we’d never take time to learn, grow, or adapt our events to reach our ministry better. But knowing what to ask and where to get started can be overwhelming.

• The pizza was cold, do you switch to nachos next time?
• A volunteer was ten minutes late, do you ask them to step aside next year?
• Was it all worth it?

While these are great details to eventually consider, here are five questions worth asking yourself and your team after every event:

WHAT’S A STORY WORTH SHARING?

Stories make a difference. What are some stories from your event that are worth sharing with parents, senior leadership, or stakeholders in your ministry? You know you couldn’t be everywhere, so ask your volunteers about the things they saw.

• Who stepped up in an unexpected way?
• Who made a new friend?
• What was the funniest thing that happened?
• Did anyone decide to follow Jesus?
• What are the stories from your event that could make a difference?

These stories can help you make really important decisions about the event, what to keep, and what to try differently. Plus, you could capture these stories to share on social media, from the stage, or with parents in your weekly parent email.

WHAT DID WE DO REALLY WELL?

Think about every aspect of the event: planning, marketing, registration, decor, music, teaching, activities… What did we do really well?

Pat yourself on the back. Your events take so much focus, detail, and preparation. But it’s over, and everything you worked hard for finally came to fruition. So, now it’s time to think back through each of those details. We know, you thought you were done with them.

Take a few moments to think about every aspect of the event: planning, marketing, registration, decor, music, teaching, and activities. Which parts of your event were really great? Maybe your band crushed it. Maybe everyone loved the silly game you wearily thought of at three in the morning. Maybe your volunteers really nailed the decor and atmosphere. Maybe everyone turned in their registration forms early. Acknowledge the things your team did really well and take time to celebrate and encourage their work.

Debriefing an event is as much about celebrating what went right as it is about looking for ways to grow. So, don’t be afraid to shout out the people and places that met or exceeded your expectations—especially if a volunteer went above and beyond.

WHAT COULD WE IMPROVE AND HOW?

Now that you’ve celebrated your wins, it’s time to look at how you can keep growing. Most of the time, your events will go off without a hitch. There won’t be any major oversights, kids will (mostly) show up on time, and your volunteer team will be as reliable as they always have been. But even during your best events, there’s still room for you to keep growing and learning.

You might need to make an adjustment to your music or be more clear with your instructions for activities. You might even need to rearrange the flow and layout of your room to give more space. When you’re looking for ways to improve, you’ll need go back through each aspect of your event again. This is a time to be honest with yourself and to invite your team to share their thoughts and opinions, too. You’re not just trying to create incredible, unforgettable events for kids and teenagers, but you’re also trying to help kids connect with Jesus. There’s always room to grow.

WHAT’S WORTH REPEATING? WHAT’S WORTH DELETING?

Okay, so we snuck another question in, but both of these are worth asking. In every event, there will be things to repeat or delete. Take time to think about the elements of your event that were absolutely essential to its success. Those are the things you want to repeat.

• The nacho bar.
• The impossible shot.
• The improvised dance-off.

All of these might be worth repeating because they made your event better, more engaging, and more fun.

But, not every feature of our event is well-received. Some of our best ideas can fall flat sometimes. You could modify it for the future, but if you get the sense that it won’t work for your group, it’s okay to take things off the table, too. Again, this is a great chance for you to be candid with yourself and your volunteers in the spirit of trying to grow and get better at events. Repeat or delete.

HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS MORE ENGAGING FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS?

Depending on your goals, fun is probably ranked within your ministry’s top three priorities for volunteers. Thankfully, because your volunteers love Jesus, kids, and teenagers so much, they’re willing to stretch themselves for events that aren’t the most engaging. But if there’s a way for you to level up their engagement while also boosting how much fun everyone else has…well….yes, please!

Think through some of the ways your team could build engagement with themselves and the kids or teenagers they serve. Is it a new game? A discussion time? Small group activities? Be creative and wild as you let the ideas flow out because adding a little more fun can go a long way in helping your team feel connected as they build relationships.

Friends, that’s all it takes to debrief your events. Just five-ish questions and a few minutes of thoughtful reflection are all it takes for you to be on your way! If you’ve never made a habit of debriefing your events with your team, now is the time to start. Ask them for 30 minutes of their time or send out a survey using Google Forms, Jotform, or Typeform. Want to level up your review even further? Ask parents or key students to send you their thoughts, too. But if you want to create events that reach your goals, help connect others, and point people towards Jesus, then set aside time to follow up on your events. And hey! If you’re using Grow Curriculum, we give you our Post-Event Debrief Guide so you can review and reflect on all your events.