Helping Volunteer Leaders Make The Most of Their Time

I love my volunteer youth leaders! They give up their evening and weekends for some of the most craziest stuff in youth ministry. Recently, I was able to spend a weekend at The Simply Youth Ministry Conference with some of them. The conference was a great opportunity to get feedback and evaluate how they were growing. Ultimately, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to consider how I was helping them to grow into their leadership and effectiveness as youth leaders.

The big takeaway for me was this: Effective training is better when it is simple, memorable, and practical. Volunteers are busy and have many plates to spin. It's better to give them small steps or give them small bites to chew on. Over time, I am finding the small steps add up to significant impact!

The Time Issue: Because it's likely we only have few hours a week and a few years with these students (as well as having many students to minister to), it's crucial that we use our time wisely and well. Here are 3 periods of time to consider:

1) The First 15 Minutes: At our youth program, I consider the first minutes to be the most important time. Often, it will be the first 15 minutes that will communicate whether or not we really care as students arrive. It's usually the time when students are most nervous about walking into a room full of people (or empty with just me or you). Therefore, as leaders, even if we have not seen each other since the weekend, it's important that we don't get caught up in “leader conversations” as students arrive. Secondly, it’s important that we look out for nervous or introverted students as they arrive. You can’t take back a bad welcome…

2) The Last 15 Minutes: The last 15 minutes is often where I see students most open to God’s working in their lives. It's here where they will be most comfortable and will be processing what they have heard from the message / study. But if you are like me, as the evening starts to wrap up, I am already thinking about evaluating what happened and begin conversations with leaders about how things went for them. However, it's important that we look to seek out students and check in with how they're doing. It's here that we are most likely to hear from their heart and be able to minister most effectively to them.

3) The Next 15 - 60 Minutes: What I mean by this is the next contact time opportunity with students outside of programs and events. It's often challenging to know how to reach students outside of our programs with limited time. However, I find that it is small (but impacting) times with students that make a huge difference.

Examples like:

- Show up to the last part of a sports game if you have a busy week. (Make sure your student knows you were there—take a photo on your phone and tag the student on Facebook to let them know you were there—and their parents too!).
- Send a note in the mail. With all the modes of communication we have, I find this to be the one students love the most. Everyone loves to get mail!
- Facebook, text, tweet! Letting students know you were praying for them, encouraging them, or just saying “hi” all go a long way to communicate care to them. Caution: Be careful of getting into deep conversations online and ensure that their parents are okay with you communicating with them this way.
- Grab a coke or coffee with them, (same-sex only).
- Take them grocery shopping with you... free "kid control" if you have kids!

These are a few examples, and I am sure there are better ones out there! The challenge is to realize that time is limited and we must make the most of crucial times…