by Sue Mallory
Dave had never done a lick of youth ministry volunteer work when Jim first pitched him the idea at a wedding. Dave liked the idea, but there was a hitch: He didn’t have a clue what to do, or how.
Now, two years later, Dave is the head of his church’s youth basketball program. He loves the kids, feels called to work with them, and knows what he’s doing. He’s an effective volunteer.
How did he get there?
Good training.
Jim knows that good training marks the difference between potential volunteers who stay glued to their pews and active servants who are doing ministry. He also knows that some of the most important things he does for his adult leaders don’t look like training.
Jim followed four key principles as he helped Dave grow into a mature volunteer: He identified the real Dave, drew him into the ministry team, helped him grow as an individual, and then gave him the know-how to assure his success.
Over and over, I’ve seen this training strategy increase a volunteer’s power. And it’s surprisingly easy.
1. Identify the real person.
What gifts has God given each of your volunteers? Scott Mann, a 12-year veteran youth worker who’s now doing lay mobilization, knows that volunteers have unique gifts. They may be gifted in pastoring, administration, evangelism, mission, outreach, or something else. Once he understands something of each person’s gifts, he can tailor his training and better focus assignments.
Discover passions—How do you know a volunteer’s passion? Ask. Sure, you may need three people helping you with the group, but warm bodies don’t give passionate service.
Give
| “…good training marks the difference between potential volunteers who stay glued to their pews and active servants who are doing ministry.” |
opportunities to sample—Youth pastor Bill Barnes likes to give a new volunteer a taste of the group before he or she makes a commitment. Barnes discovered that talking about the program doesn’t always stick. “It’s better for them to come,” he says.
Use a relaxed setting to discover more—K.C. Wahe, a nine-year veteran youth minister, likes to get acquainted with potential volunteers over a relaxed lunch or two. He learns about their faith, career, dreams, strengths, and weaknesses.
Lunch chats reveal much about a person’s style. Does she get more energized by completing a task or by being with people? Does he prefer planned or spontaneous activities? These are vital questions when you’re trying to direct a volunteer to the most rewarding assignments.
2. Draw them into the ministry team.
We are Christ’s hands and feet. We must empower our volunteers with the knowledge that they have a ministry role in the church. As Barnes says, “By your listening and your loving, you are Christ to these kids.”
One of Wahe’s volunteers, a man in his late 50s, kept questioning his usefulness on the leadership team. “You really want me to come?” he’d ask. Wahe saw what was obvious—this man had much to offer teenagers, including wisdom as an experienced parent and a loving, giving heart. Wahe was determined to communicate the truth to this man, and he finally got through to him.
Share your vision—Do your volunteers know your vision for the group? Can they say it in their own words? Mann built his youth ministry vision around small groups. Wahe’s is: “Did they leave feeling loved?” If you don’t communicate your vision often and well, you’re sure to get defensive and frustrated.
Go away together—Mann uses volunteer retreats for team building. Besides sharing essential information about his vision, expectations, and the yearly ebb and flow of work, he makes time for fun. A happy team, he says, communicates something powerful to the kids: “We love being together, having a ball doing ministry.”
Give them access to your life—Make sure your volunteers know when and where you’ll be available when they need coaching.
3. Help them grow as individuals.
Set high standards that pull your volunteers toward growth. For example, instead of handing potential volunteers a separate job description (favored by some churches), Wahe plugs in his expectations at the top of his volunteer application form: “Come to Sunday school and not just the outings; be a counselor at a minimum of one camp a year; consider becoming a church member; join an adult small group; attend all volunteer staff training meetings; and meet regularly with the youth director.”
Nurture their faith—Mann says, “We don’t think personal devotions are a private matter. If [our volunteers are] in a dry spell, we want to help care for them.”
Help them set boundaries—It’s easy for eager Christians to overcommit. Wahe helped one well-off volunteer discover better ways to spend his money. Instead of being a soft touch for kids wanting snacks, this volunteer considered funding camp scholarships instead.
Encourage them to take charge—One woman in Wahe’s ministry took over a summer kickoff event, then celebrated her achievement with a hearty, “I did it!” Other volunteers took notice and realized, “Hey, I could do that.” Wahe, freed of that responsibility, spent more time with the kids.
Help them ease up—Your volunteers need permission to take a month off or to try other ministry options.
Do the tough thing—When a volunteer’s service is missing the mark, you can redirect him or her to a more satisfying ministry or to a sabbatical. Most volunteers will appreciate it when you ask them to take care of other business in their lives before they attempt to give to your group members.
For example, Mann noticed one of his volunteers had stopped attending worship service. He met with her three times, but nothing changed. “I fired her as a volunteer,” he says. “She was a great youth worker, but I had larger concerns for her.” And, he says, her pattern sent the wrong message to the kids.
From this experience, Mann learned that doing a good recruiting job makes training easier. “It sure comes up later if you don’t handle it in recruitment,” he says.
4. Give them the know-how to assure success.
Here are the favorite training tips of two experienced youth workers: Barnes and Don Simmons:
Keep training brief—Are you teaching volunteers how to lead a Bible study? Keep it short. And teach it immediately before they’ll use it.
Can the lecture!—People learn through all five senses. Show a video, play a song, have them taste unsalted food, get them creating art and moving around. “People will turn around and teach that same way,” says Simmons.
Teach outside the church walls—Learning connects when volunteers talk with kids about the good Samaritan while they’re serving in a soup line. Use the same principle in your training. Your volunteers must experience an important truth to really learn it.
Discover who kids are today—Technology has diminished the value of a long attention span—are you still with me?—and has trained young people to do multiple tasks at once. Simmons recalls the recent high school Bible study he taught. The kids wanted to discuss five different topics in the space of one hour.
Go online—Ask kids in a chat room for teenagers how they like to learn. A 15-year-old told Simmons that at school he learns by writing, doing interviews, reading, and watching things on TV. “And how about Sunday school?” Don asked. “We just go in there and talk,” replied the teenager.
Discuss kids’ development—Knowledge defuses judgments, says Barnes. For example, “extremely selfish” behavior is usually just adolescent narcissism. It’ll pass.
Get touchy—Teach games and activities that get volunteers touching one another. Appropriate touch is important to kids.
Role play difficult situations your volunteers might face—Is a young person drifting away? sounding depressed? You can help your volunteers practice what they’ll do before they have to do it.
Act as a mirror for them—After an activity, you can help your volunteers mull over what just happened. Simmons’ favorite trigger questions are: “So what?” and “Now what?” These questions help everybody find meaning in the activity. “Without meaning, we start to burn out,” he says.
