Tag: planning

Quick Tip: Have a Sick Plan

Posted on by Leave a comment

Have you ever been sick on youth group night or Sunday morning? Has the flu surprised you the day of youth group? Have you experienced prolonged illness that kept you out of service for a good amount of time?

The longer I serve in ministry, especially student ministry, the more convinced I become that having a sick plan is a necessity. Trips can allow for illnesses to spread quickly. Winter months see a drastic increase in cold, flu, Covid, and other illnesses.

And then there’s always the unexpected sickness or health concern that creeps up. Family members may get sick and need help at home. And if this is the case, how do we handle those moments when we can’t be at our ministry? Is there a game plan? Do your volunteers know what the plan is? How is that information communicated to your leaders, students, and families?

Today I want to help you think through these moments by providing tangible steps you can take to address these concerns. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, but more of an à la carte approach where you can pick and choose the steps that work best for you and your ministry.

Take a sick day.

Sometimes we just want to work through whatever illness we are wrestling with, but that’s a poor approach to take. Showing up sick can put others at risk, it depletes you even more, and it communicates to your team that it’s okay to show up sick, which can lead to illnesses being spread quickly and more often. So take a sick day, rest, recoup, and come back when you’re healthy.

Have a backup teacher.

One of the truths we must come to terms with is that our programs and ministries can and will exist without us. It’s a hard truth to reckon with, but a truth nonetheless. For many years I wrestled with this and convinced myself of the lie that the ministries I oversaw couldn’t exist without me.

It took a mental health leave for me to see that these ministries will not only exist without me, but can flourish as well. And I saw this truth through our leaders who stepped up and utilized their gifts. I became much more aware that I have gifted communicators on my team and I should be empowering them to serve. One of them has actually come to me and said, “If you ever need to bail, for any reason, I’ll have a lesson ready to go.”

This taught me so much and I want to encourage you to seek out and have backup teachers ready for when you can’t be present. No, it won’t be in the series you’re doing and no it won’t be what you had prepared. But God will use those individuals and His Word to help your students grow and flourish. So find different people who can step in for you when you’re sick (and a bonus tip: use them even when you are not sick and watch how different voices resonate with your students).

Build a communication plan.

This is important across your ministry as a whole, but having a communication plan for illness is key. Who will you tell? Who gets told first? What’s the communication say? Is it intentional, informational, or both? Drafting a plan for how communication goes out, to whom it goes out to, and what it says is key.

My mentality is to start with my leaders because they help in communicating any change to their students. They have more established communication lines so it makes sense to start there. We then email families and post across our media channels.

Our emails contain information that is needed about any change or cancelation, but they also provide intentional touch points. We provide ways for families to connect like cooking or baking together with recipes, or watching a movie and discussing it. We highlight ways to engage in worship, and we even point to a passage in Scripture that they could discuss.

Now all of this sounds great, but when you’re sick no one wants to spend the time writing all of this out. So prepare it ahead of time and have it ready to go when needed.

Have a plan for Sunday morning and youth group evenings.

As you think about the two prior points, it’s also important to have a plan for how your programming will function when you are not present. Have you taught people how to set things up? Have you shared your expectations? Do people know what to do in different scenarios like if a student gets hurt or if there’s a fire alarm?

Often times youth workers handle their own set up and know the ins and outs of tech, lighting, and how to open and close up the church; but do the people filling in for you know how to do all of that? Training, equipping, and empowering others to handle this means building a plan for them and helping them understand that plan.

At the end of the day, there will be times you are not present at youth group or church. That is okay, and you should be encouraged to take sick days and vacation time. But how will your ministry do without you? Is it build upon you and your identity (or perhaps is your identity wrapped up in it), or is it sustainable because it’s built around Christ? Have you empowered others to lead in your absence? Do you have a plan for when you are not there?

By preparing ahead, you are setting your team and ministry up for success. Take the necessary steps to be proactive rather than reactive and watch your ministry flourish even if you’re sick.

Trip Tricks: Post Trip Follow-Up

Posted on by Leave a comment

It’s the end of your trip. You’re preparing your group to head home. You and your team are saying your goodbyes to camp staff, missionaries, and new friends. You’re taking group pictures, thinking about the ride or flight home. And when you finally get back, you can’t wait for those first few minutes of silence and stillness before heading home to see your family, take a nice long shower, and sleep in your own bed.

Sound familiar? I know I tend to feel all of those things during the end of our trips. But what about intentional follow-up with your students?

Students usually encounter Jesus in new and refreshing ways during trips and come away with a renewed desire to follow Him and grow deeper in their faith. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: are we intentionally leveraging and engaging in these moments to best steward and grow our students’ relationship with Jesus?

In my early years of student ministry I didn’t always focus on this. And it became painfully obvious that my students rode the “camp high” and then began to fizzle out as they simply went back to their old habits. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

We can avoid the “camp high” by helping our students to intentionally continue engaging in their relationship with Jesus and continuing in community with believers. We can help them see that there is more than simply settling for the mundane and typical life this world offers, and instead show them how amazing and grand it can be with Jesus.

One of the ways we can do this is by offering intentional steps our students can take to engage their faith and help them with follow up. Here’s what it looks like for us.

We sit our group down all together for ten to fifteen minutes at the end of the trip before we load up to go home and we take time to talk through intentional steps they can take.

We talk about continuing to be in biblical community, engaging with spiritual rhythms, next steps in their faith journey like baptism, joining a summer mission trip, serving in the church and their community, and sharing their story with others. Each of these steps are designed to eliminate the myth of the “camp high” and to help students continue to grow and flourish in their faith.

We also tried a new approach this year where we gave postcards to our small group leaders that were designed to give students a means of responding to their experience on the retreat. We realize that as our ministry has grown, the large group gatherings at the end are great, but with a discipleship format, having small group leaders engage in a different setting allows us to help our students grow and take steps of faith. The postcards can be fairly simple and should included space for contact information, and then some tangible check boxes. The check boxes could include things like, I followed Jesus, I want to get baptized, I want to serve, and I have questions.

We also try to be intentional in providing pathways for students to take after the trip that will help them grow in their faith. After our winter retreat we launch our summer trip sign-ups a week after returning home. We challenge students to serve by promoting opportunities during youth group in the weeks following our trips. We also try to provide thoughtful and intentional ways for students to share their stories throughout the year.

Providing intentional opportunities for follow-up with your students allows for continued growth and development of their faith. It also helps students to understand that their faith doesn’t simply ride the rollercoaster of jumping from event to event but is an ongoing journey they get to be a part of with Jesus. It also helps to ensure that upcoming generations don’t walk away from their faith after high school, but instead are committed to an ongoing transformative relationship with their Savior.

Trip Tricks: A Quick Dinner Option

Posted on by Leave a comment

Last week we shared an idea for an easy breakfast you can serve during a trip. Preparing meals is often a part of trips and a part that can add significant stress and work to those in charge.

I have been on many trips where I’ve been in charge of meals and that usually means waking up early, which also means sleeping less. It means added work in an already busy and stressful environment. And it often results to mental and physical exhaustion sooner in those settings.

But, I realize that sometimes this is the reality we face as we don’t have another option and we need to make sure meals are prepared for our team. So if that is the case, we need to consider if there are easy, viable options that can be prepared quickly and are still filling and tasty for our group.

One of those options is a dinner or lunch dish that I happened upon out of necessity. We were running a mission trip that focused on hosting a VBS at an inner city elementary school. Our host site originally told us we’d have a working kitchen in which to prepare meals. Just days before our trip we were informed that there was in fact not a working kitchen so all our meal ideas had to be revisited.

We now had to prepare meals via crockpots, microwaves, and a grill. After spending time online and looking for options, I found this recipe for pulled pork that turned out to be a huge winner.

It’s super simple to prepare and it cooks throughout the day while you and your crew are out and about. Don’t let the reality that it only requires root beer and pork tenderloin cause any doubt. The pork comes out super tender and really tasty. I was hesitant at first with this recipe, but I was a quick convert after tasting it. You can choose to add some basic seasoning to the pork if you’d like, but you honestly don’t need to.

You can then choose how you serve it. It can be traditional pulled pork with barbecue sauce, slaw, and pickles on a hamburger bun. You could switch it up and do pulled pork tacos. It could be the main dish with beans, a baked potato, and/or salad as sides. Or you could layer the pulled pork on salad for a different spin.

Pulled pork also keeps well for leftovers the next day so this is a huge win as it could also be used for lunch later in the week. This is one of the easiest meals I have ever prepared and cannot recommend it enough.

Trip Tricks: An Easy Breakfast Idea for Trips

Posted on by Leave a comment

Have you provided breakfast for your students before? Maybe it was at the end of an all-nighter. Perhaps you hosted a breakfast gathering before See You at the Pole. Or maybe you and your team are responsible for providing meals on a trip.

I think every youth worker has encountered this right-of-passage responsibility at some point in their career. This can be something that is stress-inducing if you’re not prepared and because, let’s be real, prepping breakfast early in the morning on a trip is a lot when you haven’t had much sleep. Especially when it is for a pack of ravenously hungry middle and high school students.

So what do you do? What do you prepare? Is it a full course meal with bacon, eggs, potatoes and everything in between? Or do you simply toss out some granola bars and fruit? I’d like to suggest a different option that is easy, satisfying, and can feed a crowd: pancakes!

You only need two ingredients to make this recipe minus any toppings or additional ingredients like chocolate chips, sprinkles, or nuts. Here is what you need: premade pancake mix that only requires adding water, and citrus flavored soda like 7Up, Sprite, or a store brand. Whatever the amount of water the recipe calls for, supplement the citrus soda for the water.

The carbonation and sugar of the soda adds more body and sweetness to the pancakes without adding the citrus flavor. The pancakes are fluffier and won’t need as much syrup (depending on your students affinity for sugar), and they don’t taste like a store bought mix.

Utilizing this method makes prep incredibly simple and less time consuming than other breakfast options. It also allows you to be creative in what you add into the pancakes which can make breakfast time more fun and unique. This is also something that you could empower your students to do, because of its simple prep and execution. This enables them to serve and care for their peers which further makes this option a win.

What is your go-to breakfast option for trips?

Quick Tip: Be Willing to Ask for Help

Posted on by Leave a comment

When it comes to asking for help, how would you rate yourself ? Are you really good at it? Are you someone who just goes at it alone and gets it done no matter the cost to you? Or do you ask others to jump in and help?

Asking for help is not something I’m naturally good at doing. I was raised with the mentality that you do everything on your own because you’re the only person you can rely on. We were the “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” type of family.

Now I could go on about how that’s a flawed type of system and how that very phrase is antithetical to what it means to be a Christ follower, but I won’t. Instead I want to encourage you to be willing to ask for help.

One of my favorite things we get to do in our ministry is host a Christmas party for our leaders. For years I took that responsibility upon myself to plan, decorate, and execute. I would spend countless hours and days and weeks preparing everything.

I’d handle decor, I’d build the schedule, prepare the gifts, purchase and provide the food, handle the emceeing, and of course I’d be the one cleaning up. Did you feel tired just reading that? Did it hit home for you?

When a ministry or job or an event hangs upon one person that’s a problem. What if that one person gets sick? Worse, what if they quit? This builds a culture of personality around a person, not an identity in Christ and that isn’t what we are meant to be doing.

Instead, we should seek help. We should bring others into the process, share the load, empower our people, and remind ourselves that the ministry doesn’t rest upon us but upon Christ.

Shortly after 2020-2021, we had to rethink how we hosted and ran our leader Christmas party. I knew I could no longer run it on my own and had to come to terms with letting go and allowing others to help.

A couple of parents had offered at different points to help, so I figured sending out a request for help would be a good first step. I wrote an email explaining what we had seen God doing over the last year in student ministry, all the ways our leaders had been serving, and outlined the needs and requests.

Our ask of parents was simple: would they provide desserts and appetizers for our leader Christmas party as way to encourage and bless our leaders? I was skeptical the first year we sent this out, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results. We didn’t just have food for the party, but leftovers we sent home with our leader. Even more leftovers were repurposed for our student party the next week.

We have continued to utilize this approach with our families each year, and every year they bless our leaders in abundance. In doing so it alleviates a huge need for that event and allows our team to better engage with our leaders.

It also shows our leaders that our families do see and appreciate them by providing very real and tangible gifts for them. Many families even send cards and notes along that we share with our leaders.

So at the end of the day it isn’t just about asking for food. It is understanding that by asking for help, we can alleviate the pressure we often feel as ministry leaders, bless others by asking for help, and allow other people to have ownership.

Asking for help can at times be difficult, but it is necessary for the longevity of yourself, your ministry, and the church. Bring others in, allow people to utilize their skills and gifts, and build the church and your ministry around Christ. If you do this you will see yourself, your ministry, and your church grow for the better.

Quick Tip: Plan Ahead

Posted on by Leave a comment

This weekend our church was hosting numerous events and gatherings, including our Christmas party for student ministry volunteers. There were multiple hurdles that presented themselves, including usage of the kitchen and refrigerator space, groups coming to use the building who hadn’t reserved it, and many other factors that happened in the moment.

Have you ever experienced a scheduling nightmare or had competing events or values? I have experienced those moments far more than I care to admit, but I have found that a key component of avoiding hurdles is planning ahead. When we plan ahead it doesn’t eliminate the hurdles completely, but it does minimize the effect of the hurdles and their frequency.

When we plan ahead it helps with multiple pieces including the following:

Allowing people to plan their schedules.

When you plan out your ministry calendar by six months or a year, it allows students, families, volunteers, and other ministries to see what is coming and plan their schedules accordingly.

Think about it: how do you feel when you can put your calendar together and not have any surprises? I know I love being able to look ahead and know what is coming so I don’t have to try to frantically change my plans last minute.

For our leader Christmas party, we had given them the date six months ago so our leaders could put it in their calendars and plan for and around it as necessary. Doing this helps people to see the value you place on your ministry and your vision.

Affording your ministry priority in reserving spaces.

This may seem a little self serving, but let’s be honest, sometimes reserving space is a priority that you need. We work in a church context where almost every space is communal. We don’t have a designated space where we can have a “youth room,” nor are we able to leave our decor and games out. Everything is stored away in case another ministry or group would like to utilize that space.

The same may be said for your context, or perhaps your church is small but utilized frequently which is whole different set of hurdles to work through. Whatever your setting, reserving your spaces well ahead of time affords you the peace of mind to know that whenever and wherever you’re hosting things, you will have that place designated for your group.

My personal recommendation on scheduling ahead is six months to a year. This doesn’t mean you need your event or gathering finalized, but it allows you to have a space reserved and ready to be utilized as you sculpt and plan that gathering.

Highlighting the value you place on communication.

Communicating early and planning ahead helps your community to see that you care about them and value keeping them informed. While this highlights that you value communication, it also highlights that you value your students, families, and volunteers because a good leader plans ahead and communicates well so his people are aware of what is happening. It communicates that you care and value your people and you are seeking to help them and the ministry flourish.

Allowing you and your staff team to prepare well for upcoming events.

Planning ahead is not something I always liked to do. I used to be a “fly by the seat of your parents” type of guy when I first started out in student ministry. I also didn’t always communicate the plan or direction to the people I was leading. That’s not helpful for any team or leader.

When you communicate and plan ahead, you’re allowing everyone to plan and prepare for what is going to be happening including you and your staff team. When you can have a target on the map or a date on the calendar, it allows everyone to plan accordingly.

You have scheduled what you’re doing and communicated the date, which in a way forces your hand to prepare in advance and work ahead of time in planning. This will help your team be more effective and prepared as you seek to lead and guide them well.

Planning ahead isn’t always easy, but I would assert it is a necessity for youth workers. When we plan ahead it communicates value and worth and helps us to be better leaders. What is one way you plan ahead or what is an action step you can take to begin to do so?

Tips for Creating a Winter Weather Policy

Posted on by Leave a comment

Thanksgiving just happened which means here in Pennsylvania we are officially moving into winter. That means snow is an ever-present reality for our ministry and for many others around the country. While I love the way snow looks when it falls and the beauty of it on the ground, it does compound all of the planning for church and student ministry.

Depending on where you live, your winter weather policy may look different from other parts of the country due to your experience with winter weather. It may take more or less winter weather to cancel or change programming depending on how often you get it and how familiar your area is with that type of weather.

At the end of the day our policies should be designed to make sure we are doing our best to keep our students, leaders, and families safe. This isn’t about having programming but ensuring the safety of those we have been assigned to care for.

Consider following the examples of local schools.

One of the best practices our church has is to watch and see what the local schools are doing when it comes to making decisions for programming and opening/closing the building. If schools cancel evening activities it is probably a good choice to follow suit. If they cancel or have a delayed opening, it gives you time and insight into how you should alter or cancel programming for your ministry.

Reserve the right to make your own decisions.

While we tend to follow the schools’ decisions in our area, we reserve the right to change things on our end if needed. Schools may close for the day because of the way the storm is moving, but we have also seen where it has warmed up and caused all the snow to melt prior to youth group. There’s also the scenario where nothing happens until the latter part of the day which means we need to make a decision based on what’s best for our community.

Always err on the side of caution.

This is one of the big tipping points for our ministry when it comes to making a decision based on weather. I know that there will be times we get it wrong. I may cancel programming because it looks like we will get hammered by a winter storm that does next to nothing. I have canceled due to cold conditions and icy roadways that didn’t turn out to be as bad as expected.

For each time I have canceled programming (whether or not the weather did what was expected) there are always disappointed people who ask me why. Here’s what I always say, “I want to err on the side of caution to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, families, and volunteers in all situations and will take the necessary steps to ensure that happens.”

I don’t always get it right, but I will always seek to protect the people under my care and that informs how and when I make decisions to cancel.

Be intentional and clear with communication.

Whenever you decide to cancel, you must make sure you communicate that clearly and in a timely manner. We make our decisions by 2 p.m. so families and leaders see it well before youth group, they have time to switch their plans, and we have had time to track the storm and see what the weather is and will be doing.

We communicate through email and social media, and we text our leaders and ask them to communicate with their small groups because they all have different methods of doing so. We don’t simply say “youth group is cancelled, sorry,” we create intentional emails that do the following:

1. Clearly explain our decision and how we got there.

2. Provide resources and creative ways for families to spend time together including missional opportunities, fun recipes for cooking together, game ideas, and more.

3. We communicate upcoming dates for our ministry and any reminders that families need to know.

4. Recognize that this is a loss for students but also that God wasn’t surprised by this decision and it can be used for families and students to grow closer together.

Once you make a choice stick to it.

This is hugely important because it provides clarity and consistency for your families. Do not flip-flop on decisions and allow your policy to guide your decisions as you move forward each year. By doing this, families and leaders will come to expect consistent and reliable communication that strives to keep everyone safe.

At the end of the day, cancelling programming is a tough decision.

I always feel the pull of the “should I or shouldn’t I,” but at the end of the day, if I look at these steps, it helps me make the decision that keeps everyone safe and is highly intentional. My hope for you is that these steps help to alleviate some of the weight and burden that come with having to make these decisions and that it helps to shape how you do so in meaningful and thoughtful ways.

Trip Tricks: Treat Your Camp Hosts Well

Posted on by Leave a comment

We love the camp we go to for our winter retreat and summer trips. Our group has been going to Camp Orchard Hill since before we started at our church and we are so grateful for the connection we have with them.

During our time at our church, we have seen our group grow in number as we head to Camp Orchard Hill (COH), especially when we go to winter camp. This has presented our group and COH staff with some unique challenges.

When our group signs up, we have crashed their registration system. We typically have to exchange camp t-shirts for different sizes. Trying to house our group all together presents challenges. There’s also unique hurdles that come with trying to get our group all fed at the same time along with all the churches at the camp. They have also walked through all of registration questions, changing of students who signed up, and of course all the financial questions.

Simply stated: COH has been nothing short of amazing in helping plan for our trip, organizing all of the necessary information for our group, and helping us prepare for our arrival. Then they have been awesome in helping us when we are on site. Their customer service is always next level and they consistently go above and beyond to help us.

Now here’s the thing: our team could simply say, “That’s how a camp is supposed to be and what they’re supposed to do.” Or we could understand that how they have loved and served us is an amazing gift and truly a reflection of their hearts for Jesus and people.

Over the years we have gotten to know our camp hosts incredibly well, and because of that we’ve gotten a peek behind the curtain to see just how much they do. And I’ll be frank: the extra mile they go to just for our group, let alone every group, is above and beyond what we had thought. They truly treat us as family and we want to make sure we are loving them just as well.

Now, regardless of whether your camp hosts go above and beyond, we have an obligation to treat them well. But how do we do that? Let me share with you a few quick ways I think we can treat our hosts well.

Refer new business to them.

Every time I talk to a camp or retreat center, they love to gain referrals because it means more business. So talk up your camp. Give out their contact information. Share the camp’s schedule with other youth leaders. Invite other groups on the retreat. Drumming up referrals and business will help to ensure your camp hosts stay in business and continue to do what they love to do.

Tell them you’re thankful.

Sometimes we assume that a “thank you” is understood even if it isn’t spoken. But that’s not true. Hearing someone say “thank you” means a lot and it shows that what you’ve been doing has been seen and appreciated. Telling the camp hosts you’re thankful for them and the ways they have served you goes a long way and carries a large amount of meaning.

Take them a gift.

A tangible way of thanking your hosts and showing appreciation is by taking them a gift. This doesn’t need to be something extravagant but it should be thoughtful and intentional.

It could be a t-shirt (in their size) from your student ministry with a handwritten card signed by your volunteers and students. It could be a gift basket of things from your town. Or maybe it’s a photo of your group and thank you cards from your students. These types of thoughtful and intentional gifts help your hosts to know they are loved, appreciated, and needed.

Encourage your students to serve.

Most camps and retreat centers have a need for summer counselors and interns. Encouraging your students to participate at a place they know and love is an easy way to help bless the camp because you are populating a needed resource for them. These intergenerational moments help camps to continue to do what they love, and it also allows your students to grow and mature as they serve in tangible ministry aspects.

What are some ways that you bless and treat your hosts well?

3 Keys to Giving Leader Christmas Gifts

Posted on by Leave a comment

It’s that time of year: stores are beginning to put up Christmas displays, Christmas music is playing, and holiday commercials have begun popping up. And we haven’t even made it to November.

Now we could engage in the debate of when is it too early for playing Christmas music, but that’s a topic for another day. Today, I want to talk about gifts for your volunteers and some key things to consider when getting gifts for them. This post is not a list of gift ideas but rather one that provides insight on the key elements that should go into choosing the gifts you are giving to your team.

When it comes to giving gifts to leaders, we like to have our gifts meet three key elements which allow for the gifts to be more intentional:

1. Personal and thoughtful.

When it comes to gift-giving, what gift has made a significant impact in your life? We could think of the biggest, most expensive gift, but what I’m getting at is a personal and thoughtful gift resonates and impacts us at a deeper level.

I had a student who recently gave me a handwritten note and a stuffed monkey for pastor appreciation month and that gift is one I will remember for a long time over a monetary gift. Why? Because it was the heart and thoughtfulness that meant so much to me.

The same is true for our leaders. When we make the gift personal and thoughtful it means so much more to our leaders. This isn’t an excuse to be cheap just to be cheap, nor am I saying that we need to break the bank. Instead, we need to find a balance within the confines of our budget to give a gift that is from the heart and is personal and thoughtful.

2. Practical.

This is another key element of our gift-giving. We want all of our gifts to be practical along with being personal and thoughtful. I’ll admit that this does get a little difficult the more leaders you have because what may be practical for some may not be practical for others.

When you’re thinking about a gift, ask yourself, “Is this practical and will our people use it?” When we’ve looked at gifts we have always thought about the usefulness and practicality because we want it to be a gift that our leaders would appreciate and could utilize in the their daily lives.

3. Edible.

This one is listed last, but if I had my way I’d list it first (mostly because I love food). This element is intentionally listed last because out of the three elements, this is the one that if the other two are met, isn’t vital to have. That isn’t to say don’t incorporate this element, but realize it doesn’t have to be the priority of the three.

When you provide an edible gift, it is imprtant to incorporate the other two elements of gift-giving. Is it a thoughtful gift and practical? Did you simply grab something from Costco or is it handmade? Did you attach a personal note? Is it something everyone can have (think about food allergies)?

Edible gifts are some of my favorite because it means someone knows me and most of us love food. So to provide something to your leaders that is edible is a great gift to bless them with.

At the end of the day, there’s no magic formula to gift-giving. These elements have served our ministry well and have helped us to truly bless our leaders. There may be times our gifts don’t hit the mark, but this method helps us to think through the gifts we are giving and how they will be received by the people who get them.

When you give gifts to your leaders, how do you make sure they are well-received and intentional?

Trip Tricks: Make Sign-ups Simple

Posted on by Leave a comment

Have you ever had to fill out a form for the doctor before? What about an online survey to get a free Chick-fil-A sandwich by telling them all about your last order? Have you had to purchase airline tickets where they try to get you to purchase all the add-ons that take you through a variety of screens when all you want to do is purchase your tickets? Or should we even mention taxes?

How did you feel after completing these forms? Probably a little tired. You maybe be contemplating if that chicken sandwich is worth the time it took (come on, we know it is). You might even promise yourself to never do it again. You might feel overwhelmed, irritated, and ready to send an email to their help center.

But let me ask you another question: did you ever have questions when trying to fill out these forms? Maybe because you didn’t know the answer or perhaps because the wording of the question made it unclear? Maybe you didn’t know you needed certain information for the airline and the hold on your seats went away while you foraged for your passport number.

Now put yourself in your students and their parents’ shoes. How do they feel signing up for your camp, trips, or retreats? Do your forms and processes make sense? How clear and simple are the forms?

How you register and where you go can affect the sign-up process. If a camp or retreat center wants their own processes used, you probably have limited, if any, control over said process. But you do have control over helping to prepare your people for the sign-up. The question we are faced with regardless of the process, is how do we make signing up the easiest and smoothest for our people?

First, give clear guidance well ahead of time.

Sign-ups are always “fun” because there are always questions, speed bumps, system errors, and human error throughout the process. But the more guidance and information you are able to provide on the processes ahead of time, the more you can help guide your people in the sign-up process.

The clearer the information and guidance, the better prepared your people will be to sign up. Communicate expectations and requirements so your people know what will be needed and when signups will launch.

Second, try keep your forms as simple as possible when you are able to do so.

I know this isn’t always in our control, but when you’re able to, keep the signups as simple as possible to allow for an easier experience overall. Do this for yourself, your team, and your students and families.

Simplifying and streamlining the process allows your people to sign up quicker and easier and it means less issues for you overall. That is not to say we sacrifice important and necessary information for ease of sign-up. We still need to obtain all pertinent information but also seek to make the process simple.

Third, be available to help when signups are opened.

There are always questions and issues that arise when signups are launched. Whenever we open our winter retreat signups I know my email and phone will be going off and our social media channels will be abuzz with questions.

Being available to answer questions at the opening of signups particularly is very important. It brings peace of mind for students and parents. It helps circumvent additional issues. And it highlights the value you are placing on the sign-up and the trip you are going on.

These are not the only trip tricks for signups, but they will help make your signup process easier and smoother in the long run.