Do you ever look at your calendar with anxiety wondering, “What’s the perfect date to plan that meeting?”
You feel that anxiety because the last meeting you had not a lot of people showed because they had other commitments or were too busy. If that’s you, then you are not alone. I used to struggle finding that perfect date, but what I was missing was something more important.
I was forgetting that when I plan the meeting wasn’t as important as how I ran the meeting. Don’t get me wrong, time is an important factor, but if your team feels like their time is being wasted then the chance of them coming back drop tremendously.
If you want to create a meeting or a training that not only equips your team, but shows them that they are valued then you need to make sure you:
Maybe it’s my Italian background (Don’t be fooled by Wesley) that has always seen food as a major part of meetings. Whether it’s full blown catering or a few snacks to munch on, food is important.
Tell your volunteers to come hungry, bust out the chips and queso, and dig into the conversation
On top of feeding their stomachs you need to feed their souls. A lot of volunteers are running on empty. There are going to be weeks when they wonder, “Why am I giving up an hour of my time to serve in this church?”
You can answer that question by making sure your meetings have time in prayer. Take them through a:
Do not be afraid to dedicate a significant amount of time to just praying. It’s a way of strengthening your team and helping them focus on what God is calling them to do.
If you are asking people to give up their time then you need to make sure you aren’t just talking to them. Break up the training event with an ice breaker or team building activities.
Give them an opportunity to either grow as a community of volunteers or give them a project to tackle (I recommend the Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge, check it out HERE). The more your team interacts the more memorable you’ve made the experience.
Leaders will be able to look back at that experience as a resource. They’ll learn more about the team and themselves. They’ll look forward to your next training because they’ll see it as an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
Don’t be surprised if at the end of a training your team wants more. This is where you can share with them the resources you are using to grow in the field. You can share with them:
Send them the links and then use that information as the basis of your next training.
Share with your team articles from this site, or feel free to connect them to my other resources like:
If you are looking for ideas for your next training check out my the MYM Toolbox. The MYM Toolbox is my new store filled with affordable resources for youth ministers looking to grow healthier and better ministries. Just click on the store button in the menu or click HERE.
Regardless of what you use to train your team make sure it’s worth their time and energy. Make the focus on feeding and fueling them so that they can pass that on to the next generation.
What resources are you using to feed and fuel your team?