“Equipping & Empowering Your Youth Ministry Volunteers to Win!” Notes

These are my notes from NYWC Deep Dive Session on equipping and empowering your youth ministry volunteers lead by Katie Edwards.

As 1 youth worker your reach is very limited. Multiplying yourself as the head leader is going to be the best strategy to reach the teenagers in your community.

What does it look like to work with a team that is equipped and empowered to disciples teens.

The power of God is the biggest way for any change to happen in your youth ministry.

Volunteers are VITAL to the MISSION

Volunteers expand our sphere of INFLUENCE

Looking for volunteers? Bust any stereotype of what you have as a youth minister. Anyone can be a leader. Not everyone should, but anyone can.

The best leaders recruit the best leaders.

Win 1: Help Leaders Join the Team Well

• Volunteer Orientation. Orientation meeting, giving them a background on where we’ve been, policies of the Church, vision of the ministry. About a 45 min meeting. A volunteer handbook is helpful. A Volunteer Application Checklist is helpful for the main leader that you have covered all you need to cover with a volunteer
• Get to know things about your leaders. Who are they, what do you want to know about them? Have them fill out a leader profile that includes preferences (what do they like to each, how do they best communicate, what ways do they receive encouragement).
• Help them Understand their Role. This is where you help them understand the job you need them to do. Give them a job description of the role you want them to play. “Your Role as a Weekend Leader” – Before the Service, In your Connect Groups, During the Service, During the Message, Leadership Reminders (What do you expect from them during these times).
• Give them some “family gear”. Swag – give them shirts to wear. Help them feel like they are apart of the team.

Win 2: Establish Good Channels of Communication

Helps them be in the known, helps them be seen and valued, helps them feel connected, helps as it models good communication to the other leaders.

• Create a good rhythm in the tools you use. There is no such thing as too much “good” communication. We don’t want to communicate to the span our leaders receive. Consistent communication shows the leaders they are a priority.
• Make sure it is consist and professional (limit typos and grammar errors) and the voice is “ours”. The more personal communication it can be the better. Leaders need a birthday card just as much as regular emails.
• Choose 2-way communication tools. Provide avenues for leaders to communicate back with you. Texting is used often (younger leaders often prefer texting over email), ChurchTeams is a small group tool you can use, Database for the Volunteers to access, Planning Center, Lead Small App for small group leaders (like ChurchTeams), Mailchimp for email communication. All of these are tools to help with 2-way communication.

Win 3: Choose Key Times to Equip your Leaders for Ministry

Value the time volunteers give you.

Align and Excite Yearly

• Kick-off Training. This provides the leaders a chance to re-up for the year. This could be summer or January or whenever is best for your Church. Time for Veterans and Rookies to unite together to plan/prepare for the year to come.
• Basics mixed with the focus of the year

Gather Semi-Regularly, not attached to their ministry role is important. This is where leaders show up and we, the main leaders, pour into them. Anytime you gather do these things:

• ¼ Heart. Devotional, praying or worship together.
• ¼ Understanding our audience. Help them understand the students.
• ¼ Training. You want to help them win in ministry.
• ¼ Encouragement. How do you encourage them in their ministry role.

Team Night Agenda (“Leaders Meeting”) Make it valuable to the volunteers time and that you have been thoughtful:

• Hang time
• Welcome
• Bucket Ball
• Table Talk
• Why I love my leaders video
• Training (development)
• Upcoming announcements

Possible Training Topics

• Scenario training. Put scenarios on their table and help them learn how to respond
• Building relationships with students
• Caring for students in crisis
• How to be the best cabin leader ever
• How to lead a student to Jesus
• Helping students grow closer to Jesus

Coach Weekly. Every leader is on an individual track. Help them continue to grow and develop as a leader. It doesn’t always have to be face-to-face.

• Enlist some coaches. You don’t have to do all the coaching. You can have other leaders coach other ones.

Win 4: Resource your Leaders. This gives them value tools for their toolbox. It also gives them glimpses into the world of teenagers.

• Take advantage of all of the free stuff. If you are at a conference or seminar, share it with the volunteers. If you see something on a blog or book, take it to your volunteers as well. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel – there are a ton of great resources out there.
• Favorite resources
  • DYM Podcast Network
  • Rethinking Youth Ministry Podcast
  • Lead Small book; Understanding Your Young Teen book, It’s Personal book, A New Kind of Leader book

Win 5: Create Community. It gives volunteers a family to be apart of. Create a family vibe and feel amongst your team. It’s easy for a volunteer to leave a job, it’s harder for them to leave a family. It takes time and investment.

• Spend time together
• Give them a t-shirt. Appreciate them.
• Have fun together – no agenda other than fun.

Win 6: Hand off Key Pieces of Ministry to your Volunteers. Empower leaders. Think of things volunteers can do.

• What am I doing that a Volunteer could do?
• What are your dreams or goals?

There are a lot of things your volunteer leaders can do that can help explode your ministry. Volunteers need to be asked and they need to know that we will support them as they go loose and plan/prepare things. Spending time finding out what your leaders can do can help your ministry go above and beyond.

They can teach, train, shop, plan, encourage, etc.

Win 7: There is no such thing as too much encouragement. Spend time celebrating and encourage volunteers is so important.

• Pay attention to life events. Birthday cards, bring people meals
• Celebrate the little things and the big things
• Celebrate ministry milestones. If leaders make it through the year, celebrate the heck out of that!
• Enlist others to help you with this.
• Get creative. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to cost for it to be thoughtful.

Nobody will say, “Please stop encouraging me”.  It’s helping volunteers win so the mission wins.

Where do I begin?

• Do I have process in place to build and grow a volunteer team?
• Do our volunteers understand what we are about?
• Do our volunteers understand our audience?
• Do our volunteers understand their ministry role?
• Do our volunteers feel equipped for their role?
• Do our volunteers feel cared for and encouraged?

What stands out to you from session Katie Edwards?  Share your thoughts and experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick when you share. 

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