So you are running an Indigitous event. People are signed up. There’s energy in the room. You’ve heard great stories about all the progress and exciting work that gets done on projects at other events.
How do you leverage the excitement and momentum to get some projects done that matter at your Indigitous event?
1. Be clear that you want to get work done
It’s important to set a tone that communicates to participants that your event isn’t just about listening to talks, meeting people and filing your head with knowledge. Insist that there is collective intelligence in the room that if tapped, could produce some things that could actually be used to connect people to Jesus using digital strategies. Expect people to contribute their skills in a practical way. Many people will never have had a chance to use their God-given talents in digital to work on actual Kingdom projects.
2. Have a clear deliverable statement for each project
No matter if the create/build/design component of your event is 2 hours or 2 days, having a clear statement of what is expected will help ensure the right people are working on the right projects and they are clear about what to work on.
One way to do this is to lead each project’s description with a “After X hours/days, you will have…”
Here are a few examples.
–After 6 hours, you will have created a digital evangelistic experience in your language built around the #FallingPlates video. You can take this back and run a Digital Day of Outreach with your church and ministry.
–After 6 hours, you will have created a short film to reach students questioning what true love is.
–After 6 hours, you will have designed a social media strategy that will attract 10,000 people to watch an evangelistic video at ThePrize.com and be given the opportunity for further discipleship by local churches and ministries.
3. Work with a champion
Whenever possible, try and connect with a champion a few weeks before the event. Ask the champion to take responsibility for the project and make it happen. (Note: The don’t need any prior experience with the project.)
Go over the project vision and deliverables. Help them think through the process of how they will lead their project group to success. This helps identify any pre-work that needs to be done or resources that might need to be arranged for ahead of time. Often key questions will arise during this time which can be decided that will help address scope and boundaries.
4. Be clear on what type of people are needed
Do you need programmers, videographers or strategists? You likely need a combination of different skillsets. On the project’s summary, explicitly identify who is needed so that people can self-select to areas of interest and passion. Be careful that groups don’t get too big. Anything with more than 7 people can be difficult to manage.
The author, Russ Martin is a digital strategist and coordinated the 10+ projects at Indigitous Addis in May 2014. Get more information on hosting an Indigitous # event here.