eZine 01.28.2003

TheSource4YM.com
	Jonathan’s Resource Ezine

Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, January 28, 2003

In This Issue

• KEEPING VOLUNTEERS, PART II Proven Methods to Hang on to Your Ministry Team!
  
  
• A VOLUNTEER MOTIVATION TOOL An Ice-breaker You Can Use for Your Volunteer Training
  
  

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KEEPING VOLUNTEERS, PART II Proven Methods to Hang on to Your Ministry Team!

by Jonathan McKee
January 28, 2003

Got volunteers? Getting them is one thing . . . but what’s the trick to keeping them?

Glad you asked.

Two weeks ago we gave you the first three ways to "Hang on to Your Ministry Team!" Use this web link if you missed that article: https://thesource4ym.com/archives/archivestore/2003/arc20030114.aspx

Here is the second part of that article:

"Five Ways to Hang on to Your Ministry Team!"
by Jonathan McKee
(Continued from 2 weeks ago)

4. PERKS
You read it right- perks! That’s all the little fringe benefits that we can provide for our staff.

I can hear it now. "But our budget is small" or "non-existent!" I’m so tired of hearing that. So tired in fact, that I’m writing an article on the basics of budgeting in a few weeks. But let me assure you- it’s worth budgeting your events so that your staff can always come for free. Here’s an easy example. If you’re taking all your students to a place that costs $8 . . . charge $10 or $12 so you can cover your gas costs and pay for your staff’s admission. Most students that can come up with 8 bucks can come up with a few more.

The key is letting your staff know how much you appreciate their time and dedication. I’ve been on countless camps and retreats where I saw staff teams that were required to come up with their own money for events and trips. For many volunteers this was a hardship. For many this was a subconscious message that "they weren’t of any value." (Note: Some people may think that this robs the staff of the opportunity to give. Well, many of my staff also donated to our ministry, more than paying for their way. But that was up to them. I always assured them that their time was more than enough. And it was!)

I not only paid for my staff on all our events . . . I also gave them additional perks, usually rewarding them for the stuff I wanted them doing. For example: on my week long trips my primary goal was for staff to spend time with students one-on-one. So each morning I gave all my staff an envelope with $5 in it. I told them to find a time today to take a student out for a milkshake or french fries and a Coke (a pop for you in Michigan). I had 8 staff on that trip for 6 days. That’s 48 envelopes with $5 in it, a total of $240. Sound like a lot? Well that $240 guaranteed that 48 students would get one-on-one attention from an adult for about a half hour. That’s more than a lot of them got at home in a week. Best $240 I ever spent. I just put it in the budget. (If you don’t know how- stay tuned in a few weeks when I talk about budgeting).

Other perks might be a pocket full of game tokens when we are at an arcade, tickets to the Indy-racers when at the Mini-golf complex, or Christmas gifts at a staff Christmas dinner.

Provide perks for your staff, letting them know that you value them. The Bible says that where your treasure is your heart will be also. Our heart better be in our volunteers . . . because they could be doing something else with their time.

5. STAFF RETREATS
Staff retreats really are another perk that I offer, combined with a great excuse to train them and equip them for our ministry.

Every summer I used to concentrate on recruiting staff. And at the end of every summer I had a mandatory staff retreat for new recruits and existing staff. My volunteer staff all knew that one of the expectations of being on my staff was attending this weekend once a year. The cool thing was that my staff loved it- and soon the word got out. I would take them to my cousin’s 900 acre ranch to ride horses, ride quad-runners, shoot guns . . . and just have a good ol’ time. (In California usually the only time people shoot guns is on the freeway!)

Not only was the weekend free and fun, but I made the weekend attractive to them by encouraging them to bring their spouse or significant other (for those of my young staff who were dating or engaged) along with them. This gave them all a chance to interact and bond with each other.

We spent a lot of time doing team building games or activities (like the one below), sharing with each other and just hanging out together. Each person took turns sharing their testimony at some time during the weekend, usually followed by tears and lots of hugging. Then I did some basic training in evangelism, discipleship and ministry methods.

Staff came home from this trip not only trained and equipped, but "a team." Very often I would bring 10 to 15 individuals up to the ranch . . . and one team home.

Our volunteers are one of our most important assets. We need to build in to them so that they can build into students. Use these 5 methods and hold on to your ministry team.

Another article by speaker and author Jonathan McKee. Jonathan is the president of THE SOURCE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY, equipping you with the resources you need as a youth leader. To find out about bringing Jonathan out to train in your area, use this web link: https://thesource4ym.com/trainers/

A VOLUNTEER MOTIVATION TOOL An Ice-breaker You Can Use for Your Volunteer Training

Try this exercise at your staff retreat or youth staff training meeting. It is an effective training game that I often use to prove an important motivation tool. I have the participants line up on an imaginary line in the training room. I make one end of the line January 1st and the other end of the line December 31st. Then I ask the participants to get up out of their seats (this works great when we have a class of about 25 participants, but will also work with about 10) and line up on that line according to the day and month of their birthday in relationship to everyone else in the room. The only rule is that they cannot communicate (verbal or non-verbal) to anyone about their birthdays. They can only guess where they are supposed to stand and stand there.

The January babies immediately go to one end and the December babies the other. Everyone else is trying to figure where they stand. After a few minutes when they guess their places on the line, I ask them to speak to each other and take their proper place. In most situations, over half of the people have to change places.

When they have taken their spot, with everyone standing in the proper place, then I say: “If you forget everything else I say today-don’t forget this. When you get back to your seat, write it down. This one statement can change how you manage and motivate people. The statement is this: ‘Without feedback you don’t know where you stand.'”

For youth workers, this is a must-constant, regular feedback. Have you ever coached a sports team such as swimming, little league or soccer? For you coaches, do you wait until the rewards banquet to give feedback. No way! When do you give feedback? The answer of course is, “Every day-all the time.” That is essential for great coaching.

But the lesson is not only for youth volunteers with their kids. There is a powerful message for you as a youth worker. When you recruit busy people to be volunteer workers in your youth ministry, feedback is one of the most effective motivational tools. Without feedback we all wonder how we are doing. We wonder if anyone even knows what we are doing. Personal thank you notes (not e-mail) are a wonderful way to say thank you. E-mail thank you is better than nothing. At least it is feedback. But the short, very specific thank you note says volumes. At the California State Railroad Museum each paid supervisor has 200 thank you cards at the beginning of the year and they must have used them all (thanking volunteers) by the end of the year. No wonder they have waiting lists for volunteers.

To find out seven more volunteer motivation tips, check out
www.volunteerpower.com/articles

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LOOKING FOR EVEN MORE RESOURCES ON VOLUNTEERS?

• Check out Jonathan’s FREE article on recruiting volunteers: https://thesource4ym.com/howdoi/staffvol.asp
• Tom McKee’s excellent web site with a ton of FREE articles and resources on volunteers. Check out sample strategic planning retreats, interview questions, position chargers, etc. on this great site: http://www.volunteerpower.com/
• Jonathan’s hit book THE TOP 12 RESOURCES YOUTH WORKERS WANT has a whole chapter devoted to recruiting volunteers. Use this link to check out what people are saying about Jonathan’s book or to take advantage of 20% off: https://thesource4ym.comhttp://www.jonathansresources.com/Books/default.aspx

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Thanks for being an EZINE subscriber. Enjoy the free resource . . . and you know where to find even more free resources at www.TheSourceForYouthMinistry.com

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

God Bless,

Jonathan

If you have any other youth ministry ideas you want to share, please email me at jon@thesource4ym.com

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Do you have a speaker for your next camp or retreat?

Check out Jonathan’s speaker page and who’s recommending him!

/speakers/jonathan.aspx

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Jonathan R. McKee
THE SOURCE
for Youth Ministry
https://thesource4ym.com/