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- Confessions, Memoirs, and Meanderings of a Big-Event Minister
Confessions, Memoirs, and Meanderings of a Big-Event Minister
- By Mark Matlock
- Published 12/20/2007
- Theological Themes
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Rating:
Big events offer something local churches can’t on their own
You could say big events are all I know.
Each year our organization produces 16 to 25 large-scale events, and I also have the privilege of joining other ministries in planning their events. I have done this consistently for 16 years. I’ve never studied youth ministry at a collegiate or seminary level, and although I am ordained, I’ve never been on staff at a church. Other than serving as a volunteer for my home church’s youth group, my vocational ministry has consisted solely of supporting the local church by offering large-scale events.
When I ventured into full-time ministry in 1991, I worked with Shepherd Ministries, an organization that produced Dawson McAllister’s Student Conferences. Back then, PlanetWisdom, Dare 2 Share, Acquire the Fire, and Student Life hadn’t been born yet. I have specific memories of each of those organization’s founders interacting with Dawson’s team as they launched their respective events, and I consider all of them friends.
When we have time to connect, we often ask the question about the role of big events in the life of the church:
“Are big events dead?”
In fact I ask myself this question every year. I’ve thought a lot about big events and their roles in youth ministry. With more of them attracting larger crowds than ever, it’s hard to say they are “dead.” But perhaps we can be more discerning about how we select the events we attend and understand their potential in the lives of our students.
First, What Is BIG?
What exactly makes a big event “big”? Our PlanetWisdom events are called big events, yet we try to keep our attendance under 3,500 students. Compare that to Passion where 20,000-plus students attend, and our events don’t seem as “big.” It isn’t long before one realizes that all events aren’t the same. It’s like telling Starbucks connoisseurs what they’re drinking is “just coffee.” We need a more discriminating palate.
All Events Are Not Created Equal
One of the most difficult things to deal with in marketing a big event is distinguishing the values that separate you from everyone else. Every brochure promises biblical teaching, great worship, and a memorable time. Yet few events are ever the same. During the summer I’ve shared at many a music festival, and I can say that there’s a big difference between how they each respect the teaching of the Word of God.
Some use speakers for a set change, others (like Creation) shut down concessions and require all stage shifting to stop while the Word is presented. The audience knows the difference by giving the reading of the Word at least the same respect they do their favorite musicians. But how does Harry Thomas, who leads the Creation Festival, communicate the reverence he has for the Word of God? No brochure or video can describe this; it must be experienced firsthand. Nevertheless events fall into certain categories.
The Buffet
Some events are nothing more than a collection of ministers and artists coming together to create an experience. I’ve done many of these kinds of events where I’ve been asked to speak for 20 to 30 minutes. Often I meet the event producers briefly and am told when I’m on. There’s very little interest in my speaking topic, and I never have any collaboration with anyone else on stage. Many times I never meet the worship artist who plays before I present the Word. Everyone is simply “doing their thing.” It’s rare that I’m even asked to join in prayer with anyone during the event.
The way I’ve described these events may sound negative, and I wish there was a little more cohesion in their production. But there’s nothing wrong with this structure. It is what it is—a smorgasbord of people serving Jesus and presenting a great time of celebration and encouragement to the body of Christ. The majority of large Christian events fall in this category.
Visionary Driven
Other events are programmed by a personality with a vision for ministry—Ron Luce, Greg Stier, Louie Giglio, and I come to mind. We are the primary vision casters for the ministry that happens at an event. We help select the content and those who will provide it so we can craft what we hope will be a cohesive experience that maximizes the impact on a student’s life.
Training Oriented
Still other big events, such as DCLA, are driven by a purpose, not a personality. A team of ministers may create content to be shared. Events like these are typically training events where the focus is on the development of specific skills or presentation of a curriculum. These events, when done well, can be every effective, but they’re quite difficult to produce and rarely seen.
Campaigns
Josh McDowell is famous for selecting themes around which he structures events, curriculum, and other resources. “Why Wait?” and “Right From Wrong” are examples of thematic campaigns that generated energy and soon became big events. Ron Luce’s BattleCry events border on campaign orientation more than the traditional visionary-driven events he created under the Acquire The Fire name. Promise Keepers also fits into the campaign-driven model.
These themes are pushed until the energy leaves and another campaign emerges. Campaigns have the distinct advantage (if executed correctly) to create national movements and depth of understanding—real shifts in the way the body of Christ functions.
What Do Big Events Offer?
While I had good youth group experiences, middle school and high school were very different. In middle school I was challenged to live my faith and taught to understand and apply the Word of God to my life. My middle school minister focused on disciple making. But our high school pastor was a lifestyle and relationship evangelist. There was less emphasis on Bible study and life application and more focus on events that allowed relationships to take place (many that led toward professions of faith).
As great as the high school experience was, I felt a huge deficit in my understanding of Scripture. Because most of the evangelism was conducted through relationships that other students had with our youth pastor, I didn’t feel challenged much during those years except when we went to special events where I was ministered to by others with different gifts. I’m convinced that without these other opportunities I wouldn’t have grown as deeply in my faith in high school if I had only attended the youth group. Perhaps this is why I’m drawn to the ministry of special events.
Over the years I’ve felt that large events delivered something that wasn’t available on the local church level. In my Shepherd Ministries/Dawson McAllister days, our unique offerings were in the areas of student-specific teaching, youth worship, and production values (mainly related to video projection). Student-oriented teaching isn’t really all that unique like it once was; youth ministry has come a long way in the last 20 years. Youth worship, too, is more sophisticated than ever, and most youth groups have a band capable of leading the group in authentic worship. Many churches also have production values that are the equivalent of (and sometimes superior to) many large events. But there’s something that events have always offered that’s not easy to duplicate.
To wit: I recently read and article about the progress in desktop video production. The article mentioned that the average consumer with a Mac and a DV camera has more technology than George Lucas had when he made Star Wars. It wasn’t the technology, but what Lucas did with the technology that made the film.
I can certainly say the same is true for student events: The average church has the same ability to produce much of what was believed to be exclusive to big events—but some qualities are still best experienced in the context of well-conceived events.
Intensity of Focus
No matter the size of your church, time is limited. I experience this as a small group leader in the youth group in my home church. We are typically given only a few scattered hours each week to instruct students and interact with them. Big events, however, offer an intensity of focus providing a unique learning experience not typically available in the church.
A speaker at a big event may not have anything “new” to say to your students, but in a well-structured event, the teaching may be able to build on itself in a more complete way, allowing students to absorb the fullness of the message in a manner unavailable in an identical series presented in bursts over multiple weeks in the local church. At big events, students get the whole series in a condensed time, and that lets them more readily connect the dots in a holistic way.
A Ring of Influence
A youth pastor once complained that he didn’t like bringing his kids to PlanetWisdom simply because his kids responded to me when he was teaching the same thing and getting lesser results. He said, “I teach the same things you do, but the kids respond to you. They say they ‘get it’ when you say it.” He was clearly frustrated and was experiencing what I call the “father of the bride” effect. Remember in the movie (of the same title) in which Steve Martin tells his daughter that she may want to take a coat with her because it’s chilly—and she refuses? Then her fiancée says, “You know, it is cold outside.” And she quickly says, “Okay, I’ll grab my coat.” The look on Martin’s face was the same look the youth worker had: “I don’t get it...I just said that!”
I shared with this youth pastor that there are parents who’ve been sharing values and morals and spiritual directions with their kids every day, and then one night they come home from youth group and tell their folks that you, the youth pastor, opened their eyes to a “whole new world of understanding.” It’s probably the same stuff the parents have been trying to teach their kids! But they hear it differently from you, their youth pastor.
In the same way, teenagers come to a big event where I (or any number of other speakers) have had the luxury of preparing only a few messages for the year (as opposed to something new every week), the students have paid to come, and then all the students clap and cheer for me, giving the illusion of credibility (none of them know who I am, but they assume every other student does!). That environment makes them listen differently.
So rather than getting upset by how excited your kids get over a particular speaker, be glad you have another “ring of influence” in their lives. I hope my children have rings of influence when they get older—otherwise they may not learn anything from me!
Perspective
A church from Telephone, Texas, came to our conference for the first time. I visited with them at the dinner break and asked them what they thought about PlanetWisdom. “There were more students here than in our entire town!” was one response. Another shared “I didn’t realize there were this many Christian teenagers out there.”
Over the next few months I learned this group had gone through a remarkable transformation after attending the event. I’d like to think it was the content, but based on their many comments, I think it had to do with the vision and the confidence they gained after being with so many Christian students. We often forget or neglect the power of assembly.
Some larger churches with large youth groups forget this. They can produce their own events for much less and invite high-caliber speakers and bands to put on their event “in house.” But these groups quickly become socially ingrown—closed ecosystems. One youth pastor brought his large group to an event rather than producing his own (which had been his tradition), and afterward he commented on how good it was for his kids not to be in control, the benefit of being one group of many, and the positive impact of realizing there were other churches and students out there, too.
This is why I always walk through the exhibit hall at the Youth Specialties National Youth Worker Convention—to gain perspective. It’s important to know I’m not the only one out there trying to make a difference; I’m not the center of the youth ministry universe. In fact I’m much smaller than I think. Students in our groups need this, too.
A Change of Environment
Big events also have an incredible power to take students out of their comfort zones—this raises their receptivity to realize new ways to understand their lives. I encourage churches who host our events in their facilities to put their kids in a hotel for the weekend rather than simply sending them home. Why? The experience of an event is powerful when it takes us out of our normal routines—and ditching something as basic as going home to your regular bed can do the trick. Big events can create this energy effectively. It isn’t just the speakers and the band that make the difference; it’s the bus ride, the sleepover, the whole journey that helps the event have impact.
Utility
Few events will change your students forever. An event without local church support, for example, quickly fades during the van ride home. But big events can serve your ministry in different ways. Just thinking about the purpose of the event and how it can be a strategic part of your ministry can help the event have lasting impact.
First try to determine what the event’s purpose is and how the other elements of your program can utilize that purpose. Some events offer pre- and post-event curriculums to integrate teachings into weekly ministries. Others teach strategies you’ll want to be ready to integrate once you return home. Asking for materials related to the content of the event can be very helpful.
I know many youth pastors who returned from events they didn’t check out prior to attending. The students were asked to commit their groups to a direction the youth ministers didn’t want to lead their kids. Does the event support the church or try to go around it? The better events believe in the local church and support its workings rather than trying to replace it.
Not all events offer depth of content, and that’s fine; just know what you’re getting, expect a great time to be had, and try to focus on relationships and the momentum that comes from having an inspiring experience.
Big Events Aren’t Dead!
As I enter year seventeen of big-event ministry, I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to serve the church in this way. As big events are becoming more expensive to produce, we’ll see many new ones rise and fall. The economics aren’t all that good, and the risk is high. But big events aren’t dead, and my guess is they won’t go away anytime soon. They do provide value to the church and its mission.
We can help events become more helpful by being more discriminating in what we choose to support and doing all we can to use them to their fullest as God uses them in the lives of our students.
Each year our organization produces 16 to 25 large-scale events, and I also have the privilege of joining other ministries in planning their events. I have done this consistently for 16 years. I’ve never studied youth ministry at a collegiate or seminary level, and although I am ordained, I’ve never been on staff at a church. Other than serving as a volunteer for my home church’s youth group, my vocational ministry has consisted solely of supporting the local church by offering large-scale events.
When I ventured into full-time ministry in 1991, I worked with Shepherd Ministries, an organization that produced Dawson McAllister’s Student Conferences. Back then, PlanetWisdom, Dare 2 Share, Acquire the Fire, and Student Life hadn’t been born yet. I have specific memories of each of those organization’s founders interacting with Dawson’s team as they launched their respective events, and I consider all of them friends.
When we have time to connect, we often ask the question about the role of big events in the life of the church:
“Are big events dead?”
In fact I ask myself this question every year. I’ve thought a lot about big events and their roles in youth ministry. With more of them attracting larger crowds than ever, it’s hard to say they are “dead.” But perhaps we can be more discerning about how we select the events we attend and understand their potential in the lives of our students.
First, What Is BIG?
What exactly makes a big event “big”? Our PlanetWisdom events are called big events, yet we try to keep our attendance under 3,500 students. Compare that to Passion where 20,000-plus students attend, and our events don’t seem as “big.” It isn’t long before one realizes that all events aren’t the same. It’s like telling Starbucks connoisseurs what they’re drinking is “just coffee.” We need a more discriminating palate.
All Events Are Not Created Equal
One of the most difficult things to deal with in marketing a big event is distinguishing the values that separate you from everyone else. Every brochure promises biblical teaching, great worship, and a memorable time. Yet few events are ever the same. During the summer I’ve shared at many a music festival, and I can say that there’s a big difference between how they each respect the teaching of the Word of God.
Some use speakers for a set change, others (like Creation) shut down concessions and require all stage shifting to stop while the Word is presented. The audience knows the difference by giving the reading of the Word at least the same respect they do their favorite musicians. But how does Harry Thomas, who leads the Creation Festival, communicate the reverence he has for the Word of God? No brochure or video can describe this; it must be experienced firsthand. Nevertheless events fall into certain categories.
The Buffet
Some events are nothing more than a collection of ministers and artists coming together to create an experience. I’ve done many of these kinds of events where I’ve been asked to speak for 20 to 30 minutes. Often I meet the event producers briefly and am told when I’m on. There’s very little interest in my speaking topic, and I never have any collaboration with anyone else on stage. Many times I never meet the worship artist who plays before I present the Word. Everyone is simply “doing their thing.” It’s rare that I’m even asked to join in prayer with anyone during the event.
The way I’ve described these events may sound negative, and I wish there was a little more cohesion in their production. But there’s nothing wrong with this structure. It is what it is—a smorgasbord of people serving Jesus and presenting a great time of celebration and encouragement to the body of Christ. The majority of large Christian events fall in this category.
Visionary Driven
Other events are programmed by a personality with a vision for ministry—Ron Luce, Greg Stier, Louie Giglio, and I come to mind. We are the primary vision casters for the ministry that happens at an event. We help select the content and those who will provide it so we can craft what we hope will be a cohesive experience that maximizes the impact on a student’s life.
Training Oriented
Still other big events, such as DCLA, are driven by a purpose, not a personality. A team of ministers may create content to be shared. Events like these are typically training events where the focus is on the development of specific skills or presentation of a curriculum. These events, when done well, can be every effective, but they’re quite difficult to produce and rarely seen.
Campaigns
Josh McDowell is famous for selecting themes around which he structures events, curriculum, and other resources. “Why Wait?” and “Right From Wrong” are examples of thematic campaigns that generated energy and soon became big events. Ron Luce’s BattleCry events border on campaign orientation more than the traditional visionary-driven events he created under the Acquire The Fire name. Promise Keepers also fits into the campaign-driven model.
These themes are pushed until the energy leaves and another campaign emerges. Campaigns have the distinct advantage (if executed correctly) to create national movements and depth of understanding—real shifts in the way the body of Christ functions.
What Do Big Events Offer?
While I had good youth group experiences, middle school and high school were very different. In middle school I was challenged to live my faith and taught to understand and apply the Word of God to my life. My middle school minister focused on disciple making. But our high school pastor was a lifestyle and relationship evangelist. There was less emphasis on Bible study and life application and more focus on events that allowed relationships to take place (many that led toward professions of faith).
As great as the high school experience was, I felt a huge deficit in my understanding of Scripture. Because most of the evangelism was conducted through relationships that other students had with our youth pastor, I didn’t feel challenged much during those years except when we went to special events where I was ministered to by others with different gifts. I’m convinced that without these other opportunities I wouldn’t have grown as deeply in my faith in high school if I had only attended the youth group. Perhaps this is why I’m drawn to the ministry of special events.
Over the years I’ve felt that large events delivered something that wasn’t available on the local church level. In my Shepherd Ministries/Dawson McAllister days, our unique offerings were in the areas of student-specific teaching, youth worship, and production values (mainly related to video projection). Student-oriented teaching isn’t really all that unique like it once was; youth ministry has come a long way in the last 20 years. Youth worship, too, is more sophisticated than ever, and most youth groups have a band capable of leading the group in authentic worship. Many churches also have production values that are the equivalent of (and sometimes superior to) many large events. But there’s something that events have always offered that’s not easy to duplicate.
To wit: I recently read and article about the progress in desktop video production. The article mentioned that the average consumer with a Mac and a DV camera has more technology than George Lucas had when he made Star Wars. It wasn’t the technology, but what Lucas did with the technology that made the film.
I can certainly say the same is true for student events: The average church has the same ability to produce much of what was believed to be exclusive to big events—but some qualities are still best experienced in the context of well-conceived events.
Intensity of Focus
No matter the size of your church, time is limited. I experience this as a small group leader in the youth group in my home church. We are typically given only a few scattered hours each week to instruct students and interact with them. Big events, however, offer an intensity of focus providing a unique learning experience not typically available in the church.
A speaker at a big event may not have anything “new” to say to your students, but in a well-structured event, the teaching may be able to build on itself in a more complete way, allowing students to absorb the fullness of the message in a manner unavailable in an identical series presented in bursts over multiple weeks in the local church. At big events, students get the whole series in a condensed time, and that lets them more readily connect the dots in a holistic way.
A Ring of Influence
A youth pastor once complained that he didn’t like bringing his kids to PlanetWisdom simply because his kids responded to me when he was teaching the same thing and getting lesser results. He said, “I teach the same things you do, but the kids respond to you. They say they ‘get it’ when you say it.” He was clearly frustrated and was experiencing what I call the “father of the bride” effect. Remember in the movie (of the same title) in which Steve Martin tells his daughter that she may want to take a coat with her because it’s chilly—and she refuses? Then her fiancée says, “You know, it is cold outside.” And she quickly says, “Okay, I’ll grab my coat.” The look on Martin’s face was the same look the youth worker had: “I don’t get it...I just said that!”
I shared with this youth pastor that there are parents who’ve been sharing values and morals and spiritual directions with their kids every day, and then one night they come home from youth group and tell their folks that you, the youth pastor, opened their eyes to a “whole new world of understanding.” It’s probably the same stuff the parents have been trying to teach their kids! But they hear it differently from you, their youth pastor.
In the same way, teenagers come to a big event where I (or any number of other speakers) have had the luxury of preparing only a few messages for the year (as opposed to something new every week), the students have paid to come, and then all the students clap and cheer for me, giving the illusion of credibility (none of them know who I am, but they assume every other student does!). That environment makes them listen differently.
So rather than getting upset by how excited your kids get over a particular speaker, be glad you have another “ring of influence” in their lives. I hope my children have rings of influence when they get older—otherwise they may not learn anything from me!
Perspective
A church from Telephone, Texas, came to our conference for the first time. I visited with them at the dinner break and asked them what they thought about PlanetWisdom. “There were more students here than in our entire town!” was one response. Another shared “I didn’t realize there were this many Christian teenagers out there.”
Over the next few months I learned this group had gone through a remarkable transformation after attending the event. I’d like to think it was the content, but based on their many comments, I think it had to do with the vision and the confidence they gained after being with so many Christian students. We often forget or neglect the power of assembly.
Some larger churches with large youth groups forget this. They can produce their own events for much less and invite high-caliber speakers and bands to put on their event “in house.” But these groups quickly become socially ingrown—closed ecosystems. One youth pastor brought his large group to an event rather than producing his own (which had been his tradition), and afterward he commented on how good it was for his kids not to be in control, the benefit of being one group of many, and the positive impact of realizing there were other churches and students out there, too.
This is why I always walk through the exhibit hall at the Youth Specialties National Youth Worker Convention—to gain perspective. It’s important to know I’m not the only one out there trying to make a difference; I’m not the center of the youth ministry universe. In fact I’m much smaller than I think. Students in our groups need this, too.
A Change of Environment
Big events also have an incredible power to take students out of their comfort zones—this raises their receptivity to realize new ways to understand their lives. I encourage churches who host our events in their facilities to put their kids in a hotel for the weekend rather than simply sending them home. Why? The experience of an event is powerful when it takes us out of our normal routines—and ditching something as basic as going home to your regular bed can do the trick. Big events can create this energy effectively. It isn’t just the speakers and the band that make the difference; it’s the bus ride, the sleepover, the whole journey that helps the event have impact.
Utility
Few events will change your students forever. An event without local church support, for example, quickly fades during the van ride home. But big events can serve your ministry in different ways. Just thinking about the purpose of the event and how it can be a strategic part of your ministry can help the event have lasting impact.
First try to determine what the event’s purpose is and how the other elements of your program can utilize that purpose. Some events offer pre- and post-event curriculums to integrate teachings into weekly ministries. Others teach strategies you’ll want to be ready to integrate once you return home. Asking for materials related to the content of the event can be very helpful.
I know many youth pastors who returned from events they didn’t check out prior to attending. The students were asked to commit their groups to a direction the youth ministers didn’t want to lead their kids. Does the event support the church or try to go around it? The better events believe in the local church and support its workings rather than trying to replace it.
Not all events offer depth of content, and that’s fine; just know what you’re getting, expect a great time to be had, and try to focus on relationships and the momentum that comes from having an inspiring experience.
Big Events Aren’t Dead!
As I enter year seventeen of big-event ministry, I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to serve the church in this way. As big events are becoming more expensive to produce, we’ll see many new ones rise and fall. The economics aren’t all that good, and the risk is high. But big events aren’t dead, and my guess is they won’t go away anytime soon. They do provide value to the church and its mission.
We can help events become more helpful by being more discriminating in what we choose to support and doing all we can to use them to their fullest as God uses them in the lives of our students.
