Mark starts helping with our 5th graders last month. Really nice guy who wants to help.
First Sunday I hand him this packet. Like fifteen pages. Volunteer handbook, safety policies, behavior management, curriculum overview, emergency procedures. Everything.
Next week he shows up looking like I hit him with a truck. Admits he didn't read most of it. Too much. Too confusing. Didn't know what actually mattered.
Feel terrible for him and mad at myself. Spent hours making that packet thinking I was being helpful. Just stressed him out before he even started.
Made me realize I'd been doing volunteer training completely wrong. Trying to shove everything into their heads upfront instead of figuring out what they actually need when they need it.
Been trying different stuff to see what works. What makes people feel ready instead of freaked out. What gets them going right instead of overwhelmed.
Turns out good volunteer training is nothing like I thought it should be.
Start Tiny Not Everything at Once
Used to think good training meant covering everything the first day. Every rule, procedure, and potential situation.
Totally backwards.
Now I focus on the bare minimum they need to survive the first few weeks. The rest can be figured out later.
Mark just got covered the basics. Where the bathrooms are. What to do if a kid gets hurt. How to get my attention if he needs help. Done.
Everything else we worked out as it came up. Way less scary. He actually remembered what I told him because he wasn't drowning in information.
Most volunteers quit in the first month not because they don't know the safety stuff. Because they feel lost and don't know what they're supposed to do.
Better to help them handle Sunday morning than try to teach them everything they might need someday.
Let Them Follow Someone Who Knows
Best training isn't sitting and talking about ministry. It's watching someone who's good at it.
Had Mark work with Lisa the first three weeks. She's done 5th grade forever. Kids love her, parents trust her, she handles everything smoothly.
He just followed her around. Watched how she talked to kids. Managed disruptions. Made everyone feel included.
Week four he was handling stuff naturally because he'd seen it done right. Way better than me lecturing about classroom management.
Always pair new people with experienced ones now. Learn by watching instead of trying to explain everything.
Relationships Not Rules
Old training was all policies and procedures. What you can't do, what you have to do, how to handle problems.
Made ministry sound like a DMV job. Rules everywhere, forms to fill out, procedures to follow.
Now I spend way more time talking about connecting with kids. Learning names. Showing they matter. Making Sunday something they look forward to.
Rules are important but relationships are why we're here. When volunteers get that, everything else makes sense.
Mark asked recently what makes a good volunteer. Told him it's not knowing every policy. It's genuinely caring about kids and letting them see it.
Train in Real Time Not a Classroom
Used to have volunteer training meetings on Saturday mornings. Go through scenarios, role play, practice curriculum.
Nobody came. Too busy for another meeting to attend. Rather just show up Sunday and figure it out.
Now I do training during actual ministry. Real kids, real situations, real learning.
When Mark didn't know how to handle a kid who was disrupting everyone, I didn't schedule a meeting. Pulled him aside right then and showed him what to do.
Way more effective because he could see immediate results. Used what he learned right away instead of trying to remember training from weeks before.
Ask What They're Scared Of
Instead of telling them what I think they need to know, I started asking what they're actually worried about.
Mark was worried about not knowing kids' names. What to do if someone has a meltdown. Whether parents would trust him.
Things we could actually work on together. Way more useful than assuming his concerns.
Some worry about teaching lessons. Others about managing behavior. Others about connecting with shy kids.
Training that addresses actual worries is way more helpful than a generic overview.
Stories Not Policies
Nobody remembers policies. Everyone remembers stories.
Instead of explaining our inclusion policy, I told Mark about Tommy who has autism. How we learned to accommodate his needs. How other kids started helping him feel welcome.
Instead of safety procedures, I told about the time a kid fell on the playground. What I did. Why it worked. How the parents responded.
Stories stick. Policies are forgotten by the first week.
When Mark ran into a similar situation later, he remembered the Tommy story. Knew how to approach it because he had a real example, not an abstract rule.
About Them Not You
Old training was all about what I needed from volunteers. How they could help me. What would make my job easier.
Backwards.
Now I focus on what they want to get out of volunteering. How they want to grow. What they hope to accomplish.
Mark mentioned wanting to get better at connecting with kids. So we worked on that. Watched how Lisa builds relationships. Practiced remembering personal stuff about each kid.
He's way more invested because the training addresses his goals, not just my needs.
Simple Practical Stuff
Volunteers don't need theory about child development. They need to know what to do when a kid won't participate.
Don't need curriculum philosophy. Need to know how to help a struggling reader.
Don't need to master classroom management. Need to know how to redirect a kid who's disrupting others.
Simple, practical, immediately useful information is way more valuable than a comprehensive overview they'll forget.
Don't Abandon After First Week
Used to think training ended after a few weeks. Send them off and hope they figure it out.
Now I check in regularly. How's it going? What questions do you have? What would help you improve?
Mark mentioned feeling unsure about leading small group discussions. Spent time showing him how to ask good questions. Get quiet kids involved. Handle wrong answers nicely.
Ongoing support is way more important than perfect starting training.
Let Them Be Themselves
Lisa connects through games and activities. Tom through quiet talks. Sarah through creative stuff.
Used to try to make everyone volunteer the same way. My way. What worked for me.
Now I help volunteers figure out their own approach. What comes naturally. What fits their personality.
Mark discovered he's really good at helping kids work through problems. Not my style but it totally works for him.
Training should help people become better versions of themselves, not copies of you.
Fix Mistakes Quick and Nice
When Mark handled something wrong, I didn't wait for the next training session. Pulled him aside right after. Explained what might work better. Let him try again.
Quick, gentle correction is way more effective than letting problems continue or making a big deal out of it later.
Most volunteers want to get better. They just need to know how.
Supporting Volunteers Beyond Training
Found Volunteer & Parent Communication resource recently that helps volunteers know how to interact with parents and handle communication situations. Type of ongoing support tool volunteers can reference when they need it instead of trying to remember everything from initial training.
Ongoing resources way more helpful than one-time information dump.
What Sucks
Long training sessions nobody has time for.
Information overload that overwhelms instead of helps.
Generic training that doesn't address specific worries.
One-and-done that abandons people after the first week.
Focus on rules instead of relationships.
Classroom training that doesn't connect to real ministry.
Trying to make everyone exactly the same.
What I Do Now
Start with basics. Build from there.
Pair new with experienced.
Train during actual ministry when possible.
Ask what they're worried about. Address those concerns.
Use stories and examples instead of abstract policies.
Check in regularly. Provide ongoing support.
Help them find their own style.
Fix mistakes quickly and nicely.
What Happened
Mark's been with us six months now. Kids love him, parents trust him, he feels confident and ready.
Other new volunteers say the training feels manageable instead of overwhelming.
People stick around longer because they feel equipped instead of thrown in the deep end.
Better training means better volunteers. Better volunteers means better ministry for kids.
Worth spending time to figure out what actually works instead of just doing what we've always done.
Still Figuring Out
Don't have it completely figured out. Still trying new stuff. Still learning what works best for different people.
But it's way better than overwhelming people with information they don't need or throwing them into situations they're not ready for.
Good training makes volunteers feel confident, equipped, and excited instead of stressed, confused, and overwhelmed.
That's what we're going for.
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