5 Techniques for Training Ministry Volunteers

by William Cowles

So, you’ve apprenticed, appreciated, recognized, rewarded, and respected the limits of your volunteers – and still some of them lose interest, forget the basics, or drift away. What’s up with that? Well, it could be a training problem.

Too many leaders think that training should be one and done. And that re-training would never be necessary. “I told them how to do that a long time ago!”  Well, how much time has passed since you first equipped those volunteers for their ministries? And how have conditions changed and their needs become different since then? Training is an ongoing process, and church volunteers are among the neediest!

Make sure your ministry volunteers receive frequent check-ins, energy boosts, and basic reminders. When volunteers do the same thing over and over again and no one notices, it’s natural for them to drift. It’s easy for them to forget to do some things they come to consider insignificant. And, when no one is watching – or caring – lots of unnoticed little things add up to a much bigger loss of ministry effectiveness.

Adults will learn, retain, and perform best when five simple techniques are used in your training and re-training programs. They aren’t magic or new – they’re practical. And, they will make sure your volunteers are always at the top of their games when it comes to ministering to the people your church serves.

Let’s think about a common volunteer assignment, the Welcome Center, and think how you can use these five techniques the next time you’re helping to prepare someone for this important hospitality ministry:

1.       EXPLAIN YOURSELF – TELL THEM WHY. Adults need to understand the reasons behind the actions. Why am I doing this? What’s the purpose behind this? What are the benefits of my participation for me, my group, other participants, or the extended community?

Sample Training Script: Our Church offers a Welcome Center so that guests know we expect them to be there. We want them to have a good experience, and they will want people here who can answer their questions and get them connected. The volunteers who serve at our Welcome Center are God’s Ambassadors to the strangers who visit us.

2.       DEMONSTRATE – DON’T DECLARE. Adults want to see how it sounds, looks, and works. Telling someone how to do something is never as effective as showing them how to do it. Role-play it with the volunteers.

Sample Training Script:

(Trainer, as Guest approaches) “Welcome to Our Church! My name is Wendy Welcomer and we’re glad you chose to visit with us today. I’d be happy to help you find a destination – our Worship Center, the children’s area, a pastor, or maybe even a restroom.

(Guest) No thank you – I’m just going to attend Worship.

(Trainer) I think you’ll enjoy Pastor Pete’s message today. It’s about _________. And we have lots of ministry information available – may I put together a packet for you?

(Guest) OK, thanks.

(Trainer) Here you are. Many people have questions after the service, so we’ll be right here to help you with any other information or questions you might have. The service starts in XX minutes – may I have an usher help you find a good seat?”

3.      PACE YOURSELF – FEED THEM IN SMALL BITES. Adults’ attention spans are affected by many different kinds of distractions, even when they’re trying to listen and learn. To maintain the volunteers’ focus on what you’re teaching them, serve up your wisdom in small doses.

Sample Training Script: There are three important practices that our ambassadors follow in God’s house, and tonight we’ll focus on just the first one. To begin, I’ll share with you our goals and objectives, and then I’ll offer some real-life examples of how it has worked effectively for us here. Then we’ll apply it together through some fun role-playing exercises. Next week, we’ll cover the second practice, and finish up the third week.

4.      MIX IT UP – ADD VARIETY. Most adults, when confronted with “training,” fear that it will drag on and on, and become rote and boring. Frankly, they will absorb only what their rear ends will endure! So changing the pace every 10-15 minutes is a great way to keep the energy flowing and their interests alert.

Training Tips: Alternate between PowerPoint and flip charts. Show them a video – Disney has some great ones. Bring in a hospitality industry expert from one of your area’s leading hotels. Pause for Q&A discussion sessions. Take them on a field trip to the Welcome Center at your church or another church. Have them do one-on-one conversation exercises.

5.      PASS IT ON – HELP ONE EQUIP ANOTHER. The most effective leaders are those who develop other leaders, and the best way to learn something in depth is to teach it to another person. 

       Training Tips: Noted author Stephen Covey called it “three-person teaching:” 

• Experienced Volunteer #1 teaches Rookie Volunteer #2
• Newly Trained Volunteer #2 absorbs the lesson to a deeper level by teaching Rookie Volunteer#3

And on it goes, creating multiple layers of leadership that never dry up.

As a ministry leader, your job is to make sure your ministry volunteers always see their contributions to the goals, and share in the satisfaction of the end results. When they do, they’ll perform at their highest levels of service, and produce consistently good results over time.

Use these five training techniques consistently and your volunteers will be empowered and confident in being God’s Ambassadors in your church – and everyone will see it and know it!