Building a team is key to being able to pull off your Events Week. If you’re part of a large CU, you might build a team of 7–8 people who don’t have other roles in your CU. In a smaller CU, it may be the current leaders, or even the whole CU, who become the planning team.
As you think about who to invite to join the team, consider the following:
- Conviction: does this person love and trust Jesus?
- Character: does this person’s life display the fruit of the Spirit? Do they love God and people? Are they trying to share Jesus with their own non-believing friends?
- Competence: will this person have the gifting to bring what they need to to their role?
- Chemistry: is the team you’re building diverse, but united? Is there a breadth of year group, church-background and culture? Will the people on your team work well together?
Though you will all have different roles, think of yourself as a team first. Though you will each have separate responsibilities, it’s important that you make important decisions together.
Here’s an example of some of the roles that you might have on a planning team, along with the Job Description and Gifting that might be required:
Finance
Job description: Writing a budget; keeping track of receipts; reimbursing team members; paying bills; communicating financial needs to the CU and local churches.
Gifting: Organised, eye for detail, diligent, faith-filled.
Prayer
Job description: Coordinating prayer support, organising prayer meetings/initiatives.
Gifting: Passionate about prayer, creative, good at communicating.
Publicity
Job description: Coordinating publicity: design, social media, flyers, merch, first-contact.
Gifting: Vision-led, creative, able to work to deadlines.
Follow-up
Job description: Planning a follow up strategy: CU-run events; encouraging personal follow-up of contacts; coordinating response cards; organising the bookstall.
Gifting: Diligent, good with people, vision-led. (Many CUs neglect this role, but it’s hugely important!)
Events
Job description: Organising the practical details of events: booking rooms; sorting décor; planning food; liaising with speakers and others involved in events.
Gifting: Well-organised and able to delegate. You might want different people responsible for different events (e.g. lunch events, evening events, international events).
CU Guests
Job description: Booking CU Guests; sending out information ahead of the week; coordinating accommodation and food; being the point of contact during the week.
Gifting: Good at communication and organisation.
Admin
Job description: Making notes in planning meetings, noting points for discussion and action.
Gifting: Organised with good attention to detail.
Team Leader
Job description: Holding the overall vision, setting the agenda and leading meetings, supporting and empowering team members.
Gifting: Good with people (speakers, team, volunteers), faith-filled, vision-led.In a smaller CU, you might need to double up on some of these roles. That’s okay! In a bigger CU, some of these roles might have ‘sub-teams’ where they can delegate responsibilities.
Things to do:
- Communicate. If you’re part of a large CU, tell the CU committee who you are planning on inviting to join your team. Throughout the planning process it’s important that you communicate well with other CU leaders.
- Ask. Start asking people to join the team. As you ask: share the vision for Events Week first; call out the gifts that you see in them; and explain the responsibilities that they will have.
- Gather. Think about organising a first team gathering. An evening meal in someone’s home? A weekend away to start praying and sharing ideas?