I guess the point I was trying to make (and probably did badly!) is that the danger is when volunteers are a little too… shall we say… “flaky”. I think the unfortunate part is that the game of being a volunteer sort of sets up volunteers to sometimes fall off the map, because they feel like either they *have* to be there all the time (and so they quickly burn out) or they feel they don’t *need* to be there, and so they’re too easily willing to just not show up.

I think there’s danger on either end of that spectrum, in terms of health, not only of the individual but also of the ministry. And so I’ve found that navigating somewhere in the middle — where a volunteer is clearly encouraged at how valuable their consistent serving is, but is also reminded from time to time that youth group will go on fine if they need to take a week off — is much harder to do than it is to say or even to desire.

I myself (as a volunteer) have faced challenges in setting boundaries with my ministry, but as one who’s also in a position where I have to coordinate and lead other volunteers, I find it doubly hard to figure out how to communicate and strike that balance. Far too many times, I think I get it wrong, and sometimes great youth volunteers move on to other things as a result. I do trust it’s all in God’s plan, but I wish I knew better how to deal specifically with this challenging topic.

With 52 weeks in the year would it really hurt for a volunteer to take a few weeks off? Our YM team serves every week but I know that they need time off for their vacation time or family issues. I have even encouraged the “overloaded” to take some time off. If the volunteer isn’t healthy is our youth ministry healthy?

When someone doesn’t have the job title to hold them in, it seems that it’s even easier for them to get disillusioned, or distracted, and to wander off. I’ve found that there are those who will naturately just throw themselves totally in the pit, and often burn out quickly… and then there are those who stay on the fringe, and never commit and also eventually leave. The sweet spot seems so elusive to find, much more so with volunteers than paid staff.

But at the same time as recognizing that “off time” is important, I’m also keenly aware of what I see in the trenches every week, that the most effective youth workers are those who develop trust and consistency with the kids. Our j-hi students respond best to the workers who they see week after week, so if we encouraged all our volunteers to “take regular time off” then it seems we might shoot ourselves in the foot.