As my responsibilities at the parish increased I recognized that it was getting harder for me to train my volunteers. When I was just in charge of youth ministry most of the resources and training opportunities I held had to do with adolescence. However, as I took on other catechetical ministries and more leadership time got in my way. Yes, we still held training opportunities throughout the year, but the topics were more general, and big picture.
Even if your role doesn’t grow, training can still fall apart—people cancel, meetings get postponed, and you’re left scrambling. You try to plan a training, and someone’s on vacation. Someone’s working. Someone forgets. Eventually, the meeting gets postponed or canceled. So you just do the training on the fly… and no one really feels confident—not them, not you.
Sound familiar?
Let’s fix that.
Here are 3 simple, consistent ways to train your volunteers as you go—no extra meetings required:
Whenever we had someone new serving in ministry we had them partner up with one of our veterans. Over the first few sessions we asked the veteran to check-in with the new team member and let us on staff know if there were ever any issues.
While you might feel like you have to be "that person" it's going to limit how many people you can train and coach. Your "shadow and serve" method doesn't have to be complicated. Simply ask one of your veterans to do two things when they serve with someone new:
A quick pre-session conversation ("Here’s what to expect tonight.")
A 5-minute post-session debrief ("What went well? What would you do differently?")
This gives new volunteers real-time experience and reflection, while reinforcing good habits for your veterans too.
Every week, pick one idea and send a short voice memo or video (3 minutes or less). If you don't know what to talk about think about a tip or share something you are learning. You can send them a pep talk or even read for them a word of encouragement.
If you don't want to send something out with your personal number try a group chat (e.g., WhatsApp or GroupMe) or even use Youtube. Make sure the message is personal and encouraging, and if possible give them a simple takeaway.
What you want to strive for is consistency. Make it your "Monday Motivation", or your "Thursday Thoughts". Make it bite-sized and easy to digest for your team. And if you want to track to make sure people are watching throw in a contest or a trivia question every once in a while that leads to a small prize.
Sometimes the easiest training takes one or two minutes. Pick one volunteer each week to reach out to, even if it's right after the program. If you or they are too rushed consider sending them a quick message that does two things:
Affirm something they did well.
Challenge them with a micro-skill for next time.
Example:
"Hey Rachel, loved how you greeted the kids by name! Next time, try asking a second follow-up question in small group—builds trust."
It takes 60 seconds and builds a culture of growth. While you might be short on time, be sure to invite them to ask follow up questions or set a longer appointment to meet. Either way you are giving the insight on the go.
Bottom line? Stop waiting for the perfect time to train. Build it into what you’re already doing.
No more canceled meetings. No more overwhelmed volunteers.
Just simple, real-time formation that sticks.
It can be a rhythm—woven into every text, voice note, and conversation.
What could change in your ministry if you stopped waiting for the “perfect time”?
Want a low-effort way to keep your team growing?
👉 Check out M2GO — monthly training kits designed for busy leaders like you.