How do you measure success or failure of an event if you have nothing to compare it to?  The answer is simple; you don’t.  As long as nobody got hurt, that could be deemed successful.  But was the goal of your event really for no one to get hurt?  I would hope you had more in mind than that.

Setting a goal (or goals) for your event creates a focal point that keeps things on track, as well as gives an idea for pursuing such events in the future.  It also helps drive attendance, as people are less likely to show up to something that doesn’t have a purpose to benefit them.  Use the set goal(s) to determine a retreat theme, market the event, and set the schedule. 

Common goals include:

• Fellowship among a group or congregation
• Reaching out to non-church members
• Growth in faith
• Bible study
• Leading youth to Christ

Or your goal could be more specific:

• Annual planning for the church’s upcoming year
• Completing a community service project
• Strengthening the relationship between married couples in your church by discussing the roles and issues of marriage and the Bible’s descriptions of it

The importance of a goal is to measure its success/failure.  This can be done through evaluations.  But don’t just ask if they liked the food.  Questions need to answer the goal of the event.  In the case of “growth in faith”, questions could ask about what the event taught them about God or how it made them feel in their relationship with Him.

Remember to follow through.  Don’t just set it at the beginning.  Revisit your goal(s) throughout your event and after to make sure that you are accomplishing what you set out to do.  After all, that was the reason you were hosting the event in the first place.