Grow your volunteer team through Sticky Faith Innovation Online Team…
I can’t remember feeling more awkward than I did on my first day of volunteering in youth ministry. I walked through the doors to a sea of faces I didn’t recognize and instantly felt out of place.
I had grown up in youth groups, volunteered in teen camps for years, and genuinely enjoyed engaging with young people—yet none of that seemed to matter now. Being someone who thrives more in small groups than in a big crowd, I needed a better idea of what I was supposed to do with myself. A flurry of questions swept through my mind:
What’s my role here?
What should I be doing right now?
Am I actually needed here?
I talked to a couple of teenagers and then sat down next to them during the service. After its conclusion, these were the answers that bubbled up in my mind:
What’s my role here?
What should I be doing right now?
Try to be an extrovert.
Am I actually needed here?
Probably not.
Years later, when I became a pastor, I noticed my volunteers felt that same need for a clear role, direction, and encouragement. Most adults aren’t looking to volunteer in youth ministry because they’re bored—they have plenty of other things to fill their time, and if they feel awkward or out of place, they’d rather be doing something else! They’re looking for purpose. They want to make a real difference in the lives of young people, and to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
I think one of the hardest things about leading in the church is to gain and maintain momentum with our volunteer teams. It can be easy to fall into a rut of telling team members, “Just show up at the next service and talk to someone,” yet this falls short of offering genuine growth opportunities for our leaders and doesn’t lead to a thriving ministry with young people.
Here are 3 tips you can use to gain and maintain momentum with your youth ministry teams:
1. Care.
Get to know your current leaders and other adults in the church. What do they enjoy? What’s their personality like? What struggles are they facing? Getting to know the adults in your community can provide you with opportunities to connect them with young people in unique ways.
Rather than merely looking at volunteers through the lens of our ministry needs (such as, “Who’s going to do PowerPoint this weekend?”), we can begin to see them as whole persons who are on their own discipleship journeys.
Serving and connecting with teenagers may be an adult’s next faithful step in following Jesus. Our new Sticky Faith Innovation Online Team Training can help you amplify your church members’ unique gifts and perspectives.
2. Clarify.
Provide volunteer leaders clarity on when they are truly needed for an activity, gathering, or program; what role you would like them to fulfill; and how long you need them for. Writing up basic job descriptions can help bring clarity for participating leaders. And the more you know the adults in your church, the better you’ll be at inviting them to participate in specific areas of your ministry that empower them to use their gifts to make a difference in the lives of the young people you serve. Youth leaders from our Sticky Faith Innovation
research have told us time and time again how helpful it was to invite adults in their church to participate in a specific process with a clear goal of supporting teenagers’ lasting faith. We’ve now turned this innovation process into a self-paced, online training that can guide you and your team with clarity.
3. Cocreate.
Give others the opportunity to shape the future of your ministry. As my colleague Yulee Lee says, “People don’t want to follow you into the future. They want to cocreate the future with you.” Through our new Sticky Faith Innovation Online Team Training, we provide you and your team step-by-step guidance to create the future of your ministry—together.
We know gaining and maintaining momentum with your team takes time and energy, so we’re making it easier for you. Our 6-session, self-paced online training will guide you and your team to compassionately listen to your young people, respond creatively with fresh ideas, and take courageous steps to implement a new, purposeful approach in your ministry. Think of it as a small group curriculum for your team.
This training features videos packed with research and insight from FYI’s innovation experts to guide your team through each step of the innovation process. And it empowers you to invite adults in your church to engage in your ministry in specific ways (Clarify), offering them opportunities to exercise their unique gifts (Care) to collaboratively design ministries that support young people’s lasting faith (Cocreate).
PLUS, when you sign up for Sticky Faith Innovation Online Team Training, you’ll get a COMPLIMENTARY 30-minute coaching call with an experienced FYI innovation leader!