[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”#2d3335″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” custom_margin_tablet=”0px||0px|” custom_margin_phone=”||0px||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”95px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” custom_padding=”0px||35px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||32px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||32px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Heading: Annual Planning Meeting Guide” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Barlow Condensed|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”43px” text_line_height=”46px” header_font=”Barlow Condensed|600|on||||||” header_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_font_size=”84px” header_line_height=”85px” header_2_font=”–et_global_heading_font|600|on||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”60px” header_2_line_height=”60px” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”460px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”8px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” text_font_size_tablet=”43px” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_2_font_size_tablet=”60px” header_2_font_size_phone=”36px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”60px” header_2_line_height_phone=”36px” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|true” custom_padding=”0px|24px|56px|24px|false|true” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9TFwgbDABFk” disabled_on=”off|off|off” module_class=”custom-video-meeting” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_main_element=”display: block;||overflow: hidden !important;||border-radius: 16px !important;||-moz-border-radius: 16px !important;||clip-path: inset(0% 0% 0% 0% round 16px);||” border_width_all=”4px” border_color_all=”#f4f4f4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_text admin_label=”Heading: Kids Ministry Planning Meeting” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Barlow Condensed|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”43px” text_line_height=”46px” header_font=”–et_global_heading_font|600|on||||||” header_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_font_size=”84px” header_line_height=”85px” header_2_font=”|600|on||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”60px” header_2_line_height=”60px” header_3_font=”–et_global_heading_font||||||||” header_3_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_3_font_size=”28px” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”460px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”24px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” text_font_size_tablet=”43px” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_2_font_size_tablet=”60px” header_2_font_size_phone=”36px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”60px” header_2_line_height_phone=”36px” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”28px” header_3_font_size_phone=”22px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_video _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ background_image=”https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pricing-bg.png” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.0″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” background_enable_image=”off” width=”100%” max_width=”750px” custom_padding=”|24px||24px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”OVERVIEW” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ text_font=”–et_global_heading_font|700|on|on|||||” text_font_size=”42px” text_line_height=”1.1em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
OVERVIEW<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ text_font=”DM Sans||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” width=”100%” max_width=”1080px” custom_padding=”||16px||false|false” z_index_tablet=”500″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
In student and kids ministry, we all know what it\u2019s like to leave our planning to the last possible second. Maybe you started planning that big retreat of yours a few weeks too late, and now you\u2019re scrambling to get it all done. Or maybe you\u2019re halfway through the school year when you realize . . . Wait, when\u2019s the last time I sent a parent email? <\/i>Or maybe it\u2019s Wednesday morning and you\u2019re frantically Googling, \u201cfree youth ministry sermons.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all been there, but let\u2019s be honest. Procrastination is the worst. It\u2019s stressful and time-consuming and we always, always, regret it.<\/p>\n
So how about we try something different this year? How about we start planning our ministries an entire year at a time? <\/b>It only takes one day each year, and it\u2019s going to make the other 364 days of your year so much more fun, peaceful, and effective. If it sounds too good to be true . . . well, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s actually really doable.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/” button_text=”Go to the Grow Marketplace” button_alignment=”center” button_alignment_tablet=”center” button_alignment_phone=”center” button_alignment_last_edited=”off|desktop” disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Button: Start your free trial of Grow” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”18px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0c7fd1″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”999px” button_font=”DM Sans|700|||||||” button_icon=”||fa||900″ button_on_hover=”off” custom_margin=”|0px|16px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|0px|||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”|0px|||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”off|phone” custom_padding=”16px|48px|16px|28px|true|false” custom_padding_phone=”15px|25px|15px|25px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|desktop” button_text_size_phone=”16px” button_text_size_last_edited=”off|tablet” custom_css_main_element=”width: 330px;||text-align: center;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” transform_styles__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_scale__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_translate__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_rotate__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_skew__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_origin__hover_enabled=”on|desktop” transform_scale__hover=”107%|107%”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text admin_label=”BEFORE THE MEETING” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ text_font=”–et_global_heading_font|700|on|on|||||” text_font_size=”42px” text_line_height=”1.1em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”22px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
BEFORE THE MEETING<\/p>\n
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SCHEDULE THE MEETING <\/b><\/p>\n
Try to meet during at least a month before your school year (or calendar year) begins, but if your ministry is already in progress, then just schedule your meeting as soon as you can!<\/p>\n
INVITE THE RIGHT PEOPLE <\/b><\/p>\n
Think about inviting your staff, key volunteers, fellow ministry leaders, or even your lead pastor, to be a part of this meeting with you. Invite people who understand strategy, ministry, kids and teenagers. Don\u2019t do this alone!<\/p>\n
MAKE A PLAN <\/b><\/p>\n
To make sure you\u2019re not wasting anyone\u2019s time, come up with a game plan in advance. (And, no, asking the question, \u201cSo . . . what do you guys want to do this year?\u201d is not enough of a game plan.) Instead, here\u2019s what we suggest: identify the areas where your ministry needs an annual strategy. <\/b>We\u2019re already identified six for you. . .<\/p>\n
\u2022 <\/b><\/span>DISCIPLESHIP: <\/b>This year, how will you strategically help grow your group spiritually?<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>TEACHING: <\/b>This year, how will you teach your group what they need to hear, when they need to hear it?<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>ENVIRONMENTS: <\/b>This year, how will you add interesting elements to your environment?<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>EVENTS: <\/b>This year, how will you leverage special events to invest in kids and students?<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>VOLUNTEERS: <\/b>This year, how will you recruit, train, and invest in your volunteer team?<\/p>\n \u2022 FAMILIES<\/b><\/span>: <\/b>This year, how will you engage, connect with, and serve parents?<\/p>\n Imagine the impact you\u2019ll make this year if you strategically develop an annual calendar for all six of those areas! Not only will you be helping your group grow, you\u2019ll be helping your entire ministry grow as well. Once you\u2019ve got a plan . . .<\/p>\n PREPARE YOUR BOARD <\/b><\/p>\n We love using large (48\u201d x 48\u201d) color-coded storyboards for our annual calendar planning for a few reasons. First, it\u2019s easy to see your entire year at a glance. Second, it\u2019s easy to move things around once you\u2019ve placed them on the board. And third, it\u2019s a great way to visually map your entire ministry strategy \u2014 not just your calendar.<\/p>\n You can purchase a board like this one <\/span><\/a><\/strong>or, if you\u2019re feeling crafty, you can make your own.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the board, you\u2019re going to want to establish a color code for your calendar cards. (If you\u2019re using Grow Curriculum<\/strong><\/a>, you can purchase our standard deck of cards here<\/strong><\/a> or our blank deck here<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n Our color code looks like this . . .<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>DISCIPLESHIP: <\/b>orange.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>TEACHING: <\/b>red.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>WEEKLY ENVIRONMENTS: <\/b>yellow.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>EVENTS: <\/b>green.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>VOLUNTEERS: <\/b>blue.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b><\/span>FAMILIES: <\/b>pink.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also want to keep some blank white cards handy for headers or unplanned additions to your calendar.<\/p>\n BUILD YOUR CALENDAR <\/b><\/p>\n Across the top of the board, place twelve white cards (one for each month of the year) and label them, beginning with the start of your school year or whatever month makes sense for you.<\/p>\n In case you need a reminder in the middle of your meeting, you might also want to create a color key at the top of the board to help you remember which\u00a0color equals which category. Place small squares of each color at the top with the title of the category those colors represent.<\/p>\n DON\u2019T FORGET THE FOOD <\/b><\/p>\n If you want people to stay engaged during this meeting, don\u2019t forget to feed them! And caffeinate them too, while you\u2019re at it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”DURING THE MEETING” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ text_font=”–et_global_heading_font|700|on|on|||||” text_font_size=”42px” text_line_height=”1.1em” custom_padding=”16px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n DURING THE MEETING<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ text_font=”DM Sans||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” width=”100%” max_width=”1080px” z_index_tablet=”500″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n We suggest structuring your meeting (and filling in your annual calendar) in a very specific order. We even created the video at the top of this page so you can use it during your meeting to help guide you.<\/p>\n After that, check in with your team and make sure everyone is ready. Share the calendar for the day, make sure everyone\u2019s coffee cups are filled, and then get started. In this order . . .<\/p>\n Begin your meeting by talking about your big-picture discipleship strategy because, once your discipleship strategy is determined, you can strategically plan your teaching, weekly program, and events to complement the timing of your discipleship efforts.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like, play the <\/b>Planning Your Discipleship Strategy <\/i><\/b>part of the video\u00a0<\/i><\/span>for your team. It will introduce this part of the meeting.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using the Grow Curriculum<\/a><\/strong> Discipleship Strategy, break your year into four quarters, then assign one spiritual habit to each quarter. We assign Spend Time with Others to the fall, Use Your Gifts to the winter, Spend time with God to the spring, and Share Your Story to the summer. If you want to understand the strategy behind why we placed those spiritual habits where we did, be sure to watch the video for this section.<\/p>\n Each year, it\u2019s important to plan ahead the topics and Scripture you plan to cover. When we fail to plan ahead, we run the risk of missing big important ideas, teaching only the topics that interest us most, and failing to give our students a full and holistic view of God. So plan ahead! It\u2019s important.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like, play the <\/b>Planning Your Teaching Strategy <\/i><\/b><\/span>part of the video for your team. It will introduce this part of the meeting.<\/p>\n First, establish a bank of topics you want to cover and how often you\u2019d like to cover each of them. Once you know those topics, place them on the calendar in the months that make sense. If you\u2019re using the\u00a0Grow Curriculum<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Teaching Strategy, check any of the calendars you\u2019ve downloaded to see where each series topic should go.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re deciding when to schedule your teaching topics, be sure to consider what else is happening that month, both in your church and in your students\u2019 lives. You\u2019ll be much more effective when you time your teaching topics to align with the experiences of a teenager and your overall church strategy.<\/p>\n When everything is on the board, you may want to spend some time as a team brainstorming ideas or specific subjects for each of the series you plan to teach throughout the year.<\/p>\n When you begin to develop your teaching series in more detail, you may want to plan some interesting weekly environment elements (like special songs, activities, or experiences) to enhance that month\u2019s topic. Your annual planning meeting probably isn\u2019t the best place for that, though. For this meeting, you\u2019re going to want to focus on the big picture.<\/p>\n For this portion of the meeting, we recommend planning monthly themes that tie into your teaching series. These can include things like decor, graphics, music, costumes, or props. The possibilities are endless!<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like, play the <\/b>Planning Your Weekly Environment Strategy <\/i><\/b><\/span>part of the video for your team. It will introduce this part of the meeting.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using the\u00a0Grow Curriculum<\/a><\/strong> Weekly Environment Strategy, check any of the calendars you\u2019ve downloaded to see what themes are in store for each series.<\/p>\n Now take a break! You\u2019ve earned it.<\/p>\n We\u2019re fans of keeping your event strategy simple. You can make a bigger impact by doing fewer events with more strategy. Here\u2019s our recommendation for keeping your event strategy simple: do one event each quarter, plus a mission experience and a summer camp.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like, play the <\/b>Planning Your Events Strategy <\/i><\/b><\/span>part of the video for your team. It will introduce this part of the meeting.<\/p>\n In the fall, we suggest doing an overnight event to kick off the school year and help students build relationships with their peers and especially with their small groups. This aligns pretty nicely with the Spend Time with Others spiritual habit in our discipleship strategy.<\/p>\n In the winter, remember that families are busy and a little short on cash around the holidays, so do a simple, fun, and free event.<\/p>\n In the spring, when you\u2019re focusing on the spiritual habit of Spending Time with God, take your students on a weekend retreat and focus on discipleship.<\/p>\n And in the summer, remember that you\u2019ve got a busy summer ahead of you (and so do families), so host a simple and fun event that gets students out of the house and having a blast together. Then follow it up with your summer camp and a missions experience, either locally or internationally.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using the\u00a0Grow Curriculum<\/a><\/strong> Events Strategy, check any of the calendars you\u2019ve downloaded to see where each event should go.<\/p>\n We\u2019re convinced there are seven ways to invest in volunteers, and all seven of them need to be\u00a0represented on your annual calendar. Maybe that sounds overwhelming at first, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Promise!<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like, play the Planning Your Volunteer Strategy <\/i><\/b><\/span>part of the video for your team. It will introduce this part of the meeting.<\/p>\n When planning your year of investment in volunteers, you\u2019re going to need to consider volunteer events, meetings, discussion groups, one-on-one conversations, tools, communication, <\/b>and celebration. <\/b><\/p>\n1. PLAN YOUR DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGY <\/b><\/h1>\n
2. PLAN YOUR TEACHING STRATEGY <\/b><\/h1>\n
3. PLAN YOUR WEEKLY <\/b>ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY <\/b><\/h1>\n
4. PLAN YOUR EVENTS STRATEGY <\/b><\/h1>\n
5. PLAN YOUR VOLUNTEER STRATEGY <\/b><\/h1>\n