Training

With the growth in the workload on many pastors in the last few years, there has been an ever-increasing number of lay people ministering in church – and all-member ministry has become more of a reality. All to the good – until something goes terribly wrong, because the untrained are being entrusted with tasks they simply cannot do.

Why are we so suspicious of training in the church? There are three main reasons.

The first is that training is seen as unspiritual. The disciples never went to Bible College, we quip, and they started a church that had three thousand members in its first week or so. True, but they had three years of day by day instruction from Jesus. Paul trained those he worked with – we wouldn't have some of the letters if he hadn't seen the passing on of his wisdom and experience as crucial.

The second reason can be because, it seems to take so long. Most of us are far too busy doing the job to have time to train others to do it. And when we do delegate, they make a mess of it, so it’s obviously better to do it ourselves. Right? Wrong! In the long-term, it is much better to get ten people to do the work than to do the work of ten people.

The final reason can be the leader's insecurity. ‘What if people discover others are more gifted than me?’ ‘Will the congregation respect me less if others start doing certain aspects of my job better than I do?’ Let’s pray that both these things happen!

So how do we get on with training? The following four steps can form a framework for action:

1. Envision

The church family must be made aware of the needs and their responsibilities in relation to meeting them: workers are needed to maintain current ministries and to develop new ones. God’s plan has always been to use leaders to train His people to do the ministry – not for His people to watch the leaders do the ministry!

Perhaps a sermon series could be preached, or a series of Bible studies planned. In as many different ways as possible the congregation needs to be alerted to their biblical responsibilities. One small, practical way to envision the church in this area is to publish a ‘jobs list’. That is, a complete list of everything that is done in church life to keep its ministries going.

Add to this list tasks the church should be doing and tasks you would like it to be doing, and you have a clear indication that there is something for everyone to do! Some of the jobs can be done simply enough, but most will require an element of training, some quite extensively.

2. Recruit

Asking for volunteers can be dangerous! It often results in the wrong people volunteering. It is sometimes useful, however, to ask for volunteers on a ‘just looking’ basis – giving people an opportunity to ask questions about a particular ministry without being committed to it before they are ready.

Leaders should not be afraid, though, of making a direct approach to people they think God might be wanting to use in particular ministries. A direct, non-manipulative, request to consider being committed to a particular task is especially valuable for busy (often gifted) people. They may well never volunteer for anything but might be stirred into accepting a role by a fresh challenge. Besides, sometimes we are the last people to recognise our own gifts and need someone else to point them out to us.

One key principle to remember when we are trying to recruit people for training is never to minimise the work and commitment involved for the recruit.

3. Train

Leading in worship, teaching a children’s group, running a youth group, serving communion – it all looks so easy, until you try it. Our enthusiastic recruit must be trained. One of the most effective methods of training was created by Jesus; ‘show, tell and do’. This avoids the sterile, unreality of simply ‘reading up’ about the subject area, and overcomes the bias and idiosyncrasies of a totally subjective ‘thrown in at the deep end’ approach.

4. Review

Training needs to be ongoing. We ought always to be developing our skills and growing in grace. No one in the church family should be exempt from this need for performance evaluation followed by continuing training. This will keep us fresh, relevant and increasingly effective in God’s work. As we submit ourselves to this process, our fellow leaders will do so more readily, and so will other workers at every level of the church family.

When we review, God has the opportunity to renew.

STEPHEN GAUKROGER WILL BE COMING TO AUSTRALIA LATE JULY/EARLY AUGUST TO HOST A SERIES OF SEMINARS ON TEAM LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT, AND PREACHING AND COMMUNICATION, IN PERTH, MELBOURNE, SYDNEY AND BRISBANE. CHECK OUT WWW.WILLOWCREEK.ORG.AU FOR MORE DETAILS.

Article first published in The Baptist Times (UK) October 2010

Stephen Gaukroger is a senior church leader in the United Kingdom, having pastored two of the largest Baptist churches and served as President of the Baptist Union. Stephen is the Founder and Director of Clarion Trust International, a Christian charity working in the UK and overseas, involved in leadership training and development, advocacy, networking and the communication of the Christian faith.

So tell me… Why am I doing this?

How many unfinished projects do you have around your home or office? A book you began to read but haven’t yet finished or a DVD you purchased but still haven't watched? How easily our initial enthusiasm gives way to the pressures and demands of everyday life. It’s not that we don’t want to do it; it’s just the time and priority factor.

Volunteers often start well too! They sign up and are keen to serve. After a while it gets harder as the initial excitement of something new passes and other demands begin to press in. We all know that we could not do ministry without volunteers, yet we also know that each volunteer has their own reasons for serving and these reasons determine the level to which they get involved. Recruiting is one step, but retaining and developing volunteers is something totally different. Volunteers usually need continued inspiration; they need to know that what they bring to the min istry really matters.

I want my volunteers to be connected not only in body but in heart and mind too. You can easily tell the difference between a volunteer who is totally engaged compared with a volunteer who just turns up to serve. They both do the job but only one moves our ministry forward.

We are more likely to engage in activities where we feel like we are making a real difference however it may not be easy for a volunteer to identify the difference they have made, especially if their role is more administrative or repetitive. It is the role of a leader to paint the big picture, telling the story of where we have come from, reminding everyone how they have contributed to the journey and inspiring them that “we are going forward together.”

Volunteers can see that we are interested in their personal development, and their ideas, when we share with them the “next steps” they can take to grow in their leadership. Giving unqualified praise, eg “You are great!”, without saying what you’ve noticed that makes you think that way, is shallow praise and really does not impact the volunteer much at all. Also, take care not to communicate gratitude in such a way that volunteers are left with the impression that their serving is a one way street. Yes we are grateful for their service, however the opportunity to serve through our ministry to kids also does much to enrich them as Christ followers.

This time of the year people are often re-evaluating their volunteering, deciding if they will serve again next year. While the year -end is a good time to “take a break”, sadly some volunteers do not intend to return in the new year. As leaders we need to give our volunteers an extra dose of inspiration at this time, casting the vision and reminding them why we must keep giving our best to our kids. I find this one of the most critical times in the rhythm of our ministry.

So, don’t wait until the new year to honour volunteers; build on the momentum that is already there. Celebrate!! Throw a part y for your volunteers. (Find someone else to set up or clean up!!) Talk about the things you have done together, the tough times where you stood together. Celebrate by telling stories of the kids who have grown in their faith, developed new skills and discovered something fresh about themselves.

Give your volunteers opportunity to share their stories and experiences and explore their dreams. Identify all the different serving opportunities that exist in your ministry and let people indicate where they would most like to serve next year. When you have the right person serving in the right place their impact will be unstoppable!!

Make it a Win - Win - Win situation!

Our ministry wins when we have passionate, inspired volunteers.

Our volunteers win when they are growing and learning on the journey.

Our kids win when they have significant others coming alongside them, sharing with them, encouraging them and demonstrating a real life, genuine faith story.

Margaret Spicer

Children and Families Pastor

Crossway Baptist Church, Melbourne

Creating and Communicating a Ministry Culture

Children’s ministry teams by their nature draw together a wide range of volunteers. These volunteers come with a variety of experiences which shape their expectations and often direct their methods.

They have a mental picture of what Children’s Ministry is and what it ought to be. A teenager can tend to favour a fun environment being a “mate’ to the kids and may struggle with the leadership aspect. Someone who has worked with kids for a while, will want to draw on the methodology of the past and as a result may struggle to adapt to new methods.

Some volunteers value recall answers, others discussion and others craft. The more volunteers we have, the more diverse their expectations, therefore the clearer you must be in determining your culture.

A clearly defined culture

·         Gets everyone on the same page.

Visitors, Volunteers, parents and children all know what your ministry is about. Every week there is one consistent message going home and a clear plan on how parents can be involved in helping children take the next steps.

·         Gives consistency and continuity for our kids.

Most of us have teams that rotate, so the same team does not serve together every week. We need to present consistency in presentation, language, and expectation across our ministry.

·         Ignites passion.

Nothing is more inspiring to a team than working together to see goals achieved. Knowing and feeling like you are part of something bigger, and more significant than just you!

Vision and values can be recorded for people to read, but culture defines what actually happens. It’s what people see, feel and hear when they are in your ministry area as a visitor, volunteer, parent or child. It can be heard by the language that is used, the rituals (programming) that you engage in and in the dynamics of your team.

Communicate your culture

·         Speak it!

Remind your team of the things that matter most and why they are important, what would be lost if we did not pay attention to them? These characteristics not only form the vision piece, but link to the process (eg. “when you give kids time to share, they feel we value them”), and evaluation as well. Don’t say it once, but over and over again in different ways.

·         Show it!

Use non verbal ways of communicating your message through signage, decor, atmosphere, and procedure/ritual. Our words become even more powerful when they are backed up by consistent actions. eg If your ministry area is truly targeted for the kids, it will look age appropriate. This can be done on a week by week set up, it does not have to be permanent. If we say we are relevant and prepared and then to quickly write a bible verse on a white board or a scrappy piece of paper shows something different.

·         Feel it!

Atmosphere is one of the first things that registers for me when I walk into a ministry area. A collaboration of visual messages reinforced by the personal approach of the team and reflected in the kids response. Ownership is a value that can be felt. When every person on the team knows what their contribution is and how it helps the overall team, you can feel it. There is an atmosphere of encouragement and support—we play as team!!

·         Live it!

These characteristics become part of the fabric of being team, it’s like breathing, we just do it!

To change any aspect of your existing culture takes time and intentional effort.

What are the characteristics that define the culture of your ministry?

·        How do you demonstrate these on a weekly basis?

·         If you were to evaluate your ministry this week based on these characteristics,

how would you score?

·        Ask your parents, volunteers and children questions to determine if you are actually communicating clearly.

Margaret Spicer

Children and Families Pastor

Crossway Baptist Church, Melbourne

We LOVE our volunteers!!! (week 4)

Wollongong was ‘Summiting’ on its own last week and did an awesome job!

Jo was a fantastic producer for this GLS site! She is clearly loved and respected by her team and the production side of the GLS was ‘almost’ flawless. Thank you to her and her team for all they did and the hours of preparation that went in to seeing this site run with excellence. Danielle led the event team beautifully. She has a grace about her that makes people think that everything is flowing and easy...well, that’s what I thought anyway! She is warm and engaging with her team and each volunteer was really a blessing to the delegates. So many commented on how well they were looked after for the two days.

Whilst the bulk of the Summits are over in Australia and New Zealand, internationally we aren’t even yet half-way through, and there are still many sites and countries preparing for their events. Please pray for them, God is truly doing a great work through the Summits!

We LOVE our volunteers!!! (week 3)

A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers from our week 3 sites – Gold Coast, Launceston, Perth and Sydney.

On the Gold Coast we had Elizabeth - a very gifted and beautiful young lady, who led her team with grace, and strength and fantastic enthusiasm.  Production was led by the wonderful Lyndal, whose amazing efforts engaged the delegates from the very first song, and continued throughout the entire two days.

Down in Launceston the beautiful and bubbly Barbara managed the event and her team of superb volunteers with loads of joy and enthusiasm.  Another outstanding success with the production & worship team led by the delightful Chantelle confirmed that the Island State has what it takes!!  Her confidence and relaxed attitude had everyone simply enjoying all that God had in store for them. 

Over in Perth Sally had the volunteers ‘flowing’ with ease and efficiency. No problem was too hard and she was a huge blessing and did an incredible job. Belinda had a grace that was efficient but gentle. She led the production team along with hubby Dave [who looked after tech] and was on the ball and created a seamless programme.

Sydney volunteers were led by Emmy and JT. There was never a moment when the efficient Emmy wasn’t smiling and this carried through to her team. It was wonderful to have JT’s experience and professionalism close at hand. Producer Tiffany led the charge inside the auditorium, with some beautiful team prayer times. This set the tone for whole event, and kept us all focused on the big picture.

To all the volunteers, you were amazing!

We LOVE our volunteers!!! (week 2)

We have passed the half-way mark with Summit week 2 happening last week. A big thank you to all the volunteers from Canberra, Melbourne and Toowoomba for another outstanding job!

Canberra’s event manager Annie did a great first-time job, especially overseeing all the catering – the food was a hit with delegates and volunteers alike! Expert Producer Michael had things humming along and programmed down to the minute, he and lighting man Tim’s commitment to executing their event leaves us lost for words!

Our first time guys in Melbourne did a great job! Natasha was outstanding!  She was totally under control with an unbelievable team of volunteers supporting her and at the ready to do whatever was necessary, what a blessing each of them were to our guests.  It was an honour to be a part of. It was great to see this new production team in full swing under the leadership of Stephen. They were committed to the task and there was great communication between the team which led to seamless transitions! 

In Toowoomba Danny never stopped moving, he and his team of volunteers had everything in top order, there was always a smile on his face. Leading up to the Summit Natalie was always a friendly voice on the phone and on the day no question any delegate could ask was too hard for the ‘Girl in the Blue Scarf!’ Inside the auditorium ran smoothly thanks to Brendan and his team. He had a big job, both producing and worship leading but he pulled it off with masterful ease!

The willingness of the volunteers to serve in all sites was a beautiful thing to behold!

We LOVE our volunteers!!! (week 1)

This last week was Summit week 1 in Australia and we want to thank all the volunteers of Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong and Newcastle for an outstanding job – we couldn’t have done it without you. We particularly want to highlight a few people who were amazing leading their volunteer teams!

Adelaide’s event manager Steve, was like ‘The Invisible Man’ - Here one minute and gone the next!  As soon as you mention something needs to be done, before you finish speaking he’d be off to make it happen. Producer Ben had things organised and under control, he & the team were committed to delivering everything they did with excellence! 

Christine led the way inside the Brisbane auditorium, she was always calm and nothing seemed to faze her! Alicia did an awesome job building up her team, the result was amazing - every member was always smiling and knew exactly what their next move was!

Veteran event manager Ian was a champion in Geelong.  Co-ordinating a great team of willing volunteers, he made the summit look effortless!  Justin led worship again with ease and charisma – so high functioning (in-house joke!), and Leonie was fantastic bringing the team together to produce a great GLS.

Our first timers in Newcastle were fantastic. Producer Phill was calm under pressure, focused and diligent. He encouraged his team well, took initiative to observe the program and tweak it along the way! Captain of the volunteer army and event manager Glen managed his troops in such a way that everything was done before you even thought to ask!

We think it’s important to publicly say how much we value you guys, every team had a beautiful heart to serve, so thanks and thanks again!

Also we just had to show off the Newcastle Reclaim Dancers (click to youtube video below), who did two amazing dances at Belair Baptist - this is just them practicing, but you girls were great!