by William Cowles
So, you’ve apprenticed, appreciated, recognized,
rewarded, and respected the limits of your volunteers – and still some of them lose
interest, forget the basics, or drift away. What’s up with that? Well, it could
be a training problem.
Too many leaders think that training should be one and
done. And that re-training would never be necessary. “I told them how to do that a long time ago!” Well, how much time has passed since you first
equipped those volunteers for their ministries? And how have conditions changed
and their needs become different since then? Training is an ongoing process, and church volunteers are among the
neediest!
Make sure your ministry volunteers receive frequent check-ins,
energy boosts, and basic reminders. When volunteers do the same thing over and
over again and no one notices, it’s natural for them to drift. It’s easy for
them to forget to do some things they come to consider insignificant. And, when
no one is watching – or caring – lots of unnoticed little things add up to a
much bigger loss of ministry effectiveness.
Adults will learn, retain, and perform best when five simple
techniques are used in your training and re-training programs. They aren’t
magic or new – they’re practical. And, they will make sure your volunteers are
always at the top of their games when it comes to ministering to the people
your church serves.
Let’s think about a common volunteer assignment, the
Welcome Center, and think how you can use these five techniques the next time
you’re helping to prepare someone for this important hospitality ministry:
1.
EXPLAIN
YOURSELF – TELL THEM WHY. Adults need to understand the reasons
behind the actions. Why am I doing this? What’s
the purpose behind this? What are the benefits of my participation for me, my
group, other participants, or the extended community?
Sample Training Script: Our Church offers a Welcome Center so that
guests know we expect them to be there. We want them to have a good experience,
and they will want people here who can answer their questions and get them
connected. The volunteers who serve at our Welcome Center are God’s Ambassadors
to the strangers who visit us.
2.
DEMONSTRATE
– DON’T DECLARE. Adults want to see how it sounds, looks,
and works. Telling someone how to do something is never as effective as showing
them how to do it. Role-play it with the volunteers.
Sample Training Script:
(Trainer, as Guest
approaches) “Welcome to Our Church! My
name is Wendy Welcomer and we’re glad you chose to visit with us today. I’d be
happy to help you find a destination – our Worship Center, the children’s area,
a pastor, or maybe even a restroom.
(Guest) No thank you – I’m just going to attend
Worship.
(Trainer) I think you’ll enjoy Pastor Pete’s message
today. It’s about _________. And we have lots of ministry information available
– may I put together a packet for you?
(Guest) OK, thanks.
(Trainer) Here you are. Many people have questions
after the service, so we’ll be right here to help you with any other
information or questions you might have. The service starts in XX minutes – may
I have an usher help you find a good seat?”
3.
PACE YOURSELF – FEED THEM IN SMALL BITES. Adults’
attention spans are affected by many different kinds of distractions, even when
they’re trying to listen and learn. To
maintain the volunteers’ focus on what you’re teaching them, serve up your
wisdom in small doses.
Sample Training Script: There are three important practices that our
ambassadors follow in God’s house, and tonight we’ll focus on just the first
one. To begin, I’ll share with you our goals and objectives, and then I’ll
offer some real-life examples of how it has worked effectively for us here.
Then we’ll apply it together through some fun role-playing exercises. Next
week, we’ll cover the second practice, and finish up the third week.
4.
MIX
IT UP – ADD VARIETY. Most adults, when confronted with
“training,” fear that it will drag on and on, and become rote and boring.
Frankly, they will absorb only what their rear ends will endure! So changing
the pace every 10-15 minutes is a great way to keep the energy flowing and their
interests alert.
Training Tips: Alternate between PowerPoint and flip
charts. Show them a video – Disney has some great ones. Bring in a hospitality
industry expert from one of your area’s leading hotels. Pause for Q&A
discussion sessions. Take them on a field trip to the Welcome Center at your
church or another church. Have them do one-on-one conversation exercises.
5.
PASS
IT ON – HELP ONE EQUIP
ANOTHER. The most effective leaders are those who develop other leaders,
and the best way to learn something in depth is to teach it to another person.
Training Tips: Noted author Stephen Covey called it “three-person teaching:”
- Experienced Volunteer #1 teaches Rookie Volunteer #2
- Newly Trained Volunteer #2 absorbs the lesson to a deeper level by teaching Rookie Volunteer#3
And on it goes, creating multiple layers of
leadership that never dry up.
As a ministry leader, your job is to make sure your ministry
volunteers always see their contributions to the goals, and share in the
satisfaction of the end results. When they do, they’ll perform at their highest
levels of service, and produce consistently good results over time.
Use these five training techniques consistently and
your volunteers will be empowered and confident in being God’s Ambassadors in
your church – and everyone will see it and know it!
No comments:
Post a Comment