RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Normally when we think about doing an in-person volunteer training, we think of a big meeting with team-building games, ice-breakers, lots of food, decorations and an extended time of teaching.

Those times can definitely be beneficial.  Most churches do these type of trainings 2-4 times a year.  

But have you thought about the benefits of bite-sized training as well?

Each week, there is a small window of time when you can do bite-sized training.

When is that?  

It's during a pre-service volunteer meeting.  

Are you currently doing a pre-service meeting with your volunteers?  If you're not, I would encourage you to start doing so.  It will make a big impact on your team.

The meeting should last for around 8-10 minutes.  Here's what to cover during this meeting.

• welcome / announcements (1 min)
  
• training (3-5 min)
  
• prayer (2-3 min)

You will notice the time allotted for training.  This is your opportunity each week to bring a bite-sized training to your team. You should be very intentional about what you use that bite-sized training for each week.  Don't wing it.  Come into the meeting knowing exactly what you will be talking about during the training.  

Personally, I have always used the bite-sized training time to accomplish three purposes.

• help them grow spiritually (1st weekend of the month)
• help them grow in their ministry skills (2nd weekend of the month)
• motivate them / remind them of the why (3rd weekend of each month)

I rotate through these three topics.  

Think about it with me. When you do this, you have the opportunity to bring 52 bite-sized trainings to your team. Think about what you could cover in those 52 weeks and how it could help grow your team.

If you will be consistent with this, I promise you it will make a big impact on your volunteers. 

You turn. Do you do pre-service huddles?  What do you cover during these ?  Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.

You can get tons of ideas and insight about volunteer team meetings and other relevant subjects in my volunteer book - The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams.  You can get it at this link.

As we continue to navigate through Covid-19 many of our activities have been put on hold.  

But there's one thing that we can't afford to put on hold and that is training for our volunteers and staff.  

It's crucial to keep investing in our team members so they can continue to grow, learn and be inspired...especially during this pandemic.

Many children's ministries have faced the reality that some of their volunteers will not come back due to fear of being exposed to the virus.  And we get that.  

But with fresh training and inspiration, you may be able to keep that from happening and can see your team excited about the ministry.  

It can be costly to bring a guest speaker / trainer in or to attend a conference.  Especially when your ministry budget may have been cut back. 

But here's the good news.  You can have a live, online training for a fraction of the cost.   

I do live online training for churches and ministries.  Here's what you get for your team:

• Customized training to meet the current needs of your team.  Training can be specifically for your staff or key volunteers.  Or training can be for everyone your team.
  

• You pick the day and time.
  

• Live online training time.  (30-40 minutes of teaching and 15 minutes of Q & A)

• Video copy of your training session so you can share with those who could not attend.

• Handouts for the training so people can follow along and take notes.
  

Churches and ministries across the states and internationally are using this for their teams. 

A fresh infusion of passion, energy and vision may be just what the doctor ordered for your ministry.  Dale shares about all of these and can help you get your team fired up about fulfilling your children's ministry's mission.  

Sometimes it just takes hearing it from someone else to reinforce what you've been saying.  One of Dale's goals is to help you get fresh energy for your team and your mission. 

Having helped build and lead some of the largest children's ministries in the country, Dale has over 31 years of experience.  He has served in churches of 20 to churches of 28,000.  At his last church, he helped the volunteer team grow from 300 to 2600 in 8 years. He understands your situation and can help you navigate for future growth.

You can get more information and schedule an online training at this link. 

Your ministry will only be as strong as the team you build to lead the ministry.  I can help you build up your team. 

Contact me.  Let's talk.