Training your team can get costly in a variety of ways. You can waste people’s time and lose their trust if what you provide isn’t worth the sacrifice. To make it quality you spend a lot of money, which can drain your budget. We know meetings are important, but how do you make them worth it?
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To ease the burden you need to:
And two areas that will help you prepare, train and equip your teams that every youth minister should focus on are NETWORKING and TECHNOLOGY.
When you build relationships with other youth ministers you not only find people to talk shop with, but to assist you in the day to day responsibilities of running a ministry. Don’t be afraid to leverage the relationship by finding ways you can partner on trainings. For example:
Sometimes your volunteers need to hear a different voice and that’s when you can ask a fellow youth minister to lead the training. Even if you prepare the agenda have them lead so that is seems fresh.
You might find you team saying, “This is great stuff!” even though you’ve said it a thousand times. Don’t get frustrated, instead celebrate the fact that it’s sinking in.
When you ask people to come to a meeting time isn’t the only thing they are sacrificing. Childcare can get expensive but it’s an incentive worth incorporating.
Work with another church (Or ministry) where you will watch their kids during one of their meetings if they will do the same. You will take one more burden off of your volunteer minister’s plates and allow them to focus on what it is they need to know.
While swapping speakers is effective so is getting a professional; however, the costs can be quite high. Work with other churches on bringing in a speaker together to cut costs and build community.
Promote it to your team as a way of not only learning from a professional, but working with the larger church. This way you can create a conversation on how to reach the next generation that goes beyond your walls and creates a healthier community.
Because technology is continuously changing it can be difficult to keep up with what to use. Don’t let that fear hold you back, instead try things out and encourage your team to be innovative.
There are going to be times when meeting is unnecessary; however, email is going to create too much confusion. With softwares like Dropbox, Google and Basecamp you can now collaborate without being in the same room together.
Some of these softwares are pricy and that’s why you’ll want to discuss going all in as a church. But, the investment is worth it because you’ll be able to communicate with your team without sacrificing or wasting time.
One of my new favorite tools is live streaming through Periscope and Facebook Live. This allows me to communicate with my team and have them communicate with me.
With Periscope you can broadcast to everyone who follows you. With Facebook Live you can broadcast to people on a public page or in a private group. To use either:
By using live streaming you can hold a meeting at the comfort of your own home.
Ease the burden by thinking outside of the box. Talk with other youth workers, collaborate on ideas and resources. Don’t let the old way of holding meetings prevent you from preparing your team for the trenches of ministry.
[reminder] What out of the box ways are you training your teams? [/reminder]