Aim at Nothing and You’ll Hit It Every Time: Why Every Big Event Needs a Clear Target
- Tony Kensinger
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
One of the most important lessons I ever learned about ministry planning came from a simple drawing on a whiteboard.
A mentor sketched a target—just a few circles—with a bulls eye in the middle and said something that stuck with me ever since: “Aim at nothing, and you’ll hit it every time.”
That statement changed how I think about ministry, especially big events.
Most kids ministry leaders don’t lack ideas. We lack clarity.
We plan events because:
it’s on the calendar
we’ve always done it
people expect it
it feels like the next thing we should do
But before you plan another big event, you need to slow down long enough to ask a harder question: Why are we doing this?
Not the spiritual answer you think you should give to make us feel good, but the honest one.
Is this event meant to:
reach families in your community?
disciple kids who already attend?
build momentum for a season?
create a bridge to what’s next?
If you can’t answer that clearly, no amount of planning will make the event feel successful.
One of the most freeing moments for leaders is realizing that not every good idea is right for this season. Just because something worked before—or works somewhere else—doesn’t mean it fits your church right now.
Here’s a simple gut check I use before committing to any big event:
Does this fit the mission and vision of our church?
Is it feasible with our current team and resources?
Does it meet a real need or just fill a slot on the calendar?
What do we want kids or families to do after this event?
That last question matters more than most people realize.
A big event should never be the finish line. It should be a doorway.
If there’s no next step—another relationship, another gathering, another invitation—then the event may be memorable, but it won’t be transformational.
This is especially important for mid-size churches. You don’t have unlimited volunteers or endless energy. Every big event carries a cost, even when it’s successful. Clarity protects your team from burnout and your ministry from unnecessary pressure.
Here’s the irony: When leaders take time to define a clear target, events often become simpler, not more complicated.
You stop trying to impress everyone.You stop copying what doesn’t fit.You stop chasing outcomes you were never meant to carry.
Instead, you build something aligned, intentional, and sustainable.
In the next post, we’ll talk about planning—not with overwhelming checklists or endless details—but with a framework that helps both visionary leaders and process-oriented leaders work together without losing their sanity. Why wait? You can discover step by step planning assistance in the Big Event Lab.
Because once your target is clear, planning becomes a tool not a burden.
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