Project Management: You can do it!

There is always a mixture of joy and relief at the culmination of a successful project. If all went well, the planning, preparation and teamwork resulted in an amazing conference, event or retreat. But if you rewind the clock back to the weeks and months prior, you might have found yourself in a state of panic or stress wondering how you were going to pull off this project.

In 9 years of leading and planning women’s retreats for World Impact, I have learned a few tips and tools for running a successful project and hopefully the following can aid you on your project management journey. Below are a few tips—watch the video above for the full list.

Teamwork makes the dream work!

The most important thing I’ve learned is having a TEAM! Don’t try to be superman or superwoman and plan an event or project on your own. Surround yourself with people who have different gifts and talents who can help you. I tend to be a more of a visionary and strategic thinker, so it has been important for me to have a least one other person on the team who is gifted in administration. A few tips for creating your team:

  • Limit the size of your team. Smaller teams are easier to manage.
  • Representation is key. Your team should comprise of representatives from the community or people groups your event is targeting.
  • State expectations. From the beginning, make sure team members know what is required of them.

Utilize social media and technology  

Social media is an effective way to communicate information for your event- from promotion to registration. But it is also a great way to keep your event participants connected year-round to your program. Also, in the event that you have to cancel suddenly because of something like a world-wide pandemic, you can utilize technology to reach your participants. Consider the following:

  • Use Zoom as a way to connect with your planning team as well as your event participants. Consider doing a mini portion of your event through Zoom (worship and prayer time, short teaching, etc.).
  • Use Facebook to encourage participants. You can post challenges, giveaways, do live videos—anything to keep up the morale.
  • Use MailChimp to send out newsletters or deliver digital content of your resources. For example, one of our retreat resources is a devotional book. I created a MailChimp email sign-up so participants can receive a daily devotional from this book for forty days.

Most of these technologies are free to use! Or you can pay a little more to get more options.

Remember, perfection is the enemy of progress. Your event doesn’t have to be perfect to be a success. And every mistake is a lesson learned for next time. But the most crucial piece of advice I can give you is this: PRAY PRAY PRAY! You cannot pray enough for the event, the people leading and those who will attend. Spiritual warfare is real and prayer is our most effective weapon.