Event Evaluation Process

Approved SOP — April 2026 | Owner: Pastor / Servants Council | Review: Annually at April meeting
Purpose
This document establishes a simple, repeatable process for evaluating events at Mayflower Church. Consistent evaluation ensures that every event serves the church's mission — "To know Christ and make Him known" — and that we are faithful stewards of the time, energy, and resources God has entrusted to us.
Scope
This process applies to all church-sponsored events, including:
Special events — Easter services, Christmas Eve, Fall Kickoff, VBS, community outreach
Recurring programs — Bible Fellowship Groups, discipleship classes, missions activities
Ministry Team events — Hospitality, Children's Ministry, or any ad hoc Ministry Team event
Governance Alignment
Per the Mayflower Constitution and Bylaws:
Servants Council is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the church's strategic plan (Bylaws, Art. II, Sec. B, §4(c)(2)). Event evaluations feed directly into this responsibility.
Ministry Team Leaders report activities to the pastor or his delegate (coach, deacon, elder, etc.), who includes them in monthly reports (Bylaws, Art. II, Sec. B, §15(j)). The completed debrief form serves as part of that report.
The Evaluation Process
There are three steps. The entire process should take no more than 30 minutes per event.
Step 1 — Complete the Debrief Form (Event Lead, within 7 days)
The person who led the event fills out the Mayflower Church Event Debrief Template within one week of the event. This is a short form covering what happened, what went well, what to improve, and whether the event served the mission. It should take 10–15 minutes.
If the event involved volunteers, the lead should gather quick informal feedback from 2–3 volunteers before completing the form. A brief conversation or group text is sufficient — no survey required.
Step 2 — Review with Pastor (within 14 days)
The event lead shares the completed debrief with the pastor (or his delegate) within 14 days. This can happen at the next regular team meeting or via a brief one-on-one conversation.
The pastor (or his delegate) and event lead together decide on any action items: repeat the event as-is, modify it next time, or discontinue it.
Step 3 — File and Report (within 30 days)
The completed debrief form is saved to the church's designated storage location (see Storage below). The Board chair includes a brief summary in their next monthly board report, which is posted per Bylaws §15(i).
Once per quarter, the Servants Council reviews event evaluations from the prior quarter as part of its strategic plan evaluation responsibility.
Timeline Summary
When
What
Who
Within 7 days
Complete debrief form
Event Lead
Within 14 days
Review with Board chair / Pastor
Event Lead + Pastor
Within 30 days
File form + include in board report
Clerk
Quarterly
Review evaluations at Servants Council
Servants Council
Storage
All completed debrief forms should be stored in a single, accessible location. Recommended options:
Google Drive shared folder (preferred) — Place in "Event Evaluations" within the Servants Council shared drive, organized by year.
Per the Bylaws, the Clerk is responsible for preserving official written communications and administering a records management policy (§12(c)(5–6)). The Clerk should be informed of where event evaluations are stored.
What the Debrief Form Covers
The companion Event Debrief Template asks five straightforward questions:
Mission Alignment — How did this event serve our mission of knowing Christ and making Him known?
Wins — What went well? What should we celebrate or repeat?
Improvements — What would we do differently next time?
Stewardship — Was the investment of time, volunteers, and money proportional to the impact?
Recommendation — Repeat as-is, modify, or discontinue?
The form also captures basic facts: event name, date, lead, attendance, and budget vs. actual spend.
Annual Review
As part of preparing plans and programs for the coming year (Bylaws §15(f)), each Board and Ministry Team should review the year's event evaluations before the October Biannual Meeting. This review should answer:
Which events most effectively served the mission?
Which events should be continued, modified, or retired?
Are we trying to do too many events? (Aim for 3–4 major special events per year.)
Are events scheduled at times when families and members can realistically attend?
Document Control
Field
Value
Document
Event Evaluation Process
Version
1.0
Date
April 2026
Owner
Pastor / Servants Council
Review Cycle
Annually at April Meeting
The source .docx is attached to this page for printing and further editing.