In working with staff and volunteers, I have come to realize how important intentional leadership is necessary.  These are the 3 things that I try to do at every event, camp, and weekend service for my team.

1. Encourage: be your team’s biggest fan.  Motivate and create energy by lifting people up higher than when they showed for your event.  Make them feel better about themselves just for being there.  This attitude will then be passed to your students, creating an environment of encouragement.
2. Affirm: whenever you see something done in the way that matches your ministry’s vision, take 10 seconds to affirm that person.  Affirm the leader engaging the student sitting alone, the leader welcoming by the door, the person who gave a great announcement or led a game well, affirm your guest speakers, or the student leader who included a new student into their group of friends.  Affirming an action that reflects your vision will guarantee it will be done again.
3. Coach: when someone is not quite operating in the way you had hoped, take a minute to course-correct with a simple coaching moment.  The key to this is to still keep it positive.  This is not a time to reprimand or take out months of frustration on a leader.  You cannot change a leader overnight, instead, give consistent feedback that gradually develops the people on your team.

Loved being with 1500 people today who are impacting our communities! Thanks to all who showed up to the Effective Volunteer Leadership session. I was encouraged by your vulnerability, your creativity, and sense of humor.

Go be the community you want your students to have!

Effective Volunteer Teams_TYC

As awesome as I think I am, I cannot do this alone.  Volunteer leaders are the backbone of everything we do in Junior High ministry.

Last Friday night we had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and show our volunteers how much we value them.  We catered food, played LudaChristmas White Elephant Mayhem, and gave each volunteer a Krochet Kids beanie.  If you are unfamiliar with Krochet Kids, you really should check them out.  In fact, our party made the front page of their website!

Valuing our volunteers must go well beyond good food and gifts though.  We are working hard at creating a community of volunteers who love being together, are serving together, and are honestly seeking God together. That is the community that will make the greatest impact on junior ministry.

So if you are a current volunteer, thank you.  If you are looking for a place to serve, find a junior high ministry!