KidMin 2013 Deeper Learning Track: Volunteer Leadership Dale Hudson Session Two Equipping Your Team If you

u dont equip them, you wont keep them. How do we equip the people God sends to us? Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip Gods people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of Gods Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We wont be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:11-16 We are called to make disciples. When we equip people to serve, we are helping them become disciples.
14 11

1. Set them up for success. How you bring them on the team is so important sets the tone for the rest of their time with you! Process Interest Card Application Interview Background check Orientation 2. Place people in their sweet spot. Dont place them where you need them. Place them where they need to be. How to people find their sweet spot Ask them what they are good at. Ask them what they enjoy doing. Ask them what their dream job is at church. Have them take a gift test and personality test. Give them permission to let you know if they are not in their sweet spot. Check back with them one month after they start serving to see if they are in their sweet spot. If they are not, encourage them to try another opportunity. 3. Provide them with a clear job description. Here are some things to include in job description: overview/purpose of the position who they report to general expectations be on time, let know if going to be absent, attend training, etc.

 specific expectations prepare crafts, teach the lesson, etc. what gifts are needed for the position what the wins are for the position keep simple 4. Resourcing. What tools, skills, and support is needed? How will you provide these things? 5. 1 on 1 mentoring. 90% of what I know is from what Ive observed others doing 6. On-the-job training. 7. On-going training. Establish ongoing training plan: Frequency? Create an equip calendar? What specific areas do they need to be trained in? What platforms will you use to provide training? What elements will be part of the training? Factors to Consider People are busy. People are bombarded with information. People dont live with it like you do. Shortened attention spans. With media overload continuing to amp up, the ability to grab people's attention and hold it is an increasing challenge.

The attention span may be an endangered species in the lightning-fast, multimedia society weve become. New research finds that the average political sound bite defined as any footage of a candidate speaking uninterruptedhas dropped to just eight seconds. To give that information some context, consider that, during the 1968 presidential election, the average sound bite was a full 43 seconds. And as recently as the 1990s, CBS said it wouldnt broadcast any sound bite under 30 seconds in an effort to better promote informed, complex discourse. According to the Pediatrics medical journal, increased exposure to television and video games causes noticeable decreases in attention spans. One study says the average attention span of university students is 10 minutes. 3 words you will hear more and more Its Too Long That training video...it's too long. That lesson...it's too long. That email...it's too long. That classits too long. 8. Training Tips. Say it short. Complexity is your enemy. If you want your volunteers to remember something long term, then make it a simple statement. Effective trainers in todays culture know how to take complex truths and teach them in simple statements. The fewer the words...the bigger the impact.

Here's an example. Finish this sentence. The Few...the Proud...the ____________. Melts in your mouth not in _________________ Nikejust________. Keep it short Show it short Communicate it short 9. Live training. How often do you do this? Have to decide in your church and area culture. The more convenient it is for people to attend the better your attendance will be. have it when they are already here during a service time after service time pre-service huddles

Huddle be intentional about components laughter / jokes recognize new volunteer and honor a volunteer announcements need to knows teaching time o practical - grow in their ministry skills

o devotional help them grow in their faith from what God is showing you o motivational grow their passion ah ha moment Care prayer requests Prayer time DNA infusion 10. Big Training Events Someone said the reason people don't attend volunteer training events is because they have been before. Fun There should be laughter. Lots of it. This can be done through funny skits, games, jokes, etc. Festive Make it a party. Decorate. Play music when they are arriving. Give away door prizes. Food Serving food shows you value them. Plus it's hard for people to focus on training if their stomachs are growling. Don't forget to feed their children as well if they are on site. Family Friendly People are busy. Very busy. Make it easy for them to attend the training. Instead of asking them to be away from their family for another night, hold the training when they are already at church.

If you do have it on a week night, be mindful of the time. People with kids have school the next day. Focused Be prepared. Know exactly what you are going to cover. Don't waste their time. Make it worth their while. Faith Building We are called to make disciples. The training should not only help them grow in their children's ministry skills, but in their faith as well. One goal of the training should be to deepen their walk with Christ. Felt There should be a moment that is memorable and leaves a tear in their eyes. An "ah ha" moment. Remind them of why they serve. Encourage them. Thank them for the difference they are making. If possible, give them a small gift to express your appreciation 11. Age-specific training. Smaller trainings done with volunteers who work in age specific areas. 12. Use Technology to take the training to them. Right Now Media Instead of always trying to drag people in to us for training, consider going to where they are for training. Where are they email, texting, Facebook, internet