A good venue can make a huge difference to the success of the week and people’s willingness to come.
There are six factors to consider:
- Accessibility — how far do students have to travel from where they live and study?
- Availability — can you have sole use of the venue all week? — or will you have to set up and down at each event? The latter will require a lot more time and effort. Sole use of the venue also means you can create a space for ongoing conversations — you may want to consider creating a cafe space throughout the day.
- Exclusivity — if you are using public venues (e.g. a café or restaurant) make sure that the owners know that there will be a talk, and that you will have exclusive use of the room.
- Continuity — People are more likely to come back on another occasion if you use the same venue each day.
- Visibility — Do people know where the venue is?
- Flexibility — Can you move the furniture / change the lighting, etc. Sitting around tables is much better for events than sitting in rows is!
Doing more than one event per day? More advice on venues for the different events here.
What if we can’t get a venue in the university? See here for advice
Types of venues to consider
- Lecture rooms
- Cafes
- Canteens
- Bars
- Hotels
- Public venues - eg town hall, concert hall etc.
What if we are still struggling to find a venue?
There are two more options to consider — both have advantages and disadvantages:
A church building — this may be easy to book, as they should be sympathetic to your aims. However, being a church, it may put some people off attending. You will need to work hard to create a warm and relaxed atmosphere, with suitable furniture and lighting.
A marquee — this gives you your own space in which to curate the week and is also a good form of visible publicity! However, it can be expensive to rent and may need heating and security.
Top Tips
- Book early — good venues get booked up, so this is one of your first jobs!
- Get to know the management — people are often more amenable once you get to know them. If you want to book a cafe make a point of going there regularly for drinks and getting to know the staff / owner before you ask.
- Be willing to pay — because a good venue can make such a difference to the success of the week, it is worth budgeting for this. In cafes / restaurants you may need to commit to buying a certain number of drinks / amount of food.
- Consider catering — can you take in your own food? - or do you need to pay for caterers? The latter will be more expensive, but may be worth it for a better experience.
- Communicate — make sure that you clearly communicate what will happen at the events, including the fact that there will be a talk. You don’t want the owners getting upset, turning up the music or throwing you out when they only realise on the day that you are Christians… (it has happened!)
- Pray! God can open doors in unexpected ways. He wants the gospel to be proclaimed even more than we do.
Things to do:
- Strategise. Get a map of your town or city and mark where students live and study. Think about which areas would be best for the events.
- Research. Look at online maps or walk around the areas to look at potential venues.
- Ask. Approach possible venues to find out if they are available for use, and ask how much they would cost.