Over the last two weekends we’ve recruited 56 people to get involved in student ministry. That’s insane for us considering that’s how many people we have currently serving in grades 5th -12th. It’s realistic for us to believe that not all 56 people will end up serving in student ministry. This is for a variety of reasons, another commitment presents itself or they realized they are called to serve in another ministry. While many of these reasons are legit the one you want to avoid is because they don’t feel prepared or clear on what it is they need to do. That’s why we ask them to participate in:
- Orientation Training – Here we will lay out the commitment, roles and responsibilities. The idea is to make it as clear as possible. This is our chance to reveal the systems and structures that will not only support them but equip them with resources to be successful in their craft. This is also a great time to take care of any paperwork that might seem overwhelming to complete on their own.
- Buddy System – After the training I want them to meet up with our veteran small group leaders. What we’ll do is arrange a time for them to meet over coffee and just chat about what it’s like to work with youth. By doing this we are partnering them up with someone who can offer them insight and support if a situation arises and I am not available.
- Commencement – Get them pumped, get them psyched for the year ahead by hosting a kickoff. Bring all your ministers together (even if it’s just 3 of you) and celebrate the stories and the wins you’ll discover. Cast vision, remind them of the mission and cheer them on. Too many times we dump our ministers into the beginning of their ministry season, a commencement sends them in strong.
Too many times our process is sign up and dump them into a role. It’s the whole “Jump in and swim!” approach where the results aren’t always favorable. We need to always be focused on preparing our ministers and getting personal so that they know they are not alone in this part of their faith journey.
How do you prepare new ministers?