Forum Event Structure
Suggested Event Outline
Each section has more detailed comments and tips below.
Introduction
Welcome
Thank candidates
Access to toilets etc
Gospel introduction
Pray
Candidate Introductions
Explanation of who has been invited
Introduce Slido for questions (Keep Slido slide up when videos not playing)
Comment on time keeping
Invite each candidate to speak for 5 minutes
Announcements
Announce attendees in person (for live stream and candidates)
Announce number of attendees on live stream
Remind about Slido
Set questions
Explain process
- Time keeping for answers
- Holding candidates to answer
- Alternating who answers first
Questions
- Play video (if using videos) or ask the question
- Ask candidates for 3 minute answer
Questions from the floor via Slido
2 minute answers.
Conclusion
Thank candidates
Pray
General tips
Seating: There are two options for where to seat the candidates – on the “stage” or at the front row of the “audience”. Both have advantages. We recommend seating the candidates on the stage if the distance makes it too hard for them to get up and down quickly to answer (e.g. a school hall stage). If you have female candidates, please consider “skirt appropriate” seats if placing them on the stage.
Dress: We have been asked by a few churches what the MC should wear. Most candidates will be in business casual or formal – ranging from jacket to suit or suit and tie. Each context is different, but we recommend something along the lines of a jacket, or what you would wear for preaching at a wedding.
Please keep an eye on which candidates are active Christians or express an affiliation with their faith. This is information that we will ask you about after the event and is very helpful for tracing Christians through the parties.
Welcome
Gospel introduction
Apart from the mechanics of the night, the introduction is a great gospel opportunity. There is likely to be members of the community not strongly connected to your churches either in the building or on the live stream. We recommend you take a couple of minutes to explain why a church is hosting an event, and how this event comes out of our wider gospel mission. Possible themes include:
- Jesus wants all people to come to him and be saved, and you can find out more by asking minister or coming to church!
- God made the world and loves all people and wants the best for them, this includes good government
- Jesus is King, and has delegated authority to governments (Rom 13). We are called to be subject to government, and governments are called to rule justly and wisely
- Christians care about our neighbours as other people created in the image of God
Candidate introduction
Before introducing the candidates, it is important to explain which candidates have been invited and why. Many events have chosen to only invite two or three candidates, based on who is likely to win the seat. In that situation the MC could say something like:
We have not invited every candidate standing for the election. In order to keep time short, and to hear as much from the major candidates as possible, we decided to only invite candidates from the major parties who are seeking to form government, or other candidates with a strong chance of winning the seat.
Slido
Early in the event, and at appropriate monets through it, say that you will be taking questions through Slido and put the slide up. People with questions can log in and put their question up
We are using Slido to manage our questions. At any time in the night, as you think of a question, go to slido.com and type in the number on the screen. You can ask your own questions, or click the thumbs up to vote for another question.
We will leave this slide up all night so you can log in any time you need to.
If you are using an alternative to Slido for non phone users, mention that too.
Announcements
After the introductions, once there has been a chance to count the people in the room and the live stream audience has settled down, announce both sets of numbers. This helps the candidates and the audience get a picture of how many people are involved.
If for some reason the numbers are not very high, you might skip this step.
It’s also worth highlighting Slido again at this point, as you move into the set questions.
Set Questions
If your event has pre-recorded questions, prior to the event test and ensure that the videos you have elected play. Videos have been provided as both a file and a YouTube link. Also have the follow-up question from each video written down and easily to hand (as candidates will often ask you to read it again)
When introducing this section, it is helpful to explain how it will work. Some points worth explaining are:
- you will be timing the candidates and will tell them when it has been 3 minutes, and to wrap up.
- you will be alternating which candidate is invited to speak first, to keep it as fair as possible.
The videos are designed to introduce the question without the MC needing to understand the issue to frame the question. In most circumstances, you would be able to play the video and put the question to the candidates.
Some organisations who have developed questions may have posted physical material to the church. If that is the case, it is helpful to mention it along with the corresponding video.
If your event does not have videos, simply read out the context and the question, and then invite the first candidate to speak.
Questions from the floor
We recommend using an online question management system like Slido. Freedom for Faith will provide you with a Slido account and login if your church does not have one.
If you wish to provide an alternative to Slido, it is not recommended to resort to hands-up questions from the floor. In our experience these invite lengthy speeches and sometimes controversial statements and fringe questions.
An alternative would be to provide slips of paper that people can write their questions on and take to a nominated person, such as the AV person. That person could then type the questions into Slido for the MC to see.
