Blog - Page 54 of 65 - Retreat-in-a-Bag 54

Blog

A Tip for Name Tags

We want our ladies to wear name tags at any event to promote fellowship and getting to know one another by name–not to mention helping those of us who forget names that we should know!.  There are various options when you are considering name tags.

  • There are peel-and-stick name tags which are the most economical option, but they are best used for one day events.
  • There is the pin style badge where the name tag slips into a plastic cover which can be pinned on.  Although these say “garment friendly” now, we find that these are not the best option for women, because the pins may pull and even ruin certain fabrics.
  • There is the clip-on badge, of which there are several varieties.  While better than pin style, these also can be detrimental to clothing.
  • There is the lanyard, which is a cord worn around the neck.

We have used all of these options.  But now, for many of our events, we use lanyards. What is a lanyard?  It is defined as “a cord worn around the neck” and they may be purchased at any office supply for use with name badges.  Some have clear covers attached at the end, others have clips.  As you can imagine, this option is the most costly per person.

How do we justify the extra cost?  At the end of the event, we ask that the ladies leave their lanyards in a basket at the rear of the room, or we pass around a basket for the lanyards to be dropped in.  That way, we can reuse those that are returned.  We have also done this with badge covers.  So while the initial outlay may be a little more expensive, in the end, they are not only the safest for our ladies’ clothing, but they result in a lower overall investment.

Posted in: Ingredients for a Great Retreat, Lessons Learned, Registration

Leave a Comment (0) →

Don’t Overbook Your Guest Speaker

It is understandable that those planning the retreat would want fill the schedule with teaching sessions, to insure that we are “filling the cup” of all of our women.  However, you do not want to “overbook” your guest speaker.  Plan your schedule so that your guest speaker has down time between sessions to regroup, review her notes, pray and ready herself for the next session. Do not expect your speaker to participate in other retreat events; if they choose to participate, it is a blessing.  However, make sure your guest speaker knows that she has the option to stay with the group and fellowship or retreat to her room.

Our retreats go from Friday night to Sunday noon, and we normally schedule the guest speaker three or four times.  In addition to the main sessions, we sometimes ask the guest speaker to share informally on Friday night (the first evening of the retreat).  If she is willing, we ask her to share her testimony, so that the ladies can get to know her.  Women respond to a speaker that has been open and shared glimpses of her life and background.

Posted in: Your Guest Speaker

Leave a Comment (0) →

Paying Your Guest Speaker

I Timothy 5:18 says “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.'”  No one should expect a guest speaker to speak at an event without paying them.  As you begin to plan for your event, immediate budget items should include your speaker’s honorarium and travel expenses.  If you are on a tight budget, it is best to find a speaker who is closer to home.

When you contact your potential guest speaker, one of the first questions you need to have answered is:  Does she charge for her services?  Don’t assume that all speakers are fine with a love gift or whatever you can afford.  Many speakers have a set charge because this is how they earn their living.

If the speaker does not have a set charge, we normally set the honorarium according to the number of times that she will be speaking.  It is hard to give a hard and fast rule for determining the honorarium, because so many factors come into play, including your location.  You may want to get a ball park honorarium amount from a nearby church.  Currently, our rule of thumb is between $100 and $125 per teaching.  For a retreat with three main sessions, that is about $400.  This is probably low compared to what larger churches pay.

Prepare the honorarium in advance.  Enclose it within a thank-you note and give it to your guest speaker at the end of your event.
More on honorariums here.

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning, Your Guest Speaker

Leave a Comment (0) →

Check, Check, and Recheck!

The week of the retreat is here.  After registration closed, there was a flurry of activity that we described as “shenanigans.”  This last minute juggling of who is attending and who is in what room increases the chance for errors and confusion as women arrive and check in at the retreat.

So, to avoid this confusion as much as possible, this week we were doing a lot of checking.  Do we have a name tag for everyone who is now committed to attending?  Did we spell the names on the name tags correctly?  Is the final rooming list correct?  Does everyone on our final registration list match up with those on our rooming list?  Is the hotel’s printout of the rooming list correct?

The checking is time consuming, but it pays off as registration at the retreat runs smoothly.

Posted in: Retreat and Event Planning

Leave a Comment (0) →

Resource Guide for Women’s Ministry – A Book Review

Resource Guide for Women’s Ministry is a book which offers “practical and creative ideas for leading prayer groups, using your home in a hospitality ministry, beginning outreach programs, forming fellowship support groups, and much more.  The author, Linda McGinn Waterman, desires that every woman find God’s ministry for her life. God equips us for ministry through the unique experiences, circumstances and events of our lives.  He gives us the Holy Spirit to direct and empower us to to His work.

The book is geared more toward the individual and her ministry within the community or neighborhood rather than toward a women’s ministry within the church, although some of the her ideas may work in a women’s ministry group setting.  She encourages women discover God’s ministry for their lives.  She encourages us to look at the needs around us (the poor and needy, senior adults, caregivers, married couples, homeschool families, single parents, widows, etc.) and to find practical and creative ways to minister to them.  Some of her suggestions include:  prayer groups, one-to-one and small group discipleship, hospitality, planning a women’s conference and starting evangelistic outreaches such as Bible studies and luncheons.  For the woman who doesn’t know what her ministry is, the book includes a “personal inventory” for the reader to complete in order to help her identify her ministry “niche”.

The value I see in this book is that it gives an overview of the many needs that are all around in our community, and encourages women to not only be aware of those needs, but to find a creative way to minister to those needs.  Each chapter is filled with creative ministry ideas and real-life experiences of women who have found a unique way that they can be used as His instruments in a hurting world.

Posted in: Book Reviews

Leave a Comment (0) →
Page 54 of 65 «...3040505253545556...»