Training volunteers is a crucial part of your ministry. Volunteers give and give and give. It's important to invest in them so they can be equipped and empowered to help lead the ministry.
Initial training should be done when people are joining your team. That may look like an orientation class and then hands on training in the area they will be serving in. An effective way to do this is to let them shadow a seasoned volunteer for a few weeks.
The orientation training should be the 30,000 ft. view that covers vision, core values, safety and security and the big picture of the ministry.
The next part of training should be hands on training in the new volunteer's area of service. They should shadow a veteran volunteer for a few weeks depending on the position. This should includes learning specific policies, programming and purpose for that part of your children's ministry.
Ongoing training is critical as well. Bringing your entire volunteer team together and investing in them is crucial if you want to see your team continue to grow and develop.
A great way to do this is through live, online training...especially since Covid-19 has hindered many ministries from meeting for in-person training. This enables you to bring in outside speakers that can help you develop your team at a fraction of the cost it would take to bring them in for face-to-face training.
I do believe bringing in someone to do training and motivation for your team live and in person is the best option. But doing training online is also a viable option that can make a big impact as well.
Bringing someone in who will reinforce your vision can make a huge impact. It makes a big difference for your volunteers to hear from an outsider who reinforces what you are saying to your team.
I offer online volunteer training for only $99. It includes a one hour live training with note handouts, 45 minutes of teaching and 15 minutes of Q & A. Here are a few options you can use this for:
- Gather your team at church and skype or zoom in a live online training with Dale.
- Dale can record a specific training for you and then you can send it to your entire team to watch one demand at home.
- Do a live session with Zoom and you can bring your team together online for a live training.
I work with churches and let them speak into the topic they want for the training. You know your team better than anyone and you should have a big part in what the training topic will be for your team.
In my trainings, I bring encouragement, motivation and practical steps to help grow your ministry.
Are online, virtual trainings here to stay? I believe they are. Covid-19 has definitely impacted in person training. Many of the conferences I am speaking at this year have moved to online and I believe it will be a trend that will continue, perhaps even after we get Covid-19 under control.
We are blessed to have technology available that can help us effectively do training - even in the current situation we find ourselves.
