Section 3: The Logistics

Workshop Hosting Manual

For the other sections of this manual, please see:

SECTION 3: THE LOGISTICS
3.1. Overview of Responsibilities
3.2. Host Church Workshop Coordinator
3.3. Instructors and Small Group Leaders
3.4. Promotional Strategies
3.5. Participant Notebook and Materials
3.6. Facilities
3.7. Audio/Visual
3.8. Accommodations
3.9. Meals and Refreshments
3.10. Registration
3.11. Book Table
3.12. Pre-Workshop
3.13. Musical Worship

3.1. OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES
This section of the manual is a general list that outlines most of the costs and administrative duties associated with the Workshop and how we typically share them with a host church. All registration income is collected for the CST to defray our costs. And so, we recognize that hosting a Workshop is a commitment not only of time, but financial resources as well for the host church. We hope it is an investment that proves to be worthwhile.

Before we get into the details, you should know our basic philosophy: We are not in this business to profit, but rather because we truly believe that recovering the Word of God for the church by encouraging and equipping pastors and Bible teachers to preach expositionally is important. In fact, it is the vision for our entire organization. We are a non-profit charitable ministry. We have never made any money on the Workshops and do not intend to. We raise money to support the overall cost. We hope that you, as a host church, will join us as a partner in this work of ministry. At the same time, we hope to keep the costs to a minimum. A typical breakdown of how the costs are shared follows:

Charles Simeon Trust

design of the brochures
honoraria for guest instructors
travel expenses for guest instructors (e.g., flights, transportation, food)
lodging accommodations for guest instructors
purchase of books for the Workshop book table or arrangement to outsource this function
shipping costs of the books to and from the host church

Host Church

promotion to local pastors and Bible teachers (one-on-one meetings, phone calls, denominational meetings)
postage for brochure mailings (if host decides to use this method of promotion)
participant notebook and name tag for each participant
possibly transportation for instructors during the Workshop
secure and arrange facilities (for large groups, small groups, meals, and book table)
meals and refreshments
digital projection and audio recordings of the plenary sessions (including sending audio files to the CST)
leader for musical worship portions of schedule
host church coordinator (see below)

3.2. HOST CHURCH WORKSHOP COORDINATOR
In order to ensure that the many aspects of hosting a Workshop on Biblical Exposition are handled efficiently, it is essential to have an onsite Workshop Coordinator. The Coordinator will be responsible for working with a representative of the CST. While the Workshop Coordinator does not, and cannot, perform all the necessary tasks, it is the Workshop Coordinator’s responsibility that all tasks are completed. Accordingly, it is best to delegate some tasks to other people. We recommend the following categories:

onsite Workshop Coordinator
facilities and equipment coordinator
mailings and other clerical work
registrar who also coordinates text assignments
audio/visual
music
onsite food coordinator
onsite check-in person
onsite book table coordinator (if applicable)

3.3. INSTRUCTORS AND SMALL GROUP LEADERS

Instructors
The instructors at a Workshop are extraordinarily important to the work of the Charles Simeon Trust (CST). While the CST will occasionally bring a notable international preacher to speak at Workshops, we are equally committed to developing a team of preachers and Bible teachers to travel to and lead the Workshops. It should be noted that we require all instructors and small group leaders at the Workshops to agree to our doctrinal statement.

Charles Simeon Trust

Secure the guest instructors for the Workshop.
Provide honoraria for guest instructors.
Consult with the host church concerning preferences for the guest instructors’ accommodations.
Arrange and pay for the travel expenses of the instructors to the Workshop.
Communicate the travel itineraries of the guest instructors to the host church.
Pay for the guest instructors’ accommodations.

Host Church

In consultation with the CST, the host pastor and applicable staff should confirm speaking schedule.
You may be asked to arrange to pick up and welcome the instructors from the airport. You may also be responsible to provide transportation for the instructors during the Workshop. If the guest instructors prefer to rent a car, the CST will cover the cost.

Small Group Leaders
The small group sessions are the most important aspect of the whole Workshop. The CST takes choosing and training the small group leaders very seriously. We consider a combination of preaching experience and experience in our Workshops as well as the number of times they have served as an apprentice leader in choosing small group leaders. We require all instructors and small group leaders to agree to our doctrinal statement. Both small group leaders and apprentice leaders are required to attend the pre-Workshop. For more information, please consult our small group leaders selection guidelines.

Charles Simeon Trust

Provide the host church with a list of approved small group leaders (SGLs) and apprentice leaders (APPs).
Initiate a conversation with the host church about SGLs and APPs.
Give final confirmation on SGL invitations and APP invitations.
Provide a discount code for SGLs only (not APPs) that will waive their registration fee.

Host Church

In conjunction with the CST, select, invite, and affirm SGLs and APPs.

3.4. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES
The best advertisement is word of mouth and personal interaction. The host pastor(s) and other designees should try to speak with as many other pastors in person as possible as well as place strategic phone calls to local pastors. Additionally, the CST will provide design files for the host church to print or post online. The host church should begin distributing flyers at local meetings of pastors or through the mail to local pastors. The first group contacted should be any pastors who have previously attended Workshops. They can be given extra flyers in order to invite their fellow pastors (remember, word of mouth is the best promotion). In most cases, the CST website will also advertise the Workshop and be ready to take online registrations. The promotional efforts should be made in conversation with the CST as we may be able assist in some of the planning. A lot of this is covered in our promotional strategies document found on our Downloads page.

Charles Simeon Trust

Provides design files to host church
Covers printing cost of brochures (if hosts desires)

Host Church

Approximately five months before the Workshop, assemble a list of pastors/Bible teachers to be invited directly via mail or email.
Use social media, websites, and other online platforms to reach a broader audience.
The first mass promotion should happen at least three or four months prior to the Workshop.
It is important that participants who have attended previous Workshops be contacted early in the process. Encourage them to invite fellow pastors/Bible teachers.
The host pastor should begin making phone calls and setting up personal appointments at least three to four months before the Workshop.
It can also be helpful to have the host pastor mention the Workshop at denominational meetings or other gatherings of pastors/Bible teachers.
One to two months prior to the Workshop, the host pastor and his staff should follow up with phone calls to get more registrations.
One month before the Workshop, additional promotion should encourage participants to register before the registration price increases.

3.5. PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK AND MATERIALS
The participant notebook is intended to be the onsite guide for participants. It should include general information for the participants such as a schedule, instructor information, and paper for notes. Some instructors might provide outlines for their talks. These will be provided to the host church by CST. Name tags should be distributed with the notebook at registration. It is also good to make available information about local attractions such as restaurants. Giveaway books or Bibles can also be distributed with the notebooks and name tags.

Notebooks
The host church should design and compile a notebook for all participants. Many of the needed files are provided on our Downloads page. Additional design files and elements as well as some examples are also found there. A complete list of documents required for the notebook can be found in the Host Church Checklist.

Please note: our privacy policy does not allow participants’ contact information to be shared in the participant notebooks.

Name Tags
Because the plenary sessions are very interactive, name tags are really important. It will take a couple days for the instructors to learn the names of the people who are not in their small groups. As such, durable name tags are preferred. The adhesive label type of name tag wears off too quickly and the participants will stop wearing them too soon.

Additional Materials
Regardless of whether the host church takes on the book table, in the United States, the CST will try to arrange for a book to be given away for free. In the United States, we will also try to arrange for a free ESV Bible to be given away. These will come from Crossway (and courtesy of Crossway). Unfortunately, these free books are not always possible and, outside of the United States, not even likely. The books can be given to the participants as they check-in at registration.

3.6. FACILITIES
The Workshops on Biblical Exposition generally require a few different rooms. First, a larger room where plenary sessions can be held for the full array of participants is required. Several smaller rooms for the small groups are also necessary. Finally, a room for meals and refreshments will be needed. Additionally, a small space set aside for the books near the eating area would be helpful If the host church is providing a book table.

Host Church
Please consider the following when deciding upon rooms:

The proper number of small group classrooms to seat each group of participants around tables is necessary. The number of classrooms depends on actual number of registrations.
The classrooms should be big enough to accommodate two tables placed together to form a square (or a single circular table) and chairs for seven to nine people and not feel overly crowed in order that they can move around freely.
The classrooms must have a whiteboard.
For the plenary sessions, one large room that meets the audio/visual guidelines and is sufficient to seat all of the participants is needed.
For the plenary sessions, there should be a pulpit or lectern, microphone (headset or lapel style preferred), and a digital presentation display.
area for refreshments/meals
The eating area needs to be big enough to hold tables for the refreshment breaks and meals, as well as tables for the participants.
registration table
book table in or near the area for eating (if applicable)

Equipment for the Classrooms

tables in each classroom for roundtable-style seating and enough chairs
whiteboard or chalkboard for each classroom
proper dry erase markers or chalk and eraser
signs on or near the door of each room with the small group leader’s name

Equipment for the Plenary Sessions

lectern or pulpit
microphones (headset or lapel style is preferred for instructors, handheld(s) is needed for announcements and Q&A session)
audio equipment necessary to record the plenary sessions
interactive presentation display (we will connect an iPad to the screen using Wi-Fi or HDMI)
chairs for the participants (tables also preferred)

Equipment for Other Areas

tables to hold the refreshments and meals in the eating area
tables and chairs for the participants in the eating area
appropriate number of tables needed for registration
tables for the book table area

3.7. AUDIO/VISUAL
Host churches are expected to record the plenary sessions (excluding the Q&A session, which should never be recorded). If of sufficient quality, the goal will be to make these recordings available to the participants. In such cases, the CST will make them available as downloads for free via our website.

Quality
Please note that the recording quality is very important. Because the plenary instructional sessions will typically include moments of interaction, certain types of recording are very problematic. For example, tabletop recorders or handheld recorders will tend to pick up unintended discussion or other ambient noise. We prefer some kind recording system that makes use of a microphone. The audience interaction is not important for the recording and the quality will go down significantly without a microphone. If we don’t feel the recording quality is good enough, we will not post the audio to our website.

Media
For audio files, the .mp3 file type is preferred. Please record in high quality and provide us a separate, labeled file for each talk. Do not record or include the Q&A session, as we will never post Q&A online. We like to archive the recordings in high quality (44.1 kHz, 256kbps, stereo). We will down sample them before we post them online. To transfer the media to a CST representative after the Workshop, we prefer that the compressed files are shared with us via Dropbox or some other cloud service (e.g., GoogleDrive). Please label each audio file with the name of the talk and speaker. Mailing us media with the files is also acceptable. Please contact the CST to arrange this.

3.8. ACCOMMODATIONS
The participants are responsible for their own accommodations. At the same time, it is generally a good idea to make information available for participants traveling some distance to the Workshop. Some participants will prefer hotels while others may wish to stay with a host family from the church. Local dining information should also be made available as some participants may not be familiar with the area. Please remember, the CST will make the hotel arrangements for the instructors.

Host Church

Contact your CST representative with two or three nearby hotels that you recommend.
If you expect a lot of out-of-town participants, you may want to secure a group rate at local hotel(s) and provide that information to all participants.
Arrange for a few host homes for participants if needed.

Using the information gathered, prepare a lodging information sheet for the participants, to be included in the confirmation email. Prepare directions and a map to the lodging options. Also include directions to the Workshop site from the hotels.

3.9. MEALS AND REFRESHMENTS
The host church is the host. That may seem like a silly statement, but the overall experience of hospitality that the participants feel will be inevitably attached to the host. And so, as the host, what the hospitality looks like will and should completely depend on you—your style, your commitments, your creativity, your desire to be hospitable. Food and beverages for the Workshop need not be extravagant. A quick, simple meal will certainly suffice. Though, please have coffee and water available throughout the Workshop. Of course, there are an endless variety of ways to add on. From breakfast in the mornings, to snacks during the breaks, to lunches-to-go on the last day, there are plenty of extra opportunities for meals, snacks, and beverages. Meals can be catered, volunteers can be recruited to provide food, or food can be ordered in. The options are endless.

Host Church

Establish a budget for the Workshop food and drinks that your church will cover.
Refreshments can be provided for the breaks throughout the Workshop and meals must be provided when scheduled (consult with the CST representative to determine where the meals fall in the schedule).
Provide a room or area for the breaks and meals. Have enough chairs and tables available for the participants to sit while eating meals.

3.10. REGISTRATION
A good beginning is very important for establishing the tone of the Workshop. A smooth communication scheme before the Workshop begins and an easy check-in are always a good start.

Host Church
The host church Workshop Coordinator is to keep a close eye on all the registrations. The individual registration records will be provided by the CST via a shared GoogleSheet. This document will be very important for small group assignments and communication that happens prior to the start of the Workshop. At the Workshop, registration or check-in should begin one half-hour before the Workshop is scheduled to begin. Please have enough tables set up and people working so as to make the process go quickly.

Communication Before the Workshop

Regularly check the shared GoogleSheet for new registrations.
In conversation with the CST representative, begin to compile the small group assignment list using the Small Group Assignment tab on your Workshop’s GoogleSheet (provided and set up for you by the CST representative).
Approximately four weeks before the workshop begins, start sending registration confirmations and small group assignments to the participants. As new participants register after this point, you will want to respond with confirmation and assignments as soon as you can. The complete list of what should be sent is included in the Host Church checklist.

Instructions for Checking in Participants

Using the registration spreadsheet, confirm each person’s name and information as they register.
Give them a participant notebook and a name tag. You can also give them the book giveaway(s) at this point if you choose.
At the close of the Workshop, please notify the CST representative of the final registration, noting any no-shows or variances to the current list.

3.11. BOOK TABLE
At this time, we are generally not offering book tables at Workshops on Biblical Exposition.

Please note: Any and all exhibitors, including book tables, seminaries, publishers, and teaching resources must be approved in advance by the Charles Simeon Trust. We do not encourage exhibitors at Workshops. The focus and time constraints of the Workshops simply do not allow for outside organizations to occupy time or pull attention from the goals of the Workshop. These events aren’t conferences, but Workshops. As such, if an exhibitor is approved, it will be highly exceptional that they will be allowed to make a presentation during the Workshop.

3.12. PRE-WORKSHOP
The pre-Workshop is the training for the small group leaders and instructors, typically the day before the Workshop begins. It is one of the most important segments of the Workshop as it is the way we train the small group leaders for the important work of the small groups during the Workshop. Because we go through the small group texts in a compressed fashion, it is also an intense time. And so, it is important that the pre-Workshop runs smoothly. For planning purposes, there are three important aspects of the pre-Workshop. First, the attendance list of the pre-Workshop will need to be coordinated in conjunction with the CST. The list will include the Workshop instructors, the other small group leaders, the apprentice small group leaders, and possibly a few invited observers. Second, the schedule for the pre-Workshop will need to be set. For the men’s Workshops, it typically starts with lunch and runs for five hours. For the women’s Workshops, it runs mid-morning to the afternoon (the host church providing lunch) with the actual Workshop beginning that evening. The specific schedule will be set by the CST in conjunction with the host. Third, the participant notebooks, name tags, and a few additional things will need to be printed and distributed to the group at the beginning of the pre-Workshop.

Pre-Workshop Materials

participant notebooks
name tags
pre-Workshop schedule
Small Group Leader Guide
blank sermon preparation worksheet

3.13. MUSICAL WORSHIP
As part of most Workshop schedules, we include a song or two in musical worship each day. It can be as simple as a single piano or guitar. While we like to keep this aspect of the Workshop fairly informal, we want to hold to a high standard. As the Workshop coordinator, please convey these points to whomever is appointed to lead. We provide Musical Worship guidelines on our Downloads page.

Leadership
The music leader can be a participant or a staff member or volunteer. They should take the lead during this part of the Workshop. Invite the participants to stand before singing, and to sit after singing. Tell them where they can find the song lyrics (e.g., on a PowerPoint overhead, on a printed sheet in their notebooks). Give direction as needed so participants know what to do. This isn’t their church, so they need direction from the music leader.

Length of Time and Volume
It is extremely important to pay attention to the time allotted for musical worship. It is typically no more than 15 minutes (which for most musicians, means they should be planning two songs for 10 minutes). It often falls at the beginning or end of the day or in between sessions, so the participants will be entering gradually and perhaps not on time. The priority should be beginning and ending at the right times, regardless of whether people seem ready. But it may also mean adapting—possibly doing one song instead of two songs on the fly because things get started a little late. The musical worship is meant to serve the participants, not the music leader. While we appreciate the preparation of the music leader, it is more important to keep the schedule on time and not have our instructors feel pressure to shorten their instructional talks because an ambitious music leader went long. Likewise, it is important that the music leader is set up early and completed whatever sound checks they need before the appointed time. Too often are the participants standing around when the beginning and end of the musical worship has come and gone and while the musicians are still plugging in their instruments and trying to get an appropriate volume. Additionally, appropriate volume is important to heed. For some musicians that are used to playing for churches of several hundred, a room of a few dozen requires some adaptation.

Song Selection
A few songs for a group of people in vocational ministry is not the time to experiment with new songs or practice really obscure ones. There is no faster way to make a group feel like they are not really understood or being led in worship than to confront them with songs that are unknown or hard to sing. As such, it will be good for the music leader to select songs that are very commonly known. It may not be as exciting for the musical leader, but it will be edifying for the participants and encouraging to everyone when the whole group is able to enthusiastically participate in the singing.