.: my ministry model
Guides
1. Volunteers: Finding, training, retaining, and elevating
2. Group Growth: Growing quickly, growing healthy
3. Spiritual Growth: Give them an On-ramp
4. Get them Serving: The Great Commision in action
1. Volunteers: Finding, training, retaining, and elevating
Finding
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 | | This is the most dynamic of the steps. Recruiting is something just when you need a spot filled. all times, not just when you have a spot that you need filled. Recruiting involves getting people to work for you for free. This isn't easy so in many cases you'll need alot of trust and existing relationships.
Another important aspect of recruiting is not giving into the pressure to lower the standards if you are having trouble recruiting. I've heard of churches requiring volunteers in chldren's ministry to work only once every 2 month. How could they possibly build a repor with a scedule like that?
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Training
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 | | Some ideas for training: Find articles in Children's ministry magizines, find training moments when you see something that could be changed or better yet have a regular evaluation process in place. Either way if you do this with kindnessentand both the children'sthed edback.nteers themselves most people enjoy the feedback.nteers themselves most people enjoy the feedback.
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Retaining
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 | | The key to retaining volunteers is understand why they are there. The vast majority aren't there because you are wonderful even though you probably are. They are there because they want to serve God.
If you help them serve God, and they feel useful and connecxted to the ministry they are more likely to stay. One nice thing to do is to give them periodic time off such as a Summer break so they don't burn out.
So the key is enabling, give them all they need, more sure they feel supported, keep communication as open as you can. |
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Elevating
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 | | The last important aspect of volunteer management is elevation. Elevation is moving your volunteers up the "food-chain." Do you have a small group leader knocking the ball out of the park? Why don't you have them train other small group leaders?
Many ministry leaders feel threathed moving volunteers into tasks they usually perform. What this actually shows is quality leadership and hopefully you're at a church that can appreciate that. Once you "train yourself out of a job" it allows you to elevate and inlarge your program. Can you imagine if you had time and actually think and plan ministry instead of doing tasks that a volunteer can do? Imagine what would happen. |
2. Group Growth: Growing quickly, growing healthy
Numbers aren't the most important thing, but they are important. Increasing numbers are usually a sign of a healthy ministry. There are several steps that growing ministries should be using. They include Buy-in, shaking things up, and personal investing
Buy-in means that people are convinced (or sold) on what your ministry is doing. These are the people that will be the best resources and the catalyst positive change in your group.
3 Buy-in groups:
-Students: if the student buys into what your doing on either or both of two levels: fun or faith. If the student knows the ministry is fun they will invite their friends. If a student is serious about their faith and they know your ministry is good they will invite their friends. If your students understand both and you do both well your ministry will expand greatly.
-Volunteers: Volunteers are an undervalued aspect of group growth, if they buy-in they will spread the word, they will personally invite and they will make it better so that the students will want to invite (see above).
-Parents: if parents see their kids having fun or growing in the Lord they will do many of the same things that a bought in volunteer will do. The key to getting buy in from parents is trust.
sh-sh-sh-shake things up:
Another aspect is stagnination, you want stability in your ministry but the thing you need to fight is enertia. You can counter this in many ways, two of the best are special events and changing how you do your regular meeting periodically.
Personal investing:
If your group is small it is easy to personally invest, go to a couple of a students soccer game and you'll have them for life. But what about a large ministry or a growing ministry? How about having your volunteers do it? Let them in on the vision and help them see the value of investing individually in students.
If you follow these steps your group is extremely likely to grow.
3. Spiritual Growth: Give them an On-ramp
Spiritual growth is an often overlooked part of ministry. They are here so they are growing right? Not always? There are 2 different things to consider, 1. Are they growing as a Christian in their lives? And 2. Are they growing in their understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?
Any healthy ministry will be accomplishing the first just with good messages and good christian interactions but there are a few ways to enhance this. One of the ways is to give them a clear understanding of what a Christian life is and to show them that it can still be alot of fun so that it isn't thing that they want to resist.
The next step is alittle tricky. How do you help them to see the next step in their walk with GOd? One common way is to give a convicting message and to invite them to change their lives. This works with some students but what about those who are too shy or not sure if they want to respond? Or what about those who make a heart felt decision but quickly forget once in the house with the Xbox 360? I beilieve in a two pronged response to this.
The first is to provide take home materials for the kids to remind them and allow them to think more on the lesson. You can also include word puzzles/games and perhaps give prizes to those who return them finished. The second is communication with the parents, however that looks in your setting (take home fliers, email, church bulliten, etc). Most parents love hearing what's going on and many (with promptings) will be glad to discuss and followup
with their kids allowing the message to go home with them.
Following these steps will increase spiritual growth in your group and will help produce healthy Christians.
4. Get them Serving: The Great Commision in action
Coming Soon
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