{"id":29766,"date":"2014-03-11T02:33:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T08:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.churchvolunteercentral.com\/?p=29766"},"modified":"2016-09-07T09:58:19","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T15:58:19","slug":"childrens-ministry-volunteers-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/training\/childrens-ministry-volunteers-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"Children’s Ministry Volunteers That Stick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Church leaders often confuse \u201ctalking\u201d with \u201ctraining.\u201d\u00a0 We tell people what they should do, and think that\u2019s enough\u2026.but it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t explain to a volunteer how to work with kids and expect that volunteer to be able to automatically do it. That\u2019s like telling someone about pole vaulting and thinking they\u2019ll be able to just go out and do it.<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m not a pole-vaulter. I\u2019m not made for flight, if you get my drift. The only way I\u2019d clear a pole hanging fifteen feet in the air (world-class pole-vaulters go even higher that that<\/i>) is if you shot me out of a cannon.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve seen pictures of people pole-vaulting, and it doesn\u2019t look all that hard. You pick up a big stick, run toward the pole, shove the stick in a hole, and then sort of spring up over the pole. Assuming you remembered to put a mat on the other side so there\u2019s a soft landing, it doesn\u2019t seem too tough. I can explain it to you in about thirty seconds.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean I can do<\/i> it.<\/p>\n

Looks can be deceiving can\u2019t they? People who make things look easy usually do that because they\u2019ve trained hard to master a skill. They\u2019ve prepared and practiced until something hard comes naturally.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I want for my children\u2019s ministry volunteers. I want them to be so prepared that when a discipline issue arises, they don\u2019t have to stop and think about what to do, they know <\/b>what to do. It\u2019s automatic, because they\u2019re trained.<\/p>\n

I want that for my volunteers because it means kids will have a great adult leader, but there\u2019s another reason, too:\u00a0 When someone is good at something, they tend to stick with it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fact of life:\u00a0 It\u2019s harder to quit something you do well. <\/i><\/p>\n

If you want an excellent children\u2019s ministry, give your volunteer staff excellent training. There\u2019s no shortcut. And you\u2019ve got to continually provide training\u2014not try to do it all at once in an orientation or a single class.<\/p>\n

Here are some ways to deliver volunteer training:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Coach system<\/b> – Assign each volunteer a mentor, or coach, to help them learn the skills necessary for their job.<\/li>\n
  2. Educational materials<\/b> – Make it a habit to pass around article, books, and anything else that gets your volunteers thinking. Encourage volunteers to read articles and ask, \u201cHow can I apply this to my ministry?\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Seminars <\/b>– Many half day workshops are less expensive than a full-blown conference, in another city. Look to see what\u2019s being offered in your area, or partner with a Christian college, or publishing company, to host a workshop event.<\/li>\n
  4. CD\u2019s and Videos<\/b> – Provide volunteers with training tools they can use at home, or in the car. Many services now offer online training where you can email professionally created, entertaining and motivating, videos for specific skills and leadership development.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Isn\u2019t this what you want for your volunteers? For them to know what to do, what not to do, and what to do when something throws a curveball at them? That\u2019s my definition of a perfectly trained volunteer.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0 Excerpted from Jim\u2019s book, Children\u2019s Ministry Volunteers That Stick<\/i><\/a>.]<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Church leaders often confuse \u201ctalking\u201d with \u201ctraining.\u201d\u00a0 We tell people what they should do, and think that\u2019s enough\u2026.but it\u2019s not. You can\u2019t explain to a volunteer how to work with kids and expect that volunteer to be able to automatically do it. That\u2019s like telling someone about pole vaulting and thinking they\u2019ll be able to just go out and do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":29767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,6],"tags":[390,193,407],"class_list":["post-29766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-train","category-training","tag-training","tag-training-volunteers","tag-volunteers-that-stick"],"yoast_head":"\nChildren's Ministry Volunteers That Stick - Group Children's Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Church leaders often confuse \u201ctalking\u201d with \u201ctraining.\u201d\u00a0 We tell people what they should do, and think that\u2019s enough\u2026.but it\u2019s not. 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