WHY DO WE TRAIN OUR VOLUNTEERS?

By Mike O’Leary, 30-Year Veteran

THE MINDSET OF A TRAINER

Working with volunteers is an opportunity for a visionary area director to do the work Jesus did in His three years of public ministry. He found that, as He went about His work, others followed and wanted to work with Him. He grouped these followers in ways we don’t know much about except that His time spent with them, and thus, His training of them, was carefully calculated. He told some of them that they would do greater things than He was doing because they would continue the work after He had gone to be with the Father. So we can assume that His vision for them was to prepare them to act and think like He did. This should be the mindset of those who accept the task of equipping others to do Young Life.

Thought questions: Do people want to follow and work with you in what you are doing? Do you invite participation? Do you know what to do with folks who ask if they can get involved?

UNDERSTANDING “VOLUNTEERS”

Another word for volunteer is “amateur.” The root of this word is from the Latin word for love. Amateurs do what they do for the love of it and professionals do it for, hopefully, love and money. We should never think of volunteers as less committed than professionals, only less set apart, and less experienced.

The key to the overall process of training volunteers is helping them be successful at what they already love; Christ and kids. The program and the organization of Young Life have some attractions, but the thing to really love about our work is the opportunity to experience the power of Jesus Christ when He gives us “power and authority.” A volunteer can start out experiencing what Nathaniel in John 1 experienced when a person, just a little ahead in their time with Jesus, says, “Come and see.” Later, after a long apprenticeship in ministry, they might hear what Peter heard when Jesus Himself told him, “Feed my lambs.” This is the process we oversee: Giving our volunteer leaders the training and experience that Jesus gave His 12 with the same patient vision. John 17:6-24 is a clear insight into how Jesus thought about His ministry to His “volunteers.”

Thought questions: How were you discipled in the ministry of the Gospel? Were there “steps” you went through in your development? What is it you like the most about the work? What are some motivations to do the work that are false and, thus, short-lived?

COMPETENCIES AND EXPECTATIONS

Let’s define competency as being judged capable of a certain task by a recognized agency of some sort. Competency has to do with the expectation that is usually captured by a certain job title. Someone is a competent airline passenger if he or she can find his or her seat, read the emergency evacuation card and follow the instructions of the crew. Competency for the airline pilot is a more complex set of expectations. It is good and appropriate for an area director to establish a sequence of job titles with corresponding, clear responsibilities for volunteer leaders. The sequence might look something like this:


• Freshman Leader (leader in training; observing leader)

• Junior Leader

• Senior Leader

·  Team Leader

Each of these roles must have clearly defined expectations and responsibilities. The area director is responsible for training and shepherding leaders through this sequence. The training has to do with preparation of a spiritual foundation for leadership at different levels and the skills to work with kids. The shepherding has to do with guiding them through the trial-and-error process of hands-on experience.

The general competencies for each of these job titles are:

• A developing spiritual maturity

• A developing personal character from which to lead

• A developing skill at ministering the Gospel to kids

Different levels of competency might apply for each step in the sequence. For instance, freshman leaders might be held accountable for consistent quiet times, prayer lists and church involvement under the category of spiritual maturity. Senior leaders might be held accountable for their success in reproducing spiritual maturity in their Campaigners and junior leaders.

TRAINING TO COMPETENCY

The area director should construct a regimen of training, evaluation and accountability which takes advantage of regular leadership meetings, affinity group meetings and one-on-one times. Avoid the temptation to allow program issues and details to dominate meetings that could otherwise develop spiritual leadership.

The other temptation to reject is the idea of infrequent or monthly leadership meetings. Evaluation and accountability are impossible to establish without more regular times together as a group. If weekly leadership meetings have a reputation for being a time of establishing strong community and personal spiritual growth, they will be more palatable to busy people than if they are known for program and

detail planning.

The area director should keep a file and chart the progress of each volunteer entrusted to them. To borrow an image from The Wizard of Oz, the cowardly lion developed courage in the process but he didn’t know it until the wizard gave him a medal. Many volunteers (and staff) insist that they aren’t mentored or trained when they really are. What is missing is that their mentors and trainers fail to show them what they’ve accomplished. Find a way to show volunteers their personal progress and you will add a measure of success to your leadership you haven’t known. This also shows appreciation, and appreciation is very motivating.

Thought questions: How do you know if you are competent to do your job? How would you like to be evaluated? What is the next step in your professional and spiritual development? What group holds you accountable to what you say you want to do and be?


COMPETENCIES

Here are some suggested competencies for you to put in your program:

• Commitment to Christ

• Understanding the Gospel

• Personal disciplines

• The Word

• Prayer

• Fellowship

• Witness

• Kids to camp

• Camp counseling

• One-on-one discipleship of kids

• Event planning

• Church involvement

• Being under authority

• Integrity in relationships

• Understanding gender issues

• Appropriate behavior

• Stewardship of personal resources

• Contact work

• Club leadership skills

• Campaigner leadership

• Proclaiming the Gospel

• Team leadership

• Time management

• Small-group dynamics

• Relating to adults

Every competency should be applied differently at each level of job description. The freshman leader is at the level of memorizing verses in order to share the Gospel while the senior leader is learning to help others share the Gospel and so forth.

Thought questions: What would you add to the list above? How would you evaluate someone in his or her competency in “small group dynamics”? How important is observation in the business of encouraging leaders? How do you communicate expectations?

CONCLUSION

To the extent that you help volunteers experience the power of Jesus Christ in their ministry you create a successful and growing volunteer leadership community. To the extent that you help them leave their comfort zone for a walk by faith you give them what they really want. To the extent that you help them grow in spiritual maturity and show them their progress, they will multiply your work by doing it with others. To the extent that all of these things occur, you will encourage “critical mass” — the community of volunteers will do all these things and more with their recruits and disciples.

Thought question: What would a year’s leadership meeting plan look like?