Subscribe to the NetworkGUEST POST: Valuing Your Volunteers
Listen and act – these are secrets to creating a dedicated team of volunteer servant leaders. Creating a family of leaders who last requires getting their input into the decisions you make – especially decisions which directly affect their areas of service. From my perspective as a youth ministry volunteer, I know firsthand that these two actions have helped me last in ministry.
The day one of my leaders quit, I asked him to list what we needed to fix in his ministry – he was leaving because he didn’t feel his ministry needs were being met. I took out a pad of paper to write down his ideas. At the end of the conversation, he said because I made him feel valued by listening and taking action, he would not quit. He committed to working with me to resolve the issues. What could have been the end of the road for a leader transformed into a stronger relationship formed from newly-minted and mutual determination to strengthen his ministry.
Years later, as I serve on the volunteer side of ministry, there have been times when I’ve wanted to throw in the towel because I felt ignored when I expressed my needs as a leader. Persistence on my part, however, has paid off. I’ve consistently communicated my needs and shown how not getting them met has hindered my effectiveness as a leader. Over time, this has helped build a sense of teamwork between myself as a volunteer and the staff of our high school ministry.
When the leaders of the high school ministry I serve in met my simple request of giving me students all from one school for my summer camp cabin, my effectiveness as a leader greatly increased. I knew from experience that students in my cabin will gravitate to the small group I teach during the school year. When I have 5 schools represented in my small group, there’s no way I can spread myself thin enough to keep up with their sporting events, plays, concerts, Christian clubs, etc.
You are wise to listen to your hands-on volunteers who work in the trenches directly with students as leaders of small groups, mission teams, camp cabins, etc. The simple steps of listening and acting can build a loyal team of long-term volunteers. These diehard servant leaders will consistently sacrifice to fulfill the vision of your ministry by pouring their lives into the spiritual health of your students.
Dennis Beckner has been a volunteer youth worker for 10 years in our high school ministry at Saddleback Church. Check out his blog for fellow youth workers at VolunteerYouthMinistry.com.
[...] Post is Up at MoreThanDodgeball.com Posted on August 18, 2009 by Dennis Beckner Josh Griffin, of MoreThanDodgeball.com is on vacation. While he’s gone, he’s putting up guest posts [...]