When a season of youth ministry ends we shut things down for a few weeks to plan, the upcoming year and reflect on the past one. It’s a time where I sit down with my volunteers and talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. This year I’ve already received significant feedback from my leaders on one particular area that needs improvement for next year. It all had to do with: TRAINING.
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Your leaders crave training because it’s what will prepare them for the journey of youth ministry. Everyone you recruit walks in for different reasons with a diversity of expectations, your trainings will get them on the same page. While there is an endless list on what could know, you need to decide what they need to know. In our ministry we want our leaders to know how to:
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: If you want teens to come back each week they need to feel connected. Teaching your adults how to build, grow and facilitate relationships with the teens is essential. That means training them how to:
You can do this by using small groups in your meetings. Try to get them comfortable in relational settings with each other as a stepping stone to relationships with teens.
PARTNER WITH PARENTS: Your ministry will be limited if leaders aren’t connecting with parents. You need to remind your volunteers that they are here to serve the entire family. In a training it’s important to go over how to approach:
Set your leaders up for success with correct contact information and even set-up that first meeting with the parents. The more comfortable your leaders are with the families of teens, the easier it will be for them to engage the messiness of teenage life.
ENGAGE TENSION: Life is messy, teenage life gets even messier. It’s important to teach your leaders how to engage the tension and prepare for moments from a teen struggling with grades to struggling with their sexuality. Sometimes what they face might involve the authorities and other times just a phone call to parents. Build their confidence by building their knowledge of what to do in case of an emergency.
THE VISION: Your vision should leak through the entire organization. Teaching it to your team is not as simple as including it your email signature or saying it once in a while. Create trainings where you dissect, analyze and celebrate it. Once your leaders have embraced it as individuals they’ll begin to live it out in the way they serve.
You can never fully train your volunteers for youth ministry because it can be so unpredictable and is constantly changing. Invite them into the resources you use to grow as a leader, especially:
The more you equip your team, the further your capacity extends to reach teens and bring them into a deeper relationship with Christ. Never stop growing your leaders and they’ll never stop growing the next generation of Christians.
What resources do you use to train volunteers? What topics are important for you to cover?