CrossExamined.org Event Hosting Checklist

Thanks for trying to make a difference for Christ on your campus!

Below is a checklist of things your team should do when you bring Dr. Frank Turek (or another CrossExamined speaker) to your school or church outreach event to conduct a dynamic I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist seminar. This checklist includes everything we could think of to help you produce an effective event. There are three basic things you need to do: get the room, secure the funding, and publicize the event. An on-campus Christian ministry can help you do those things relatively easily. Below are the details.

For more information, you can contact us at Seminars@CrossExamined.org.

Planning

Pray throughout this entire process

It takes some effort to host an event, but it is worth it!

Get a Campus Ministry to host the Event

Usually an enrolled student associated with an approved campus ministry (e.g. Intervarsity, Campus Crusade, Chi Alpha, BCM, etc.) is the best way to invite Crossexamined.org to campus.

Set up a Meeting of Volunteers

After you get in contact with a host campus ministry (or ministries), set up a meeting with potential volunteers (keep in mind, you may find volunteers in other campus ministries as well). In the meeting you will need to ask people to help with:

Setting a date for the event
Getting in contact with the proper campus employees for setting up the event
Acquiring donations (see below)
Advertising the event

Ask for funds from the University, Campus Ministries, Area Churches and Local Business People

CrossExamined.org is a non-profit organization. We charge students nothing to attend, so all expenses are paid by donations. For your event, we ask you to seek donations from your university, area churches, campus ministries, local business people, and parents. All donations are tax-deductible.

The goal for a campus event is to cover advertizing and travel expenses and at least $1,000, but preferably $2,000 donated to the ministry of CrossExamined.org. If that is not possible, let us know how much you can raise and CrossExamined might attempt to cover the gap with other donations. Here is what you can do to raise the necessary funds:

Make a funding request to your university—they have money available for educational events like these. Every university is different, so you’ll have to call around to see who holds the purse strings. Don’t neglect the office of the President. Presidents have discretionary money for speakers. If you’re at a typical campus, you’ve had a disproportionate number of atheist, liberal, and Darwinian presenters, and very few Bible-believing Christians. Appeal to the President’s sense of fairness.
Request funding from campus ministries and area churches. They benefit from an I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist event because they can minister to the attendees after it’s over. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist attracts people across the entire spectrum of beliefs—many of whom would never attend a typical campus ministry meeting or a church service—so it’s a great place for ministries and churches to reach such people. (Moreover, placing interested attendees with a campus ministry and church is essential for discipleship.) Let campus ministries and churches know that they will have an opportunity to introduce themselves via literature or a short announcement at the end of the event.
Local business people or other individuals at church often have a heart to support something like this, especially if their children go to the university. Ask members of your group if their parents would be interested in underwriting an I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist seminar. (Please make out all checks to CrossExamined.org. Again, donations are tax-deductible.)

Pick several possible dates

Then check with Crossexamined. Schedule the event on a weeknight when there are few campus events going on (i.e. clubs) or on the night when the campus ministry normally meets. That way people do not feel conflicted. (And make sure it does not conflict with major sporting events.) Schedule it to start a specific time (like 6:45 or 7:15) and plan the event to last for 2 hours and 15 minutes (that includes 45 minutes for questions). Even if the event is taking place during the normal ministry meeting time, it is best to advertize it as a special event. That way more skeptics will attend.

Secure the Auditorium

Get in touch with campus officials and book a place and time for the I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist event. A title like that attracts a good crowd if promoted properly. We’ve had anywhere from 100 to 1500. Usually you want to have the place booked at least four hours. That gives you an hour before the event starts and almost an hour after the event ends.

Check for Sound, Projector and Screen

Does the venue have a projector and screen for powerpoint and a sound system? If not, ask campus officials or an area church to borrow that equipment. We need one wireless lapel mic for the presenter and a wireless handheld for the Q & A period. We also need to connect the laptop to the sound system via the sound card (standard eighth inch plug).

Double check after a week to make sure the place is booked.

You want to avoid any problems in this area, so double check!

Keep in touch with CrossExamined

Be sure to remain in constant contact with Crossexamined (Seminars@CrossExamined.org or 704-845-1997) as well as whoever else in the ministry is working with setting up the program.

Advertising

Set up a Facebook group about the I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist event!

Go to Crossexamined.org for an example from a previous event. Invite as many people as possible. Ask others to forward the link to their address book. Allow people to contact you. Trust me, this is the best way to publicize the event—about 85% of college students use Facebook. (Make sure there is a link to www.CrossExamined.org on that Facebook page—the one-minute intro video on the Youth Exodus Problem page, and the I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist highlight video on the CrossExamined Solution page should intrigue people).

Fliers and Posters

Often, a ministry or church will donate the money for this to be done. If not, it’s not that expensive. Depending on the size of your campus you will have to vary the amount of posters you print. For a medium size university, I would suggest about 200. (Contact Crossexamined.org for a poster template that you can modify). At one school, fliers were printed up and put in every student mailbox—we had to turn people away at the event because we ran out of seats and 200 people were already sitting on the floor!

Radio

See about getting announcements made on campus radio or local Christian stations (such PSAs are normally free, but you have to get on the PSA list well in advance of the event. Start early!)

Newspaper

This works really well! If you can get newspapers (school and/or local) to do a story about the event, people from the community will come out.

Talk it up!

Don’t just use posters and fliers. Talk to people face to face. Talk with college pastors in the area and campus ministry pastors. Make a stir. Let everyone know there will be Q & A and the presenter will be on the hot seat from atheists and professors.

Other ministries

If you haven’t already done so, get in contact with various other campus ministries about 3 weeks prior to the event and see if they might want to get involved with advertising and sponsoring the event. Ask a couple officials to attend.

Books

CrossExamined would like to offer I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist for sale to students at a reduced price. Let CrossExamined know where they can mail the books at least two weeks prior to the event. You’ll need a volunteer to man the book table the night of the event.

Hosting (Day of the event and beyond)

Check Equipment

Make sure all the technical sides of the event are in order. This includes setting up a sound system, getting a projector and a projection screen, getting Q&A microphones, a wireless lapel microphone, and an eighth inch plug to get sound from the laptop to the sound system. Also, please ensure there is a table for books.

Have a Team Meal/Reception

Meet everyone, including the speaker, at least 2 hours prior to the event. You may want to plan a pre-event meal with the entire team. If people have donated to the event, invite them to this dinner.

Follow Up

Consider hosting a follow-up study of the book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist after the event. (Curriculum is available from CrossExamined.org through ImpactApologetics.com.) Have fliers at the event to advertise. Offer campus ministries and churches opportunity to introduce themselves and their ministries via literature or short announcement at the end of the event.

Schedule Part 2 of "I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist"

Schedule this for the next night, later in the semester, or the following semester.