The slowest Advent I ever had was after I left church ministry.
When I was a youth minister, December was a blur. Breakfast with Santa. Christmas Eve Mass. Service projects. Our last youth night of the year was a birthday party for Jesus, with ugly sweaters, a sheet cake from a local bakery, and the whole room singing "Happy Birthday."
I loved it. I was also exhausted. All the margin I'd built up over the summer was gone, and I was planning week to week. I wanted to get through Advent fast so I could use Christmas break to get ahead. That never happened.
I rushed through the one season the Church sets aside for waiting. And I missed something bigger. Some of my volunteers were telling themselves, "I just have to make it to Christmas." Then they'd quietly decide not to come back in January.
If you want to keep your volunteers through the second half of the year, use Advent to care for them, not just to program for the teens. Thank them personally, celebrate what they've done, and invite them to slow down with you.
Why do volunteers quit mid-year?
Most volunteers sign up in August or September full of energy. By December, they're tired, their own calendars are packed, and nobody has stopped to tell them their work matters. Christmas break gives them an easy exit.
You've probably seen the signs of volunteer burnout already. Advent is your chance to get ahead of it.
How do you show volunteers you appreciate them?
Write them a Christmas card. Include a personal note that names something specific they did this fall. On a small team, this takes an hour. On a large team, it still beats a group email.
Give them a small gift. It doesn't have to cost much. It just has to say "I see you." Our MYM store has options made with ministry teams in mind.
Throw them a party. Your teens get a Christmas party. Your volunteers deserve one too.
How do you help volunteers enter Advent spiritually?
Start with the meeting you're already having. Celebrate the wins since fall: the teen who finally opened up, the night that went better than planned. Then shift into prayer. Invite everyone to offer thanks for something from this year and name one hope for the year ahead.
From there, pick one way to go deeper together:
Pray a novena as a team. The traditional Christmas Novena begins December 16. Send a short prayer each day and pray it together.
Show up to something the parish is already doing. If your parish is hosting an Advent adoration night or penance service, go as a group. You don't have to plan anything. Just invite them and sit with them.
Make the gift a devotional. An Advent journal tucked inside their Christmas card gives them a few quiet minutes every morning. I recommend Behold by Sr. Miriam James Heidland. For a lot of volunteers, that may be the only quiet they get all month.
What about you?
You can't lead your team into Advent if you're rushing through it yourself. Keep the parties. Keep the traditions your teens love. But cut one event this year and spend that time on your own prayer.
Your volunteers don't need a perfect December. They need to know someone noticed them. Start there, and you'll be surprised how many of them are back in January.
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