Workshop 1: Developing Leaders

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faithful practices, youth ministry

Mark DeVries from Youth Ministry Architects on VOLUNTEERS

The Problem w/ Volunteers is...

not enough
have day jobs
*sidenote - If you want to work w/ kids, don't become a Youth Director (YD), cuz you have a day job - it's organizing the ministry.
overburdened
want to do it their way
lack of confidence
fuzziness about their role
lack of resources
they DON'T volunteer
*leaders never volunteer - they usually are asked
their leader (the person leading them)

Majority of us are responsible for other volunteers

Traditional YM
triangle upside down, w/ it all falling on the YD
not sustainable, b/c YDs get crushed
Sustainable YM
pyramid w/ YM on top (dancing)
volunteers own the ministry
say 5 volunteers giving 10 hours/week = 50 hours/week
YD hired and volunteers back away
YD ends up doing the 50 hours/week

YM is the church's ministry/resp., not the resp. of 1 individual (via Kenda)

moving from 1-on-1 to a web of relationships (Akeelah and the Bee)
weave a constellation of relationships around them

predictable ratio
# of kids / another # = how many volunteers you need
build a capacity through volunteers

3 Keys to Building Your Leadership Team

1)Recruiting
2)Developing
3)Delegating

1) Recruiting
most churches never spend more than 1 hour/week recruiting
we expect them to walk through the doors
people don't volunteer b/c we don't give them REAL responsibility
Building Volunteers:
1) Decide to Invest
2) Determine What You Need
SS - 2/grade
HS YG - 4
Jr YG - 2
Major Event Coordinators - 4
there's a mythology - we speak the story, the ID that adults live up to. if the story is "nobody volunteers"...
IF WE'RE DOING INFANT BAPTISM, WE HAVE PLENTY OF VOLUNTEERS!
3) Develop Your Pool
3x as many potential volunteers as you need (stock your pond)
List of people good w/ kids
"" good w/out kids (good behind the scenes)
ID people w/ "grades", to "rank" them
place "A" names in blank slots first
make 3 calls/day to get through list
use voice mail/answering machines and ASK them to do something on the message, let them know you call back in a few weeks
4) Recruit AT LEAST 6 Months Out
5) Keep Asking

2) Developing
"Manager" mind-set
not a solo tennis match; it's a baseball game
2x2: As a parent, what kind of volunteer leader would you want for your son or daughter?
somone who is themself a parent
someone they know personally

1) Prepare for Failure
70% of pro YD believe dev. leaders is of high import.
25% say they do it well
Presbys dead last among mainlines in volunteers
ELCA and ECUSA just a hair better
2) Do Ministry Out of a Sense of Community
connect leaders together - monthly coffee group, a small yearly gift
3) Affirm Privately
4) Affirm Publicly
interpretive eavesdropping

3) Delegating
Abandonment is not Empowerment
giving them no task (just come and hang out) is awkward at best
Clear expectations reduce mishandled monkeys (handouts of YD covenant, volunteer leader guidelines...avail. online)
Regular follow-up keeps our players focused on the game
check-in to make sure checklist is getting checked off
"is there something i can help you with?"
Pace first, then lead (come alongside and meet people where they're at and then get ahead of them to urge them forward)
The flywheel will turn (once it gets going, momentum starts to take over)

Effective Student Leadership: check out the Youth Ministry Architects website (much of the presentation is available there)