Frequently Asked Questions about Parenting Seminars
- How much does a parenting seminar cost?
- What about travel expenses?
- Should we charge an admission fee to the seminar?
- Should we pre-register people for the seminar?
- If we order more notebooks than we actually use, can we return them?
- How many people do you require for a seminar?
- Do you help with publicity?
- How long is the seminar?
- What are the goals of a HomeWord Parenting Seminar?
- What kind of room is needed?
- What about audio visual equipment?
- What about volunteers? How many do we need?
- How long have you been presenting the parenting seminars?
- Are you affiliated with a particular religious denomination?
- Are your seminar presenters willing to do "extra" speaking, like at a church service, leader training or youth group?
- How far in advance should I schedule a seminar?
- Are some seminar presenters easier to schedule than others?
- What's the first step in scheduling a seminar?
- Once the date is confirmed, what happens next?
Answers:
1. How much does a parenting seminar cost?
The basic fee for the seminar is $1250.00. This amount is the same for all seminars, all presenters, and includes a $750.00 deposit which is due upon the signing of the seminar contract. The balance is due 14 days before the date of the seminar.
In addition to the basic fee, you will purchase seminar notebooks for each parent (or each couple) at a cost of $3.00 each, plus shipping costs. The seminar notebook provides a place for parents to take notes and offers some great questions for further thought, and provides additional information about how to them in parenting.
Back to Top
2. What about travel expenses?
A travel estimate is added to the basic fee. The estimate charged will vary depending on the means of transportation needed for the seminar presenter. For this reason many churches choose a seminar presenter who lives closer to the seminar location.
Driving Estimate - Less than a 2 hour drive one-way, no overnight stay required - $75.00 estimate.
Overnight Estimate – More than a 2 hours drive one-way, overnight stay required - $250.00 estimate.
Flying Estimate – If flight travel is required, $700 estimate to cover the cost of air and ground travel, accommodations, and meals.
The actual amount of travel will be provided to you. We do try to get the best possible rates for airfare, ground transportation (private car, rental car or train), and hotel accommodations to keep travel costs at the estimated level.
Back to Top
3. Should we charge an admission fee to the seminar?
Most churches do. Parents are usually happy to pay for quality events such as this. You can decide on an amount that is appropriate for your community and demographics, but a typical “ticket” to a parenting seminar is in the $10 to $20 range. While you may not be able to cover all the costs of the seminar by selling tickets, you can help offset the costs this way.
Back to Top
4. Should we pre-register people for the seminar?
We strongly recommend that you do. That’s the best way to get an accurate count of how many people will attend (for the purpose of ordering seminar notebooks). You will usually have some “walk-ins,” but it’s best to encourage people to pre-register, which also helps them to feel committed to attend the seminar.
Back to Top
5. If we order more notebooks than we actually use, can we return them?
Our policy is that seminar notebooks can be returned for a credit of $1.50 each. We recommend that you order notebooks based on a realistic expectation of how many parents are expected to attend.
Back to Top
6. How many people do you require for a seminar?
We have no size limitations on the seminars we schedule. It’s completely up to you. Obviously, group dynamics are best when there is a “critical mass” of parents–at least 30 or so, but we are happy to present our seminar to any size group.
If you don’t have a large group of parents in your church, consider going together with another church or churches in your area to increase the parent pool.
7. Do you help with publicity?
We do offer some help, you are responsible for advertising your seminar and getting people there.
We provide you with a CD with the following components:
• Speaker announcement for church service
• Poster
• Bulletin Insert
• Flyer
• Logos
• Speaker Photo
• Audio clip for local radio station
We’ll also post your seminar on our web site calendar. If you’d like we can send out an email blast to our constituents based in your local zip code range.
8. How long is the seminar?
It is scheduled to be three hours long. There are two sessions (approximately an hour and fifteen minutes each) with a break in the middle for refreshments. But we can customize the seminar for a longer or shorter time frame if you wish. The three-hour format is best for an evening seminar (say from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.) or a Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, or Sunday afternoon. Any three-hour time slot will work. Some churches like to make the seminar part of a retreat, or an evening meal, or some other function.
Back to Top
9. What are the goals of a HomeWord Parenting Seminar?
We have three primary goals:
We want to develop in parents a greater understanding and appreciation for what’s happening in the lives of their families.
Second, we want to encourage and affirm parents. Regardless of how they may feel, we want them to understand just how important they are to their kids. We want them to leave feeling hopeful and energized.
Third, we want to give parents lots of principles, ideas, and how-to’s they can put into practice right away. Our seminars are very practical.
10. What kind of room is needed?
All we need is a room large enough for the parents who attend. Chairs can be set up “theater-style” or you can set up tables and chairs in a classroom style. Church auditoriums, fellowship halls, gymnasiums, youth group rooms, community theaters – anywhere your parents will feel comfortable.
11. What about audio visual equipment?
First, you will need to provide a sound system and microphone (preferably a lapel mike) for our presenter.
Second, our presenters use their own laptop computers to show a presentation which is very important to the success of the seminar. You will need to provide a screen, and in some cases, a projector.
Our presenters can also plug their computers into the church’s fixed projection system as long as they are able to keep their computer near enough so that they can operate it. If that is not possible, most of our presenters can bring their own projector, but sometimes it is necessary for the church to provide one.
Our presentation also includes a few video clips that have soundtracks. For that reason, we will also need to plug the laptop computer into the sound system that you have available. We provide the cables and connections to do this.
12. What about volunteers? How many do we need?
You’ll need someone to register people if you are charging an admission fee and to distribute seminar notebooks, flyers and information cards and perhaps someone to assist our seminar presenter if he or she has books to sell. You may also need helpers for serving refreshments, running the sound system, etc. The number is up to you.
13. How long have you been presenting the parenting seminars?
We began presenting seminars in 1989 as part of Youth Specialties. In 1994, we formed a separate organization to focus exclusively on helping parents of teens and pre-teens. In 2005 Understanding Your Teenager became part of HomeWord, a ministry whose mission is “encouraging parents, building families.” More information about HomeWord is available at www.homeword.com.
14. Are you affiliated with a particular religious denomination?
No. All of our presenters are Christians and members of various Bible-believing churches that would be categorized as “evangelical,” but we do not promote any particular theological viewpoint at our seminars. We are very non-denominational in our approach.
15. Are your seminar presenters willing to do "extra" speaking, like at a church service, leader training or youth group?
In most cases, yes. Our seminar presenters are gifted communicators who are often willing to speak at other events or meetings. If you are interested, we will be happy to discuss their availability and the costs involved.
16. How far in advance should I schedule a seminar?
Good seminar dates are available on short notice, but we recommend that you schedule your seminar at least six months in advance, allowing plenty of time to promote the seminar effectively. But if you’d like to do one sooner than that, give us a call. And if you are a person who likes to think WAY ahead, we can book seminars up to two years in advance.
17. Are some seminar presenters easier to schedule than others?
Yes. That’s because most of our presenters are involved in other ministries which also make demands on their time.
Here’s an important tip: If you must have a particular presenter, then you will need to be flexible with your date. But if you must have the seminar on a particular date, then you’ll need to be flexible with who presents it.
18. What's the first step in scheduling a seminar?
Decide on a seminar date (usually it’s a good idea to have a first, second and third choice of dates) and who you would like to present your seminar (see “Presenters”). Then give us a call (1-800-397-9725) or contact us and we’ll let you know which dates are open on our seminar presenter’s schedule. Once we confirm a date, we can issue a contract. Once we receivee the completed contract and the deposit we will secure the date.
19. Once the date is confirmed, what happens next?
The seminar is added to our website, travel arrangements are made, and publicity materials are sent to you. Now it’s up to you to promote the seminar and let us know at least two weeks in advance how many seminar notebooks you will need.
