Case Study #6 The S.O.S.
Situation: The leadership of West End Church describes their church as far too “staff driven” with a strong desire to become more “lay driven.” But they have historically struggled to recruit and train volunteers. They have tried soliciting help through the newsletter, the bulletin, e-mail messages, even begging during the Sunday services but the vast majority of volunteers continue to come from the small pool of faithfuls who have served for years. Often, those who do volunteer complain of being overloaded and burning out. The youth ministry is no exception to this pattern. The short-term volunteers who served in the youth ministry couldn’t wait until the new youth director was hired, allowing them to step back from their volunteer work. Within months of his arrival, the new youth director realizes that all of his youth ministry volunteers have resigned, leaving the church with less hours invested in the ministry than before the staff person was hired. This youth director, a “kid magnet” filled with energy and creativity feels overwhelmed, recognizing that he now must not only minister creatively to youth but must build an organization at the same time. When the youth director suggests to church leaders that some programs might need to be cut in order to give him the capacity to develop a volunteer team, he meets with strong resistance and well-meaning suggestions that he simply “learn to delegate.”
The Solution: West End Church has, unwittingly, set up its new youth director for failure without even knowing it. The church will need to ensure that the goals, structure, and programming for its youth ministry match the church’s capacity, avoiding the common pitfall of trying to provide a level of programming the church simply cannot afford. The youth ministry will need to create personalized processes for recruiting and sustaining volunteers, processes that move beyond blanket recruiting and wishful thinking.
The Result: YMA consultants work with church leadership, ideally before a new staff person is hired, to ensure that the youth ministry’s goals, structure and programming is consistent with the churches capacity. In addition, YMA provides proven strategies and coaching for how to develop a long-term, sustainable, enthusiastic volunteer team.
Additional Resources:
Article on building the right foundation.
Article on getting parents more involved.
Article on time management techniques.
Article on finding time for the most important work.
Read other case studies #1 #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
Situation: The leadership of West End Church describes their church as far too “staff driven” with a strong desire to become more “lay driven.” But they have historically struggled to recruit and train volunteers. They have tried soliciting help through the newsletter, the bulletin, e-mail messages, even begging during the Sunday services but the vast majority of volunteers continue to come from the small pool of faithfuls who have served for years. Often, those who do volunteer complain of being overloaded and burning out. The youth ministry is no exception to this pattern. The short-term volunteers who served in the youth ministry couldn’t wait until the new youth director was hired, allowing them to step back from their volunteer work. Within months of his arrival, the new youth director realizes that all of his youth ministry volunteers have resigned, leaving the church with less hours invested in the ministry than before the staff person was hired. This youth director, a “kid magnet” filled with energy and creativity feels overwhelmed, recognizing that he now must not only minister creatively to youth but must build an organization at the same time. When the youth director suggests to church leaders that some programs might need to be cut in order to give him the capacity to develop a volunteer team, he meets with strong resistance and well-meaning suggestions that he simply “learn to delegate.”
The Solution: West End Church has, unwittingly, set up its new youth director for failure without even knowing it. The church will need to ensure that the goals, structure, and programming for its youth ministry match the church’s capacity, avoiding the common pitfall of trying to provide a level of programming the church simply cannot afford. The youth ministry will need to create personalized processes for recruiting and sustaining volunteers, processes that move beyond blanket recruiting and wishful thinking.
The Result: YMA consultants work with church leadership, ideally before a new staff person is hired, to ensure that the youth ministry’s goals, structure and programming is consistent with the churches capacity. In addition, YMA provides proven strategies and coaching for how to develop a long-term, sustainable, enthusiastic volunteer team.
Additional Resources:
Article on building the right foundation.
Article on getting parents more involved.
Article on time management techniques.
Article on finding time for the most important work.
Read other case studies #1 #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
