In ministry embrace training ministry teams in a way that is both Biblical and sustainable? That is what we hope to tackle today. While every moment is an investment, training your ministry teams may just be the single best investment you can make as a church leader.
I will never forget the most over-the-top event I have ever helped with. It was a four-day youth conference that featured service projects, overnight stays, live worship, something called Gaga ball, three different trips, and rental vehicles to move them all around the place. We had to entertain and protect over one hundred students over the course of that week. I will never forget reading over our 20-page Google Drive document and thinking, “We are never going to pull this off.”
Spoiler: It ended up being a huge success. People got saved, the ministry grew dramatically, and not a single student got hurt.
Why do I think that’s the case? First, God was in it. Second, God worked on my heart while stressing out in my office. What did I do with my distress? I picked up my phone and started firing off texts to potential leaders to oversee the ten departments in that event. We recruited people to decorate, direct worship, oversee luggage storage, figure out how to serve food without a kitchen, come up with games, and pray for the event every hour on the hour. All in all, it took over 50 volunteers to put on that event for 130 kids. Aren’t those ratios wild? We are talking almost 2-1. How wild is that?
However, I truly believe that if we tried to do it without that volunteer team, the conference would not have gone as well as it did. When I think back on that event, all I can do is celebrate the amazing people who stepped up to make the magic happen. Without our team, things would have been nearly impossible. With them, things were deeply impactful.
Why am I pointing this out? Whenever you have a big vision, you need a big team to make it happen. They are not just there to do the tasks you came up with either. Nope, not at all. You should recruit people who will make your ideas better, not just automate your tasks like Ai. When you have a big dream, build a big team. You can see this in your ministry and we can certainly see this in the ministry of Christ. As we have discussed, He recruited a rag-tag group of disciples in the first stages of His ministry and gave them authority, community, and autonomy in their leadership.
We can see this with the intervention between Jesus and the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. Keep in mind, Jesus was already gone from the planet and the Apostle Paul was not even called that yet. He was a blood-thirsty terrorist who was dedicated to destroying the Church at all costs. The guy would not be on anyone else’s radar. He actively hated Jesus. He caused harm to Christians. He was frightening. He would never pass a background check. (This is a joke and a different era, please prioritize background checks!) None of that stopped Jesus from embarking on one of His most ambitious recruiting efforts.
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. […] He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
Acts 9:1-5, 18-20
Jesus knew that building the Church required building teams. He started with his early disciples and followers, but He even continued sending out “feelers” in a supernatural way when He wasn’t walking around Judea. We can see that with the Apostle Paul, formally known as Saul. Paul was on the road to Damascus, but it was really a road to destruction. The guy had a hit list in his pocket and he was ready to hunt Christians for sport. His journey was interrupted, though. Struck by a blinding light, he heard a freakily familiar voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Suddenly, the lights went out. Saul had been blinded by a brilliant light that wrapped around Jesus, the man he hated. After that, he gave his life to Jesus and joined the greatest team of all time.
What does this have to do with us though? I think this perfectly captures the onboarding process for volunteers, minus the blindness and theatrics. However, we can see exactly what Jesus prioritized when onboarding. I think we should take these principles right from this page and put them right into practice. When developing teams, Jesus offered them experience, education, and expansion. Let’s break these down for our own teams.
Ensure Your Volunteers Have an Experience with Jesus
Simply put, Paul had a supernatural experience with God. In the same way that Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, we should ensure our volunteers get consistent experiences with God. This is especially true for those who serve during services. Ask yourself, how are they being filled? How are they getting encouraged? How are they growing in their faith? Your job as their leader is to ensure they are cultivating Holy Spirit experiences out of an overflow of personal Holy Spirit experiences.
How do we do that? Prioritize prayer with your teams. Share spiritual resources with them. Give them a break so they can get into church. Take them on retreats. Pay to send them to conferences. Real experiences with Jesus are required to protect them from feeling empty. Why do I say that? To use a common illustration, you cannot pour from an empty cup. If your volunteers are feeling spiritually empty, your programming will begin to look the same. Ensure your volunteers are filled and fulfilled and you will see your congregation experiencing the same thing.
Ensure Your Volunteers Are Receiving Education
Following his encounter with Jesus, Paul was instructed to go and find disciples at once, not just to regain his sight but to be trained. Jesus knew that training was his crucial next step. Do you know what I find mind-blowing? Saul knew a lot about Jesus and the Bible. The guy was a scholar who likely had much of the Old Testament memorized. However, he didn’t know Jesus. He just knew a lot of facts and figures.
There is a big difference between knowing Jesus and having an experience with Him. When Paul was saved, the switch flipped. His knowledge became an allegiance. Sadly, some of your volunteers may be in the same place. They may know all the facts but their faith remains weak. How do we handle that? Send them back to step one! Ensure they’re getting an education that’s fueled by experience—not the other way around.
So what are you doing to give your volunteers a good education? How are you training them? How are you equipping them? What does your handbook look like? You need to put a big emphasis on education to ensure healthy outcomes.
Invite Your Volunteers to Take Part in Expansion
Paul went from murderer to missionary. From that dusty road in Damascus, Paul took one small step towards Jerusalem which was one giant step for the Church. He went on to share the gospel with thousands of people in nearly thirty countries. The gospel message demanded growth. After all, what good is the good news if you don’t share it?
Jesus deeply understood the snowball effect of the gospel. As more people get involved, they share the good news with others. Then those people do the same. Suddenly, exponential multiplication takes effect. This is another major benefit of good volunteers. They help you grow in ways you couldn’t on your own. Empower your leaders to expand. Permit them to take radical ownership to leverage and lead their own volunteers. When serving is shared, multiplication is inevitable.
Expansion takes place one conversation at a time. Tell your high-impact volunteers to train up a replacement. Encourage them to invite their friends to the event they’re taking ownership of. Teach them how to share the gospel. Give decision-making authority to them as they look to advance all that God is doing in your corner of the world.
In closing, let us remember that every person we train, every word we share, every life we touch, is a part of God’s plan. As we embrace experience, education, and expansion within our teams, we are not just making better leaders. God put big dreams in your heart, it’s time to start building those teams. God-given vision is achieved with team-driven collaboration.
You can listen to the full message here:
Let’s Talk about it!
The pastors on our team would love to learn more about you and your ministry to help you apply these leadership lessons in your church. Send us an email at Pastor@ForMinistryResources.com or click the button below to schedule a call with a pastor. We hope to hear from you soon!
This blog contains leadership material from The Pastor Circle. What is THE PASTOR CIRCLE?
We recently asked ourselves, “how can we serve pastors more personally?” The Pastor Circle is the answer.
It’s a virtual small group community of pastors who understand what you’re going through and want to offer you godly support and guidance. We meet on Zoom once a month to listen to a short devotional and topic introduction, followed by a small group discussion. We hope to see you there next month! Click here to learn more.