Summary: Every six months stake conference is a symbolic mile marker for most stake presidencies. When one ends the next one is ready to be planned for. Having the experience of going through my first stake conference as a member of the stake presidency, I realized what a hectic time it is for stake presidencies as they plan each detail. Not to mention we had a visiting authority that makes you feel like you are being graded each step of the way.<br> <br> With so many items to consider when planning a stake conference, stake leaders can be left holding their breath when the weekend arrives, hoping that people actually show up.<br> <br> I'd like to share with you a strategy we used to assure that people showed up to stake conference. It's hard to say what works and what doesn't, but we were very pleased by the results and we calculated that we had about 20% more people in attendance then prior stake conferences.<br> Step 1: Create a private Facebook event for stake conference<br> I remember being in the bishopric and announcing stake conference for 4-6 weeks prior and then being frustrated when a member would ask why nobody was at sacrament meeting the day of stake conference. The reality is, announcements or ward bulletin notices are not very effective. Most people need a constant reminder the days leading up to the stake conference. A Facebook event is a great way to do this.<br> <br> I would recommend that you create the Facebook event 4-6 weeks prior to your stake conference. In my situation, I was a little late and created it 2 weeks prior to the stake conference and it still made a huge difference.<br> <br> When you create the event you can add event name (stake conference), location (stake center address), date and time (generally Saturday evening until Sunday) and a description. Be sure to allow guests to invite friends to the Facebook event.<br> <br> Just to give you an idea, this is what we put in the description:<br> Dear members of the _________ Stake,<br> <br> Stake Conference will be held on January 16th and 17th. _____________________ Quorum of the Seventy will be our visiting authority. Please join us at the following sessions:<br> <br> General Session<br> Sunday, January 17th, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon<br> Stake Center Chapel<br> <br> Adult Session<br> Saturday, January 16th, 7:00-8:30 p.m.<br> Stake Center Chapel<br> *Nursery will be provided for children ages 1 and up<br> <br> Priesthood Leadership Session<br> Invited: High Council, Bishoprics, Clerks, Executive Secretaries, Assistant Clerks & Secretaries, High Priest Group Leaderships, Elders Quorum Presidencies, Young Men Presidencies, and Ward Mission Leaders & Assistants.<br> Saturday, January 16th, 4:00-6:00 p.m.<br> Stake Center Relief Society Room<br> <br> As you prepare to receive instruction at these Stake Conference sessions, please consider your next ordinance, whether it be baptism, priesthood ordination, temple endowment, marriage sealing, or partaking of the sacrament in remembrance of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How will that ordinance bless your life? What must you do to prepare yourself for that sacred ordinance? How will that ordinance increase your faith in the Savior and help you return to our Heavenly Father?<br> <br> We look forward to strengthening our faith and testimonies with you as we learn together and enjoy this conference with each of you.<br> <br> Sincerely,<br> The Stake Presidency<br> Step 2: Dress up your Facebook event page<br> Using a free design tool call <a href="http://canva.com" target="_blank">Canva</a> I made a simple image for the event image. This took no design experience at all since I used on of the Canva templates.<br> <br> Here's what it looked like:<br> <br> <br> <br> I used a simple photo from the <a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/images?"></a>
