Our series on purposefully planning women’s ministry events continues today with a discussion on when and where you should host your event.

We’ll start with the when and end with the where.

Selecting the best date and location can seem like an impossible task. I’ve got lots of tips to share and things to consider that will guide your team to make the best selections possible.

When should you host your event?

Let’s start by looking at your church calendar.

At our church, the church staff plans the church calendar a year in advance. Some months there are few dates and times for our women’s ministry leader to choose from; other months offer more flexibility. Our women’s ministry leader selects the dates and when our team meets for our fall planning retreat; we help determine the time and content.

If you’re in charge of selecting the date, I have some tips to help.

There is no perfect date that will meet the needs of everyone. However, you can eliminate some poor choices.

Here are some things to remember when selecting the preferred date for your event. I say preferred, because there’s a chance your church calendar or church staff may direct you to a different date.

Tips for Selecting the Best Date for Your Event

1. Always reference your church calendar first. Don’t compete against other ministries or other church events.
2. Be mindful of school vacation days. Keep a copy of the school calendar and know which schools/school districts the students in your church attend. You wouldn’t want to plan a women’s retreat during a school break.
3. Schedule around holidays and not on them. Even if the event is for Valentine’s or Mother’s Day, I’ve found it’s best to select a different day.
4. When possible, avoid community activities your target audience is likely to attend. I would never plan a women’s event on Super Bowl Sunday.
5. For large events such as an annual retreat or conference, it can be helpful to have the event on the same weekend every year. It allows and encourages women to always save the date.  
6. The months of May and Dec are especially tricky. May tends to be busy with Mother’s Day and graduations. In December, your women’s calendars may already be full of other church events and Christmas parties.

Keeping all of those variables in mind, select the best date you can.

What time of day should you host your event?

Your church culture will primarily dictate your start and end times. Consider what time church events and activities usually occur.

If you’re going after a specific target audience hoping to increase their participation, you need to know what time they prefer. Many older women will not or cannot drive after dark, while working women may not be able to attend a daytime event during the week. Younger moms may be busy with sports practices on a Saturday morning.

How are you supposed to choose? You do the best you can with the information you have. Consider sending out a brief survey if you need some feedback from your women about what time of day works best for them.

As you’re setting the time for your event, think through these details:

• Allow time for women to eat beforehand if a meal will not be served.
• If childcare is offered, children will need to return home at a reasonable hour for bedtime.
• Many women find events before 9 AM too early.
• If space is an issue, consider hosting your event twice–with a daytime and an evening option on the same day.

How long should your event last?

That’s a question we won’t answer fully today. I’ll talk about event schedules in the next post.

Typically speaking:

• A breakfast, lunch, or dinner event might last about 2-2/12 hours.
• A half-day conference might run from 9 AM – 11:30 or 10 AM – 2 PM.
• A full-day conference might start around 9 AM and end by 3 PM.
• Retreats usually begin with an evening session at 7 PM (or 6 PM if dinner is included) and last until about 9 or 9:30 PM, and resume around 9 AM the next morning.

If your event is being held somewhere other than your church, your venue will have a set time you need to have everything packed up and removed from your event space.

You’ll want to end before women become overwhelmed by too much content or bored. Late afternoons are a struggle no matter what.

Where should you hold your event?

Our fall women’s ministry retreat was held at the same location on the same weekend year after year. A few years ago, all of that changed. We needed to find a new venue, and our church staff asked us to change the date of our retreat weekend.

In the post on planning timelines, I mentioned venues can book out a year in advance, especially if groups are given the opportunity to rebook the same date year after year.

We needed a place with hotel-style rooms with two beds and a meeting space which could hold about 80 women or more. Our women’s ministry director made some phone calls and checked availability, which narrowed our options down to two venues. A few of our team members (myself included) drove up to the mountains for the day to tour both facilities.

I’m sharing with you many of the same questions we asked.

Generally speaking, you have two options when it comes to selecting an event location.

1. Church (if you have a permanent location)
2. Event Venue

What should you look for in an event location?

It depends on what your event will offer.

A sound system is ideal as it allows everyone to be able to hear. A central location provides convenience.

Here are some questions you’ll want to answer:

1. Do you need childcare facilities?
2. Will you need breakout rooms for small group discussions or workshops?
3. Do you need access to a kitchen?
4. Are there enough restrooms for your group?
5. Are there enough parking spaces for everyone who will be attending?

Sometimes we have to use what we have. If your space is larger than what’s ideal, consider ways you can create a cozy space to encourage connection. Can you put up partitions or group the tables together on one side?

If you’re selecting a community space, retreat center, hotel, or conference center, you’ll need to decide in advance what venue features are necessary and what is preferred.

I suggest you create a list of requirements and preferences together as a team before making a single phone call or venue visit. There’s no need to visit a place that doesn’t fit your requirements.

Here are 8 venue details to consider:

1. Space: Do you want an all-inclusive Christian retreat or conference center? Are you open to a hotel with meeting space? Is your group small enough that you could rent a home? Do you require heating and air-conditioning? How rustic or modern should the venue be?
2. Lodging: How many rooms will you need? Will you offer single rooms? Will women have their own bed, or will you provide an option to share a bed for those who want to save money? Do you need additional rooms for prayer, workshops, and/or discussion groups? Do you need in-room refrigerators or first-floor rooms?
3. Location: How close to or how far away from the church is preferred? Are you looking for a mountain, beach, rural, or city location?
4. Cost: What is your budget? A quick check of rates will help refine your venue list. If you’re not sure what the going rate is in your area, make several phone calls. Be sure to find out what’s included for that price–how many meals, meeting space fees, how many per room, taxes, service fees, and any cleaning fees.
5. Amenities: Do you want on-site activities? Do you need kitchen space, a dining hall, or a coffee shop?
6. Meeting Space: How many people do you need to seat and in what configuration? Do you need tables or an auditorium? Do you want to use a chapel or breakout spaces? Do you need a platform so everyone can see your speaker?
7. Audio-visual Needs: Find out what’s standard and what may be available for a rental fee. Do you have to pay someone from their tech crew to run the lights and sound? On a personal note. I’ve had hearing aids for about 10 years. Expect you’ll have women that are hard of hearing (and they won’t always be as old as you might assume!) and they’ll need your speakers to use a microphone.
8. Food: How many meals do you need to purchase or prepare? Will you have to cook or cater your own food? Can you bring your own snacks, or do you have to purchase them? What type of dietary needs do you need to meet? Many venues can accommodate gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian diets, but you’ll have to ask.

Now that you know what you need and what you want–it’s time to start doing some detective work to find the answers to your questions! Visit some websites and make some phone calls.

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, be sure to ask the following questions.

8 Booking Questions

1. How long can they hold the date and rooms for your group?
2. What percentage/number of rooms are you responsible for if you fail to book every room requested?
3. Will you be able to book additional rooms if you need them?
4. How much is the deposit?
5. When is the deposit due?
6. When will the final payment be due?
7. Are there any additional fees or taxes that will be added?
8. Will they discount or comp any rooms for your group?

I know that was a lot of information. It gets easier every time you do it, I promise!

Here are Today’s Toolbox Tasks:

1. Where are you in the planning process? Do you need to use today’s tips to select the date of your event or the venue?
2. Make a list with your team of what steps you need to take next?

I pray the Lord will give you wisdom and discernment as you pick the perfect time and place for your women’s ministry event.

You may want to read:
Series: Planning Purposeful Events for Your Ministry
Rethinking Fellowship: How to Host Meaningful Women’s Ministry Events
Everything You Need to Know About Planning a Retreat
Women’s Ministry Essentials: How to Build and Sustain a Thriving Christian Community
Pricing Your Women’s Ministry Event: A Step-by-Step Solution
How to Plan, Track, and Tweak Your Women’s Ministry Event Budget
The Ultimate Women’s Ministry Event Timeline: When to Book, Plan, and Prepare
Building an Effective Event Planning Team
Building Prayer into Every Step of Your Women’s Ministry Event
Seven Benefits of Hosting Big Events in Your Women’s Ministry