{"id":440567,"date":"2024-01-16T11:13:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T16:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go?p=440567"},"modified":"2025-11-04T04:31:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T09:31:36","slug":"how-to-do-an-annual-planning-meeting-for-your-youth-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/how-to-do-an-annual-planning-meeting-for-your-youth-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Do an Annual Planning Meeting for Your Youth Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In youth ministry, we all know what it\u2019s like to leave our planning to the last possible second. Maybe you started planning that big event 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&#8230;<em>Wait, when\u2019s the last time I sent a parent email? <\/em>Or maybe it\u2019s Saturday night and you\u2019re frantically Googling, \u201cfree no-prep ministry lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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. So how about we try something different this year? <strong>How about we start planning our ministries an entire year at a time? <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n<p>If it sounds too good to be true \u2014 well, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s actually possible with the Grow system and strategy! And it all starts here: <strong>schedule an annual planning meeting.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>BEFORE YOUR ANNUAL PLANNING MEETING <\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<h4><strong>1. SCHEDULE THE MEETING<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Try to plan your meeting at least a month before your school year begins, but if your ministry year is already in progress, then just schedule your meeting as soon as you can!<\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. INVITE THE RIGHT PEOPLE<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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, and the teenagers you lead. Don\u2019t do this alone!<\/p>\n<h4><strong>3. MAKE A PLAN<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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 all want to do this year?\u201d is not enough of a game plan.) Instead, here\u2019s what we suggest \u2014 <strong>identify the areas where your ministry needs an annual strategy. <\/strong>You already know your ministry needs a strategy for planning your year (that\u2019s what this meeting is all about), but here are the other six things that need to be strategized:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>DISCIPLESHIP: <\/strong>This year, how will you strategically help students grow spiritually?<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>TEACHING: <\/strong>This year, how will you teach students what they need to hear, when they need to hear it?<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>WEEKLY ENVIRONMENT: <\/strong>This year, how will you keep your weekly environment fun and engaging?<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>EVENTS: <\/strong>This year, how will you leverage special events to invest in students?<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>VOLUNTEERS: <\/strong>This year, how will you recruit, train, and invest in your volunteer team?<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>FAMILIES: <\/strong>This year, how will you engage, connect with, and serve parents and families?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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, it\u2019s time to think about the logistics.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>4. PREPARE YOUR BOARD<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>This annual planning meeting is meant to be interactive and engaging! To do that, we suggest actually building a board together that helps you visualize everything you plan to do during the year.<\/p>\n<p>We love using large (48\u201d x 48\u201d) <strong>color-coded creative boards<\/strong> 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<p>You can purchase a board like <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/khRiv8n\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-gc-link=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/khRiv8n\">this<\/a> or if you\u2019re feeling crafty, you can make your own.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got the board, you\u2019re going to want to establish a color code for your calendar cards. (If you\u2019re using <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grow Curriculum<\/a>, you can print and cut the cards we\u2019ve provided in your downloads. If you\u2019re not, you can always purchase blank cards <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/UoOqU\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-gc-link=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/8XOt9\">like these<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Our color code looks like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>DISCIPLESHIP: <\/strong>Orange<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>TEACHING: <\/strong>Red<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>WEEKLY ENVIRONMENT: <\/strong>Yellow<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>EVENTS: <\/strong>Green<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>VOLUNTEERS: <\/strong>Blue<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><strong>FAMILIES: <\/strong>Pink<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You\u2019ll also want to keep some <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Qj6z\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-gc-link=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/Qj6z\">blank white cards<\/a> handy for headers or unplanned additions to your calendar.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>5. BUILD YOUR CALENDAR<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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<p>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 color equals which category. Place small squares of each color at the top with the title of the category those colors represent.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>6. DON\u2019T FORGET THE FOOD<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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    \n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t.post_pdf_details {\n\t\t\t\tpadding-top: 15px;\n\t\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 20px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.help_section .row {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: \t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n        <div class=\"post_pdf_details\">\n            <div class=\"help_section\">\n                <div class=\"container\">\n                    <div class=\"row\">\n                                                    <div class=\"column image\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/gb-pdf-thumbnail-How_-to_-do_-an_Annual_Planning_-Meeting_for_your_Youth_Ministry.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                <div class=\"column text\">\n                            <div class=\"text_section\">\n                                                                    <div class=\"feature_text\"> Free PDF Resource<\/div>\n                                \n                                                                    <div class=\"help_text\">How to Do an Annual Planning Meeting for Your Youth Ministry<\/div>\n                                \n                                                                    <div class=\"p_text\">Optimize your ministry with our guide on Annual Planning Meetings\u2014strategize for discipleship, events, and more!<\/div>\n                                \n                                <button class=\"download_button download_popup\" id=\"myBtn\">Download Now<\/button>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n\n        \n<h1><strong><em>DURING THE MEETING<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>We suggest structuring your meeting (and filling in your annual calendar) in this order&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>1. PLAN YOUR DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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 environment, and events to complement the timing of your discipleship efforts.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to understand the strategy behind why we placed those spiritual habits where we did, <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/annual-discipleship-strategy-for-youth-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out this article about our annual discipleship strategy.<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. PLAN YOUR TEACHING STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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 teenagers a full and holistic view of God. So plan ahead! It\u2019s important.<\/p>\n<p>First, establish a bank of topics or books of the Bible that you want to cover and when 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 need some extra guidance, <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/annual-teaching-strategy-for-youth-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out this article about our annual teaching strategy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re deciding when to schedule each teaching topic, 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<p>When everything is on the board, you may want to spend some time as a team brainstorming ideas or specific themes for each of the series you plan to teach throughout the year.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>3. PLAN YOUR WEEKLY ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>When you begin to develop your teaching series in more detail, you may want to plan some interesting elements for your weekly environment (like special songs, activities, or experiences) to enhance that month\u2019s topic. Your annual planning meeting probably isn\u2019t the best place for too many details, though. For this meeting, you\u2019re going to want to focus on the big picture and start planning your themes for the entire year.<\/p>\n<p>Start by <strong>determining an engaging theme for each teaching series that complements what you&#8217;re teaching.<\/strong> Then, create an environment around it! Your theme can help tie all of your teaching, activities, visuals, and experiences together and complement the Bible stories and topics you&#8217;re sharing. The themes you choose for your teaching shouldn&#8217;t be random pairings of ideas (like emojis and the Gospels). Instead, your themes should directly complement your teaching in a way that makes the stories come alive and the principles take root.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, we&#8217;re only focusing on the big picture here. At some point, though, you&#8217;ll want to set aside time to dive deeper into your themes and start planning through elements like <strong>room design, games, music, graphics, and more<\/strong>. Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/annual-strategy-for-creating-engaging-youth-ministry-environments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this article about our annual environment strategy<\/a> for help planning the details of your weekly environment.<\/p>\n<p>Once your themes are up on the board, take a look at all of together. You might realize&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><em>I don\u2019t know if this theme will work with our group. Let\u2019s swap it for something else.<\/em><\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><em>December is a special church-wide theme, so we should swap this out for something unique to our church.<\/em><\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><em>We can repurpose the supplies we purchase for March again in November!<\/em><\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\"><em>We have a few pretty similar themes in a row, so we should change one of them.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can be a lot more efficient by planning your monthly themes a year at a time. <strong>Now take a break! You&#8217;ve earned it. <\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><strong>4. PLAN YOUR EVENTS STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>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 if you\u2019re doing youth ministry).<\/p>\n<p>In the fall, we suggest doing an overnight event to kick off the school year and help teenagers 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<p>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<p>In the spring, when you\u2019re focusing on the spiritual habit of Spending Time with God, take your teenagers on a weekend retreat and focus on discipleship.<\/p>\n<p>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 teenagers out of the house and having a blast together. If you\u2019re in youth ministry, follow that up with a summer camp and a missions experience, either locally or internationally.<\/p>\n<p>You can <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/grow-annual-strategy-for-youth-ministry-events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out this article about our annual event strategy<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>5. PLAN YOUR VOLUNTEER STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>We\u2019re convinced there are seven ways to invest in volunteers, and all seven of them need to be represented on your annual calendar. Maybe that sounds overwhelming at first, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Promise!<\/p>\n<p>When planning your year of investment in volunteers, you\u2019re going to need to consider volunteer <strong>events, meetings, discussion groups, one-on-one conversations, tools, communication, <\/strong>and <strong>celebration. <\/strong>You can read more about each of these and see our suggestions in <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/annual-strategy-for-leading-youth-volunteers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this article about our annual volunteer strategy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The point is this: have a strategy for investing in your volunteers. You\u2019re not just a youth pastor. You\u2019re your volunteers\u2019 pastor, too.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>6. PLAN YOUR FAMILY STRATEGY<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>You\u2019re almost there! The very last thing you need to strategize in your annual planning meeting is the thing we youth pastors often seem to save until last: how you\u2019ll engage parents and families.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to parents, we could all do a better job of engaging them. Like volunteers, we\u2019re convinced the key to engaging and investing parents effectively is to plan an annual strategy in seven key ways: <strong>events, meetings, discussion groups, one-on-one conversations, tools, communication, <\/strong>and <strong>celebration. <\/strong>So finish your annual planning meeting by creating a plan for all seven of these areas. You can read more about each of these and see our suggestions in <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/grow-annual-strategy-for-family-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out this article about our annual family strategy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Whew. <\/em>Okay. That\u2019s it. Those are all of our suggestions on how to run an annual planning meeting for your ministry. Yes, it\u2019s a lot to cover. Yes, it might take all day. <em>But then you\u2019re done for the whole year!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When you schedule an annual planning meeting, instead of just winging it every month (or every week), here\u2019s what we\u2019re pretty positive is going to happen:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\">You\u2019ll be a lot less stressed.<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\">You\u2019ll never have to wonder what you\u2019re doing next week.<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\">Your volunteers, parents, and students will be better cared for.<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\">Your lead pastor will say things like, \u201cWe have the best youth pastor ever!\u201d (Probably.)<\/li>\n<li data-gc-list-depth=\"1\" data-gc-list-style=\"bullet\">You can take a nap once in a while.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And, most importantly, when you have an annual plan to make your vision, strategy, and systems all work together, <strong>you\u2019ll make a much bigger impact<\/strong>. So let\u2019s do this. We\u2019ve got big, important, life-changing ministry to do. Let\u2019s put a plan in place so we can make this year the most awesome year yet.<\/p>\n<p>And, hey, whether you decide to use Grow Curriculum and Strategy or not, we hope you steal this strategy! But if you do want to check out <a href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grow Curriculum<\/a>, you won\u2019t just get the strategy. You can get every resource you need for the entire year \u2014 <strong>not just curriculum that you can teach, but <em>everything <\/em>for discipleship, weekly environments, events, volunteers, and families too.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cool? Cool.<\/p>\n<p>Now get planning!<\/p>\n    \n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t.post_pdf_details {\n\t\t\t\tpadding-top: 15px;\n\t\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 20px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.help_section .row {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: \t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n        <div class=\"post_pdf_details\">\n            <div class=\"help_section\">\n                <div class=\"container\">\n                    <div class=\"row\">\n                                                    <div class=\"column image\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/gb-pdf-thumbnail-How_-to_-do_-an_Annual_Planning_-Meeting_for_your_Youth_Ministry.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                <div class=\"column text\">\n                            <div class=\"text_section\">\n                                                                    <div class=\"feature_text\"> Free PDF Resource<\/div>\n                                \n                                                                    <div class=\"help_text\">How to Do an Annual Planning Meeting for Your Youth Ministry<\/div>\n                                \n                                                                    <div class=\"p_text\">Optimize your ministry with our guide on Annual Planning Meetings\u2014strategize for discipleship, events, and more!<\/div>\n                                \n                                <button class=\"download_button download_popup\" id=\"myBtn\">Download Now<\/button>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n\n        \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In youth ministry, we all know what it\u2019s like to leave our planning to the last possible second. Maybe you started planning that big event 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&#8230;Wait, when\u2019s the last [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":444928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[248,387,84],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-440567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leadership-youth-ministry","8":"category-leadership-home","9":"category-youth-ministry-blog"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.0 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Do an Annual Planning Meeting for Your Youth Ministry | Grow Youth &amp; Kids Ministry Curriculum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Optimize your youth ministry with our guide on Annual Planning Meetings\u2014strategize for discipleship, events, and more!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/growcurriculum.org\/go\/how-to-do-an-annual-planning-meeting-for-your-youth-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Do an Annual Planning Meeting for Your Youth Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In youth ministry, we all know what it\u2019s like to leave our planning to the last possible second. 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