Free Resources That Changed How We Do Ministry
Ministry Architects has built a library of free, customizable tools that hundreds of church leaders are already using to strengthen their ministries. In this episode, Brandon and Renée walk through over a dozen downloadable resources, including planning guides, evaluation tools, volunteer systems, and digital ministry helps, all designed to give you more time with people and less time reinventing the wheel.
📘 Major Event Planning Resources
Planning events shouldn’t feel like starting from zero every year.
- Fill-in-the-blank document with specific prompts for recording all event details
- Becomes a historical reference year over year (vendor contacts, costs, lessons learned)
- Perfect for handing off to someone new: “This is the playbook, this is the blueprint”
Major Event Coordinator Job Description
- Every role, paid or volunteer, should have some sort of role description
- Helps people know what they’re saying yes to
- Provides clear responsibilities and expectations for better teamwork
- Captures feedback on what to keep, what to stop, and what to add
- Ensures next year’s event improves on this year’s
💡 The Multiplying Principle: If you’re trying to grow your ministry’s influence, you might hand this event off to someone else. When you do, you’re handing them a beautifully laid out, clearly organized tool rather than a scattered mess.
💡 Staff and Team Evaluation
📖 Read the guide: 4 Features of a Healthy Staff Evaluation Process
A comprehensive guide with thoughtful questions that covers:
- Reflection and visioning
- Ministry progress check-ins
- Caring for the person, not just the role
- Navigating the “minefield” of evaluation conversations well
⚠️ Why This Matters: Everyone knows staff evaluation is needed, but there are so many ways to do it wrong. This guide helps you have the conversation in a way that actually helps people grow.
📅 Time Management and Planning Tools
- A simple but powerful time-management approach useful for anyone in ministry.
- Brandon’s personal experience walking staff through this tool: “I am three for three. People that I’ve walked it through with, after I’m done, each one has said, ‘This is a game changer. I did not think this would be that empowering.’ One guy said, ‘I feel like weight is lifted off my shoulders.'”
📖 Click here for a guide on how to use this tool
- Helps you rise up and look down onto your ministry, your week, your planning
- Working on your ministry versus in your ministry
- Not just quarterly or annually, every week: Are we tracking? Are we hitting the targets?
Two-Year Sermon Planning Approach
📖 Read the guide: How to Do 18-24 Months of Sunday Morning Sermon Prep
From Pastor David Gaddini:
- Step-by-step approach to getting two years ahead with messages
- Translates to youth ministry, children’s ministry, any platform teaching role
- The relief of knowing where you’re going is a gift to yourself and your team
👨👩👧👦 Family Ministry Resources
Whole Family Ministry Conversation Guide
From Chris Sasser:
- Helps churches think holistically rather than siloed (kids, students, young adults as separate tracks)
- Useful whether you’re exploring this approach or already doing it and want to evaluate
- Focuses on the entire journey of faith formation
📚 Curriculum Evaluation
With so many discipleship and faith formation options available, this guide helps answer: Which one is right for us?
✅ Recommended Process:
- Gather a small team
- Give everyone a couple different curriculum options to research (most have free samples online)
- Complete the evaluation guide together
- Narrow down to the best options for your setting
🤝 Volunteer Recruitment: The Megaboard
This resource helps ministries think through:
- What volunteer needs exist
- Who in your community could fill them best
- Thoughtful pairing based on giftedness, not just warm bodies
Why This Matters Even If You Have Enough Volunteers:
- There’s always at least a little turnover (people move, life changes)
- New people join and you want to get them plugged in
- Evaluating how to get people involved is an ongoing part of ministry, not a one-time project
✅ Planning Ahead Example:
If someone comes to you in February wanting to serve, you can appropriately place them: “Great! We’re going to have spots open in August.” You can plan your fall teams in February.
- DON’T: Scramble at the 25th hour because your volunteer team isn’t complete
- DO: Pace recruitment so that by July, you’re full for August
📋 Meeting Leadership
📖 Read the guide: Making Church Committee Meetings Matter
Most meetings feel like a “necessary evil.” This resource paints a different approach:
- Always remind people of the vision
- Root everything in values and mission
- Drive conversation toward decision-making and action
- Avoid regurgitation of things people already know
DON’T: Read PowerPoint slides out loud to adults who can read faster than you can speak
📱 Digital Ministry Resources
📖 Read the guide: Embracing AI: A Pastoral Perspective
Whether you’re:
- Curious but unsure where to start
- Already using AI but want to be more intentional
- Tired of hearing about AI but know it’s not going away
This cheat sheet provides practical guidance for incorporating generative AI into ministry in helpful ways.
- No ring light or special microphone required
- Practical guidance for creating short videos that reach people on Facebook and Instagram
- Helps you communicate with the people you serve in the format they’re already consuming
💡 The Digital Balance: These tools help you be more present with people when utilized thoughtfully, not less.
🗓️ Preventative Maintenance Calendar
📖 Click here for a guide on how to use this tool
Purpose: Ensures nothing gets missed and helps you pace ministry in manageable, sustainable ways.
Organized month by month with prompts for what needs to get done each year.
Example: Christmas Decorating
- October: Start thinking about communication and promotion
- November: Gather the team, put the plan together
- December: Execute the event
- January: Schedule takedown before people buy their Florida flights
💡 Key Insight: Events don’t just happen on one day. They have lead time on the front end and cleanup/debrief on the back end. This calendar forces you to see the whole picture.
🙏 Prayer Cards
Downloadable prayer cards for back-to-school moments:
- August (start of school year)
- January (post-holiday return)
- Spring break return
✅ Action Step: Download now and set a reminder for June to prep prayer cards for August. Support parents, students, and school personnel with intentional prayer at these milestones.
📞 Don’t Miss: Free Coaching Calls
If any of these resources sound helpful but you’d love a one-on-one walkthrough for implementation, Ministry Architects offers free coaching calls.
Click here and get personalized help integrating these tools into your ministry context.