One of the keys to a healthy student ministry is a healthy volunteer team. I am not the smartest guy in most rooms, but I am smart enough to know that if I want to see a healthy student ministry it begins with a healthy group of adult volunteers who love God like crazy and are passionate about helping students take their next steps towards and with Christ.
I am constantly on the lookout and always challenging current leaders to be on the lookout for people who would be great in our ministry. I am not just looking for young people who have a lot of energy and are warm bodies. I have found that great volunteers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
Our process involves several steps: 1. All potential leaders fill out an application that asks questions about them personally, their relationship with God, their background, faith story, and references. 2. I interview them - I get their story, ask questions, etc. 3. I lay out my expectations of them - both as people, leaders, and in ministry. (i.e. how they are to act, what they will be doing, etc.)
Below are some guidelines for choosing which volunteers to welcome onto your team and those to pass on. It really comes down to 3 C's that most of us have heard about.
* Character, Calling, and Chemistry.
Character: Any time I interview or talk to someone about volunteering with us I tell them I am looking for adults who have strong character and will be good role models to students of someone living a godly life. I try and make my expectations of their lifestyle clear before they sign on. I ask about how they spend their time and with whom. Mostly I just listen to their story. I ask if there is anything I need to know about them. I ask follow up questions to address any unresolved areas that may come up. Often times those whose lifestyles are lacking and aren't willing to change will bow out right there; which is just fine in my book. I would rather fire them before I hire them, so to speak. Another good way to determine the type of character of new leaders is to call their references and ask around the church about them. I am not looking for dirt, but red flags from staff and volunteers that might know them.
Calling: I let potential volunteers know I am looking for individuals called to our ministry. I communicate that I only want them if they feel God calling them, giving them a nudge, to this ministry. If someone is called to our ministry by God the likelihood of them lasting long term is much higher than if they just want to serve for a while as they look for other opportunities. Almost every one of my leaders, when asked about being called to our ministry, has said they felt a push and a desire or "call" to work with our ministry specifically. When God taps someone on the shoulder and asks them to serve and they do it, long term volunteering is the natural and ideal result. As a side note, I also give potential leaders the opportunity to "check us out" for a couple weeks before committing. This is a chance for them to get a taste of what we really do in our ministry without too much investment on either side.
Chemistry: As I meet with prospects for volunteering I am looking for individuals that have the potential to connect relationally with our current team. I am looking for people who make good eye contact, who smile, who are willing to jump in wherever we need them, who are able to handle a bit of unpredictability, have a good sense of humor, and are excited at seeing life change. Age doesn't matter to me I have seen all ages of people be amazing with students. Chemistry is a huge deal when adding anyone to your volunteer ranks. In the past, I have ignored some of my initial concerns regarding chemistry with the rest of the team and allowed volunteers to serve with us. After a few months; however, the lack of chemistry became an anchor to morale and positivity in our ministry. If I had been more intentional and listened to my gut at the beginning, I could have avoided the disruption to our team. I am not looking for any one personality type I love all types- quiet folks, outspoken and goofy folks - they all add depth and diversity to the team - after all, our ministry reaches a wide range of students, so it only benefits us to have a variety of personalities among our leaders.
A healthy volunteer team is one of the keys to growth in student ministry. To me numbers do matter. Not so I can talk about how big we are or how effective I am. They matter to me because numbers are a core component of the health of our student ministries. It is a natural law...healthy things grow. The goal of the church and of our lives as Christians is to spread the gospel and share Christ. If our ministry is healthy it will grow. If we aren't growing there is something about our ministry that is not healthy. To me the first key to a healthy growing student ministry is healthy growing adults who love God, love being together, and love seeing the lives of students change before their very eyes.
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