One of the key aspects of leadership that I have always found to be invaluable is that of the Post Event debrief. Not just a slap on the back if it was a successful event or a slap on the wrist if it wasn’t, but rather a methodical analysis of all aspects of the event. Here is a list I brainstormed a few years back to help me understand all the aspects of an event that required debrief and analysis. Now we didn’t always debrief this thoroughly at Nowra City Church as some events simple don’t require this level of analysis, but on major events, these are the things we would look at. I post this here as a resource for church leadership. I encourage you to share it with church leaders you know as it might be a good resource for them.

Marketing

Internal

• Consistency of the message
• Professionalism or quality
• Was the message effectively communicated?
• Did we use the right media to communicate to the right people?
• Was the length of the communication campaign too long, too short or just right.
• Did we hear buzz about the event prior?

External

• Was the cost worth it?
• Was the marketing budget adhered to?
• What was the expectation?
• Was there a call to action in the marketing?
• Was it effective?
• How are we measuring if it was effective?
• Was this the best tool to use in marketing this type of event?

Set up

• Was enough time given for setup?
• Was there a contingency plan?
• Did we feed the setup team?
• Did we appreciate the setup team?
• Were there any issues with setup that we need to learn from?
• Was it adequately staffed?
• Was the setup planning?
• Can we identify at least one stuff up that made the setup difficult?

Pre planning

• Was there a timeline laid out at the start of the process
• Was this an accurate timeline?
• Was this adhered to?
• Do we have an allocated person or team that will carry ownership?

Finance

• Did we meet budget?
• If not why not?
• Do comparisons to last year if annual event.
• Did income come from the expected areas?
• What were the causes of any cost blowouts?
• Have we done a Cost Benefit Analysis?
• Was the love offering given in a timely function?

Communications

• Effectiveness of Interdepartmental communications?
• Communications on the day?
• Any negatives in the communications?
• Any failures in communication?
• What modes of communication were used?
• Were they the most appropriate modes of communication?
• Was the timing of the communication right ?
• Did we communicate to the Prayer Ministry Team to cover the event in prayer?
• Did we need to tell relevant outside authorities and was that done effectively?

Staffing – Paid and Volunteer

• Adequate staffing across all areas?
• Did the Department leaders meet their KPI’S?
• Were expectations clearly communicated?
• Was the attitude of the team appropriate?
• Was everything finalized well?
• Were orientations done?
• Were the appropriate records kept for staffing ?
• How are we communicating appreciation to all involved?

Safety

• Was a risk assessment done?
• Were there any injuries or incidents?
• Were they reported appropriately?
• What OHS requirements were needed for the event and were these adhered to?
• Identify things out of this event that we need to consider for future risk assessments
• For major risks – did we inform head office?
• Was the prayer ministry conducted safely?

Atmosphere

• Was there planning for atmosphere?
• How effective was this in its operation?
• Was the atmosphere sustained?
• What was the wow index?
• What was the level of Pre buzz?
• What was the level of Post buzz?
• If we decorated the building – was this effective?

Spiritual

• What was the spiritual impact of the event?
• What was the appropriateness of the message from the platform – related to visiting speakers?
• Would we have the visiting speaker back again?
• Are we happy with what was ministered over the people – specifically prophetically?

Pack down

• Was the clean up effectively undertaken?
• Was it well staffed?
• Were the pack down team appreciated.
• Were things returned to their appropriate place?
• Lock up done?
• Was any damaged in the event and was it recorded appropriately?

Celebration

• How was the success of the event celebrated?
• How was the success communicated to the church?

Attendance

• Were we happy with the attendance?
• If not what do we think are the reasons for lower than expected attendance.
• Suggestions for how this can be improved for the next event

Catering

• Was the food appropriate?
• Were all food handling laws adhered to?
• Was their sufficient food?
• What was the level of wastage?
• Was food budget met?
• What was the stress levels in the catering team?

Meeting KPI’s

• Were KPI’s set
• Salvations?
• Visitors?
• People joining the church?
• Healings?
• People helped?
• Community engagement?
• Church Profile enlarged?
• Fun?

General

• Is there anything else we learnt from the event that we need to record?

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For the record my personal email address is ppilt@ozemail.com.au I love connecting with people. Email me if you would like.

Ps Peter Pilt

Categories: Leadership, Nowra City Church, Sermon Notes

Tags: Church leadership, Debrief, debrief document, Debriefing an event, How do I debrief, Leadership debrief, Leadership resources, Peter Pilt debrief document, Post church event debrief