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Care and Feeding of Volunteers

August 28, 2012 by 1 Comment

 The past couple of weeks the ministry I work for at Saddleback Church has lost a couple of really good volunteers. I was sorry to see them go and it will be a loss to our ministry. I read and then re-read their e-mails about why they were leaving and it made me wonder if as a staff person I could have done more to keep these folks as volunteers. Here’s what I came up with:

  1. Burn out. This one is huge. One of our volunteers just simply burned out. Between his full-time job and volunteering in a couple of ministries on our campus he simply burned out. Everyone needs to take a break and step back and rest for a while. It not only gives you a fresh prospective, it greatly reduces the risk of burn out.
  2. Not feeling like you’re making a difference. I don’t care what your ministry is; volunteers will not hang around long if they don’t feel like what they are doing is make a difference for the Kingdom. Do your best to constantly point out the good they are doing.
  3. Not growing. Find a way to elevate your volunteers either in a volunteer leader role or as a trainer to new volunteers. No one wants to stay at the same entry-level position they came in at in a career. It’s the same for volunteers.
  4. Sometimes even the best volunteers don’t really have a heart for your ministry. They thought they did and they did the best job they could but at the end of the day, your ministry was just not their cup of tea. This is actually a good reason to leave a ministry where you are serving. You need to be where God has given you the heart and talents.
  5. Use your older volunteers to mentor your younger volunteers. Every Timothy needs a Paul, every Paul needs a Timothy. This is a way for you to help your seasoned volunteers feel more useful if they are mentoring others, not only in your ministry but in their life. I am a huge proponent of mentoring!
  6. Find a way to thank and reward your volunteers. It can be as simple as a five dollar Starbucks gift card. Everyone wants to know that people appreciate what they do. Take them to lunch or meet them for coffee. Just do something to let them know you are thankful for them.
  7. Make sure your volunteers are getting fed.  I don’t mean food I mean that they are reguarly attending weekly services, are in a  small group and are having daily quiet times to keep close to God.

We’d love to hear your ideas on helping volunteers to stay strong and motivated!

 

 

Filed Under: Encouragement, Volunteer ministry Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Some More Thoughts About Mentoring

June 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We’ve written before on this blog about the importance of mentoring in a student’s life. Unfortunately I think a lot of people assume that a mentor is an old gray-haired guy (or in my case a bald guy) who is at the end of his useful time on this earth and he is passing on his knowledge to a younger guy so that his lost craft or art does not die with him.

Mentoring is so much more than that. At Saddleback Church where Steven and I work, if you’re over 30 you are expected to mentor someone and if you’re under 30 you need to be mentored by someone. The concept is, “Every Paul needs Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul.” I get that, and I totally agree with that. But here’s the problem with that- I think people in my age group who are mentoring someone don’t realize that they need a mentor as well.

Ironically one of the mentors in my life is younger than I am. Josh Griffin, our High School Pastor at Saddleback has taught me so much about relational student ministry and he has kept me on my toes and kept me always wanting to learn more. On the other side of this coin, if you’re younger and you have a mentor in your life that does not mean you can’t mentor someone younger than you. No matter where you are in life, you know more than someone and have life experience that can help someone else to grow.

Earlier this year I loved seeing Steven take on a mentoring relationship with one of the eighth grade guys in his junior high small group. (Click here to read Steven’s post.)This student will soon be moving on from Steven’s group but he is going to continue the mentoring process with this kid. Why? Because Steven saw a lot of himself at that age in this student and realized that he could help this student avoid some of the pitfalls that tripped him up when he got to high school.

This next school year I’m bringing on a co-leader to my high school small group and as part of the process he has asked me to be a mentor to him. Without hesitation I said, “Yes!” Well as I remember I practically yelled it, but I digress.

I could write all day about what I think about mentoring and its importance in everyone’s life but here’s the bottom line. Pass on what you know to the next generation. Learn from the previous generation, that’s the entire premise of our website. God wired us to always be learning and always be teaching.

 

Filed Under: Mentoring, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

Starting a mentoring relationship

May 22, 2012 by 1 Comment

This year, there is one student in my 8th grade group that I’ve had a strong connection with. Part of the draw is that I see a lot of 8th grade Steven in this guy, so I know his personality and what his strengths and struggles are. He has tremendous potential to grow into an amazing young man after God’s own heart. Over this past year, we’ve had a faux-mentoring relationship, but it has never been something we’ve talked about straight out.

Since he’s going to be transitioning out of my small group in a few weeks, I wanted to let him know that I was available to him if he chose to keep this relationship going. Here’s the most important thing I told him:

I think what we’ve started is great and it seems like it has helped you, but YOU need to want to make it happen way more than I do.

This is super important when starting a mentoring relationship:

  • First, let the person know that you’re available to them. If I hadn’t told this guy that I was available to him as a resource, he may have never known that I was open to mentoring him.
  • Let them be the one to start the process. I told him earlier this week to be thinking about what he wanted our relationship to be. We talked later and decided this would be the best way to move forward.

Being a mentor can (and will) be as beneficial for you as it is for the mentee. Who is someone you can make yourself available to in order to start a mentoring relationship?

Filed Under: Counseling, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

It’s never too early to start planning for fall

May 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Since it’s Monday, this would normally be a post that Steven and I would write together. Steven has finals this week so he’s taking some time to study. We’ll be back to our regular schedule next week.

This past week our junior high and high school ministries at Saddleback Church spent some time planning out the fall calendar. That might sound strange since it’s not even summer yet, but if you want to be effective and make sure that things don’t fall through the cracks you really need to plan for the future with enough time to fix any issues that might come up along the way. It made me start thinking about my new small group and what I want to do this fall. I’m going to have a new group and also a new co-leader, so here’s what I need to do before fall:

  • Spend some time with my new co-leader and establish with him what we want to accomplish with our new group and how we’re going to get there
  • I also am “mentoring” my new co-leader at the same time so I need to make sure I’m growing and stretching him at the same time
  • I want to spend some time with the former leaders of my new group so I can get to know some background on each of the new guys. And while this isn’t necessary, it sure gives you a head start with helping to grow students in their faith if you have a heads up on what life application lessons we need to go over.
  • I want to see where our High School Ministry is going this fall, what will be the weekend lessons, what do they want us to teach on.
  • I want to plan out some serve opportunities. That’s a huge way to help students grow their faith when you get them serving others.
  • I want to plan out some fun events with the new group. Those events help them bond with each other, and help bond you to them as well. It also lets them see you as a person, not just a leader. Nothing brings you down to their level faster than getting smacked in the side of the head with a dodgeball!

Question: Have you begun planning out your fall schedule for your student small group? Any good plans you want to share we’d love to hear them!

Filed Under: Mentoring, Small Groups, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Student Ministry is in Good Hands

April 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.  I love serving in student ministry but I also know there’s a lot of folks out there who are a lot smarter than I am. I do know that the techniques I use, work. I’ve seen several students change and grow in their relationship with God. I’ve watched students just get on fire for Jesus and I love it. I have wondered about the next generation and I used to be worried about the fate of student ministry, would the next generation be up to the task of spreading God’s message.

These past few months I don’t worry about that anymore. I’ve seen some pretty awesome leaders emerge lately. A month ago I stood at the back of the room and watched Steven as he led the lesson in our Junior High services. I know he’s good at teaching I just didn’t know how good until that weekend. I tell him all the time that he is going to make an awesome pastor but I was wrong. He already is an awesome pastor! I was proud standing back there and knowing that I played a small role in helping him realize that God was calling him to ministry and in his ultimate decision to change his major in college and move towards becoming a pastor. I’ve attached a picture from that weekend. I wish it was better quality but just know that Steven’s message was a lot better than this picture! This week I watched  with pride as Steven was one of the leaders on a local mission project that our Junior High ministry participated in for students this spring break. At Saddleback Church we have a lot of amazing young people who either volunteer or work in our student ministry. I’ve been blessed to watch several of them as they mature as Christians and at the same time they are helping younger students grow in their faith. Your church has young adults out there who may just need a mentor like you to help direct them and  develop their skills.

I also know there are a lot of “Steven Orel’s” out there and that God is preparing them for a career and calling in ministry. If you know one, reach out to them and use your experience and knowledge to help mentor them on their way. Whatever gifts and talents God has given you in this student ministry world you need to pass those on.  If you’re a “Paul” be a mentor to a “Timothy” in your church, by that I’m refering to the next generation. If you’re a “Timothy”, look for a “Paul”. For me it not only meant passing on some knowledge to the next generation, but has grown into an amazing friendship.

Filed Under: Mentoring, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Connecting with Students

March 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Steven and I are both really big on relational ministry. If you have a small group that is nothing more than a “Wednesday Night Bible Study” you will never connect with your students and make a difference and help them grow as Christians and mentor them. You need to find intentional time with your students each week. I found this post from Terrace Crawford that shows 10 tips for connecting with students. Some great stuff here!

There is a tease of his post below, you can find the entire article here.

10 Quick Ideas For Connecting With Students In Your small Group

I’m always encouraging youth workers to build into students and find ways to connect with teens. In the past week I’ve thought a lot more about how important it is for me to set staff up for success. If I don’t properly coach volunteers, and share practical ways to do ministry, I’m inevitably setting them up to fail. With that in mind, I thought I’d jot down a number of quick ideas I had for developing relationships with students and share them with leaders.

Disclaimer: This list was written exclusively for small group leaders, but these tips could really apply to anyone who is looking to connect with teenagers.

1. Start a Facebook Group for your small group only

Start a Facebook Group and change the privacy settings to make it a closed group (“secret group”), which will allow you to share prayer requests, etc and it will keep things private. Just keep close watch on your group and moderate what is posted.

2. Mentor them

Each student really needs a mentor. Why not spend an hour with a student each week? (or even 30 minutes!) It’s really the best investment you could make with teens.

3. Post regularly (or even periodically) to the wall of your official Student Ministry Facebook page

Sharing a brief message on the Student Ministry Facebook wall shows the excitement you have for your group and also may appeal to other students outside your small group that you might not otherwise reach.

Filed Under: Repost, Small Groups, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , ,

Called to Youth Ministry

August 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I just came back from junior high summer camp and was reading through my blog feed when I found this gem. Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston reflect on their calling into the youth ministry game. It brought me back to a talk I heard from Kurt about being called to youth ministry during a counselor meeting at last year’s summer camp. I’m thinking about doing a follow-up post to this in the near future, so stay tuned. Until then, check out this excerpt and then head over to Josh’s blog for the full post.

—————

I remember hearing a pastor once talk about his “calling to ministry” – my first thought was how mystical it all sounded; that God would pick out some normal person and make them super special for ministry.  Would God’s calling be accompanied by bright light, an audible voice, smoke and lasers? I always wondered what God’s voice must have sounded like (probably like Morgan Freeman’s), and how it must have felt to be hand-picked by the Creator of the Universe for this special job.

And then I felt called, and it wasn’t anything like I thought it might be. It wasn’t super magical, but it was life-changing. Here’s a little from each of us on our calling to youth ministry:

JOSH: My first inclination that God was calling me to youth ministry was through a significant mentor in my life. I was about to graduate my senior year of college and Jerry Dorman told me he was about to leave his current position and become a pastor. He asked me to consider becoming his youth pastor. I couldn’t believe what he was asking (I was newly married and about to graduate with a business degree) but said I would pray about it. Little did I know that this nudge from a caring adult in my life would lead to a lifelong pursuit and calling from God to minister to students.

KURT:Like Josh, the first time I truly felt “called” to youth ministry was through a significant mentor, and it was a fairly powerful moment.  I had taken a semester off from college to go on an extended mission trip to England.  My prayer before leaving was, “God, I don’t want to return to school until I know exactly why I’m there.” I hadn’t told anybody about that prayer, but one night on the trip while the team was huddled together under Big Ben praying for those we had ministered to throughout the day, my youth pastor pulled me aside and said that he believed I was gifted for ministry and should consider changing my course of study when I returned to school.  No lasers, no Morgan Freeman voice, but pretty epic nonetheless.

(full post)

Filed Under: Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Back To School

August 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When I was a kid I always hated this time of year. The “back to school” ads started running on television, summer is winding down. I wasn’t ready to go back to school but I knew it was just around the corner. Now as a high school small group leader I can’t wait for school to start! It means the official beginning of high school small groups, or “Lifegroups” as we call them here at Saddleback Church. I have a new group of guys that God dropped into my life as their cabin leader at our high school ministry summer camp last month. I’m sure I’ll also pick up a few new students once the official sign up period for Lifegroups begins.

I want to do things a little different this year and I thought I’d share with our readers, maybe it will help you and maybe you have some suggestions we can add to this. Here’s what I want to do:

1. I’m a little bit Type A (who am I kidding, I’m A LOT Type A) so I want to plan out my lessons for the entire fall. I’m going to try to have them coincide with some of the major series that we do in our high school ministry each year.

2. I want to bring in a co-leader who is a new guy to this high school small group thing. God blessed me with a talent to work with high school students and I need to pass along to the next generation what I know. (After all,  the reason Steven and I named this website “Generation to Generation” is the premise that one generation needs to pass along to the next generation what it knows, so that generation can teach the next generation.)

3. I have all high school seniors this year, from the very first official meeting I want to start developing them as leaders and getting them ready for life after high school. I want them to be active in a college age small group and church service by the end of the school year in June 2012.

4. I’m going to remember that through all of this, we’re going to have fun. I want my guys to be excited for Tuesday nights to come around each week. I want to do fellowship nights and fun nights along with the lessons and learning.

Question: What are you doing with your student ministry small group this coming school year?

Filed Under: Small Groups, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mentoring Relationships

July 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 

Yesterday in a staff meeting at Saddleback Church our Senior Pastor Rick Warren made a comment about mentoring. He was referring to Paul and Timothy in the Bible. His comment was that everyone needs a Paul and everyone needs Timothy in their life. If you under 30 you should have someone in your life that is mentoring you in all areas of what it means to be a Christian. If you’re over 30 you should have a younger person in your life that you are mentoring.

I am a huge proponent of mentoring; I think it is the basis of student ministry. Everyone has something to bring to the table, whether your 20 or 50 years old. First off – to a 7th grader, if you’re 20 you are old to them. You are probably closer to them in cultural issues, music, the latest fashion etc. but you’re still old. If you’re 50 you’re not only old, your wise, well at least that what I tell myself. You bring a ton of life experience to the table.

Mine and Steven’s friendship began as a mentoring relationship, and to be honest I’ve probably learned as much from him as he has learned from me. (That’s one of God’s gifts to mentors) What began as a mentoring relationship has grown in a great friendship and a partnership in this ministry of Generation to Generation.

Here’s the bottom line, if you’re under 30 find someone at your church to mentor you. Ask them if they would be willing to let you walk along side of them and soak up as much information from them as you can. If you’re over 30 look for a younger person to mentor. 1 Timothy 5:1 tell us to exhort older men as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as your spiritual mother and younger women as your sister.

Are you a mentor, or are you being mentored?

Filed Under: Encouragement, Mentoring, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,