You could spend all of your time trying to find the right volunteers.
You might get lucky and find people who intuitively get it or who have prior ministry experience. But chances are, most people who give you a yes—reluctant or not—don’t really know what they’re stepping into.
Those yeses often bring a lot of hope at first… followed by real disappointment when things don’t go the way you expected. When volunteers don’t lead the way you would. When they forget details. When they don’t seem to “get it.”
And after a while, it’s easy to start wondering: Why is this so hard?
But what if they weren’t the problem?
I’m not saying you’re the problem either. But what if the issue isn’t that you haven’t found the right people—what if it’s that formation simply takes longer than we want it to?
If you want a quality team of volunteers to assist you in your ministry, one of the most important questions you can ask is this:
What does formation for our ministry teams actually look like?
For me, formation usually shows up in three slow, often unglamorous places.
ONBOARDING (WHERE PATIENCE STARTS)
When someone walks into your ministry, they’re not going to inherently understand the flow, pace, or culture of what you do. You can hand them a leader’s guide or send them a video, but that alone won’t help them adjust to the sometimes overwhelming experience of serving the next generation.
Now, you might be thinking, “I don’t have time to onboard volunteers—I need them now.” That pressure is real.
But onboarding doesn’t have to be complicated.
Start small. Have them shadow a current team member. Sit down with them for 15 minutes after their first time serving. Maybe do it again a few weeks later.
Ask what they noticed. What confused them. What surprised them.
Clarify what matters most. Reemphasize what you want them to know.
Over time, as your ministry grows, you might build out a more formal orientation or provide clearer materials. But for now, partnering a new volunteer with someone seasoned is often enough.
This is where formation slows us down—in a good way.
CONSISTENT TRAINING (INVESTMENT OVER INTERRUPTION)
Volunteers don’t grow into leaders by accident. Someone has to invest in them.
If you have the budget to send them to diocesan workshops or conferences, that’s great. But if time and money are tight, consider something simpler: cancel a few youth gatherings during the year and use that time for in-person training.
Your volunteers already have that night blocked off. And parents usually don’t mind one less gathering.
If you’re unsure what to train them on, start with what’s shaped you. Share the key principles from a ministry book that’s influenced your leadership. Run team-building exercises you’d normally do with teens at a retreat. Invite your pastor, a deacon, or a seminarian to lead a spiritual exercise.
When volunteers see that you’re investing in them, confidence grows. Ownership grows. And if someone on your team has experience teaching or training, let them step into that role.
Formation multiplies when it’s shared.
MENTORING AND ACCOUNTABILITY (NO ONE GROWS ALONE)
We often say that disciples grow disciples. The same is true for leaders.
If you want volunteers to grow, don’t leave them isolated. Pair them up.
That might look like a seasoned leader walking with someone new. Or two people in similar seasons of life—young parents, college students, retirees—supporting one another.
The commitment doesn’t have to be heavy. Praying together before programming. A quick check-in over coffee. A shared conversation about what’s going well and what’s hard.
When mentoring and accountability are present, teamwork strengthens. Volunteers feel less alone. And people begin taking next steps—not because you pushed them, but because they feel supported.
THE REAL QUESTION
Will this produce high-quality leaders overnight?
Highly unlikely.
But what it will do is build a foundation that doesn’t depend entirely on you being present, energized, or holding everything together. It’s the kind of formation that takes seasons, not semesters—but it’s also the kind that can function even in your absence.
Formation is slow. That doesn’t mean it’s failing.
It usually means it’s working.
And if you’re not sure where to start or how to stay consistent, that’s exactly why we built Ministry 2 Go (M2Go). It’s designed to support formation at a sustainable pace—through micro-courses, training kits, and videos that help you equip your team without adding more to your plate.
You don’t have to rush this. You just have to stay with it.