Guest Speakers for Church Events: Three Things to Consider When Looking for One
What’s Your Vision?
At the end of the day, your vision as the planner of the event is the number one driver for all decisions that need to be made. Whether it’s the guest speaker, the worship team, the volunteers, or even the flow of the schedule, it should all correlate to your vision.
What does it mean to have a vision for your church event?
Ultimately, what do you want your attendees to take away from their time with you? Maybe you want them to fully understand how to break free from addiction, or maybe you want them to be equipped to handle conflict in their marriage. The number of objectives is limitless, but this is what drives your vision. Once you have that, you can further develop the vision by asking questions like:
What do I envision the atmosphere of the event like?
What do I want people to feel as they are arriving or leaving?
Who do I think would benefit the most from an event like this?
Moving from having a vision to finding a speaker
Once you feel like you have a good grasp on your vision for your spiritual retreat, marriage seminar, etc., you’re ready to look for a speaker. A good place to start is existing expertise in the area you are focusing on. This comes through with successful books related to the area, a well-known online presence related to this area, and general history of success related to the field. If someone like this doesn’t fit your budget, you might want to look into a person you know who may not have these platforms but who is knowledgeable on the topic and is good at public speaking. A common misconception is that you have to have experts as guest speakers or keynotes, but as long as the person is able to communicate, educate, and inspire your guests, then they could be a good fit.
Theological and Doctrinal Alignment
On some occasions, it makes sense to have someone speak at your conference or event that does not directly align with your theological or doctrinal stances, but this has to be a conscious decision that aligns with your vision. In general, an event is the last place you want to take a risk that someone is going to deviate from a core value of yours or your organization. As a matter of trust building, people are coming to your event with the expectation that you are looking out for them, and picking a guest speaker that does not align in these ways could create a mess and damage your ability to host this event in the future.
Areas of alignment to look for:
Denomination affiliation. When someone is directly affiliated with a denomination, there is a level of trust that comes with that. They have already been vetted and approved by people you know and trust.
Key theological values. Each person and organization has theological areas that cannot be compromised. Make sure that you and the speaker see eye-to-eye on these issues.
Mutual acquaintances: Make sure that the guest speaker is in good standing with people that you know and trust in the industry or that are involved with your organization. Where there is relational tension in this area, it could point to a larger issue that could be a problem should you choose to bring them in for your event.
Speaking Style
There is a famous youtube video where a church brings in a drummer that does not match their musical style. In the middle of the well-known song called “oceans” by Hillsong, he begins playing a really aggressive drum beat. The style is jarring and becomes a complete distraction from the rest of the worship. The same thing happens when you bring in a guest speaker that does not match the tone of your event or the audience that is coming in. Similar to the note above regarding theological and denominational affiliation, the only time you’d want to break this rule is if you were intentionally looking to expose your crowd to someone new or different than what they’d be comfortable with.
Aspects of speaking style to consider:
Teacher or Preacher: Yes, there’s a difference. A preacher is going to be very motivational but will typically lack the ability to clearly communicate complex theological ideas or other key principles. If you envision your audience taking diligent notes for each session or for this topic, a preacher is probably not the best fit. A teacher, on the other hand, will be great at breaking down complex topics and equipping your audience to figure something out, but may not be very motivational. Depending on your budget, it’s actually best to bring in both styles for different aspects of the main topic so people are equipped and inspired.
Audience Engagement: If you envision a speaker who is going to be funny and highly relatable, you need to consider this when vetting. Additionally, maybe you want there to be a dynamic response time for people to receive prayer at the front of the room, this as well needs to be considered at the front end.
Time Management: If your event is going to be highly structured, you are going to need someone who can adhere to their allotted time. If structure doesn’t matter as much, then a looser speaker who is able to flow freely might be a better fit.
Conclusion
Finding the right guest speaker for your church conference or special event is a fun process but also a difficult one. Making the right choice is a process of prayer, discernment, and due diligence. If you take some of these measures into account, I’m confident that you will find the right speaker each time you are looking for one.
Have some questions about guest speakers? Email me at grrttblack@gmail.com and let’s talk about it.
