Camp. VBS. Kids’ Crusades. Easter Outreaches. All of these activities have a common factor—the preparation for them is enormous! Often the work for these big days starts 9 to 12 months in advance. They comprise a significant portion of your budget. Your volunteer leaders commit to the extra time needed—some even take vacation to do so.

Imagine now, you have planned everything. You have sent out dozens of e-mails, gone door to door, mailed out thousands of postcards, blanketed the community with flyers, and on the day of the event … no one shows up! The hurt and heartache would be astronomical. All that work, wasted. (I pray such a thing never happens to you. It’s a difficult thing. Ask me about the sports camp I did where no one signed up … it was a fun experience.)

What I described is a bad scenario—but it is what many leaders do AFTER every event. Leaders frequently make the mistake of thinking that the last day of camp is the last day of camp or that the closing ceremony of VBS is really the end. The last day of camp is actually the first day of the next phase for the event—follow-up!

Follow-up helps you connect families to the church. Follow-up allows you to reinforce the experiences and lessons of VBS. Follow-up is the difference between a good experience and a great life change.

When planning an event, think of it like two halves of the whole. The buildup to the event, the event, and then the follow-up are all part of the process. Here’s how I would envision it:

If your event planning does not include a follow-up plan, then you are missing a huge opportunity to connect with those who attended and to create long-lasting impact. Was the purpose of your camp to have an experience or to create transformation? If it was simply for the experience, then don’t do anything after the last day. If it was to create transformation, then the last day of camp is the time to get to work!