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Program Length—Over Planning – Part 2

The last post I talked about programs where you are given a specific time to fill. But, there are some times when you’ll get an open ended time frame. Some examples are children’s church programs, a children’s program during a mission’s conference or some other type of conference, or a children’s program while some other type of adult program is going on at the same time. In these instances, you’ll probably get an approximate time frame.

I’ve discovered a formula that’s been a big help to us in those situations. Whatever approximate time I’m given, I add at least half again as much time to it in my preparation. If they tell me 40 minutes, I’ll plan for at least an hour. If they tell me an hour, I’ll plan for at least an hour and a half. There are one or two places where I doubled the suggested time.

The reason for the extra time is two-fold.

First, some services will go overtime. Something unplanned may happen, the speaker may lose track of time, they may get a late start, etc.

Second, if the children’s area is separate from the adult area it will take time for the parents to come claim their children. In many cases even ten to fifteen minutes, because the parents like to hang around and talk.

If you plan for forty minutes and the parents don’t come for an hour, you’ve got twenty minutes to fill. If you don’t have anything planned for those twenty minutes, they will seem like forty or more. It’s a lot easier to cut something than to stretch something out with stuff you haven’t practiced.

One of the worst times it happened to us was at a campground one summer. We were told to plan for about an hour or so. I was familiar with the campground, so I doubled the time and planned for two hours. The first two hours weren’t bad, but that last half hour seemed to take forever.

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