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5 Proven Tips to ELEVATE Your Volunteers' Experience in Youth Ministry · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: No matter how busy you are, we're all busy.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: That's the most tired excuse in the world.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: You can get back to your leaders, these people giving up their free time, without whom you could not do ministry.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Text them back, call them back, email them back.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: If you are the pastor who is notorious for not responding to people, you may not know this, but people are very frustrated with you and I'm just going to let you know that 24 hours or less to respond to them, see them and appreciate them.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Nobody wants to feel invisible, nobody wants to feel left out, nobody wants to feel sidelined or not apart.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: A lot of times, people serve because, yes, they love students, but they also want to be a part of a team and be connected, so it's so important that you, as the pastor, sees them.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Today, we're talking about five ways to elevate your volunteer's experience in youth ministry.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where we bring you weekly tips and tactics to help you fast-track the growth and health of your youth ministry.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: My name is Jeff Laskola and this is Kristen Laskola, and today we have five ways to elevate your volunteer experience in youth ministry.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Or if it's only one, leave the off.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, so five, and these are tried and true.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: So, number one partner them up.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I think volunteers have a much better experience when they are not alone.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Leaders don't like to be alone because you carry all the weight of everything all by yourself.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: So every small group should have at least two leaders.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: You could add a third in there, like a young buck that you're trying to chain, uh train up and they could kind of just sit back for a few months and observe, or maybe you could like slowly, like okay, now you do this question and you know, but two is perfect.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Sorry about that For a few reasons.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: So support and encouragement for each other.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Like I said, it fights that leadership loneliness.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: You have more flexibility.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: You know life happens, so it's very likely a leader is going to need to miss a Wednesday or Tuesday night, thursday, whatever you meet on.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: And it's not as big of a deal when you have a two small group leader model and then it's like a built in relationship for them.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: You know, it's so nice to have the support and encouragement of another adult in the room and I've found that partnering them well, a little strategically and putting some forethought into it, like are these two leaders a good fit?
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: And it doesn't mean like they're carbon copies of each other but, do their gifts complement each other well?
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Do their personalities complement each other well?
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Does their style of leadership complement each other?
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, I've gotten new leaders sometimes and it's been obvious like, oh well, we have a gap here.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: But then I've thought, you know, I'd rather leave a gap there than pair people wrongly.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: So I'm gonna hold off on that by a gap, you mean not having a partner fit for them.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so like say, there's a small group with just one leader and we've been waiting for a co-leader for them and you have this brand new leader come and you'd be like done, but if it's not the right fit, personality wise, you might want to switch some things up or partner them with someone else or put them in a door.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: That can also have a dark side of it and it can be a real thorn in the side for leaders where it's like you know, I really enjoy the kids but my co-leaders driving me crazy, and that's happened before.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: So not that we can ever guarantee results, no matter what we do, but you know you've heard me use the phrase relational architect before.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: When it comes to our students and making sure they're positioned in ways that they can make connections, you know same with the leaders.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: You know we group students sometimes based on similar interests, similar vibes similar After breaking it down by it's like age grade gender and then the other way around Similarities, gender grade, and then, yeah, commonalities, yeah.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: So it's kind of the same with leaders where it's like okay, like you're a guy, you're a guy.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean you're going to be best friends and really connect.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: So make sure you're pairing people well so that they do have a great experience where they can form a connection with this other leader, look forward to seeing them every week, be supportive, you know, because they're going to have to be working really closely together.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: So you want there to be really good chemistry.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Now I'll settle for good chemistry.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: You know we can't like have everything we wish for, but I think at least putting that in mind, of like, are these two people a good fit is worth mentioning.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: So the other reason I love the two leader model is because it gives you the opportunity somewhere down the line to split.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: So we've had small groups this year that have gotten so large they're no longer functional.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: They're no longer a small group.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they're a youth group, and so it's great to have that option.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Well, you already know both of these leaders.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: We can split you very easily.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, now you're solo leaders with half a group, but I'm going to work on finding a partner for you, and we always do.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: God always comes through on that and brings the right people to the table.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: So you don't want to be in a position where you're trying to recruit a leader to split a group and now the kids don't know this new person, so everyone wants to stay with the other person you know because it'd be like, well, half of you get to go with the leader you know and love.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: The other half of you are going with this random new person who's like a substitute teacher which one do you want?
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: And then you set that person up for relational failure.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: You know they're already coming in at such a deficit that it's going to be really hard.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: So if they know and love both the leaders, then splitting is hard it's.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: I never have had kids be like, yay, we're splitting, but we try to pitch it to them like guys, this is for overall health.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: There's no room for you guys to invite friends.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: There's no room for everyone to talk.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Small groups are supposed to be about sharing you guys.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: This isn't healthy anymore.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: This isn't thriving.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I'm kind of getting off on a tangent about that, but the point is, don't let your ratios get out of control.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: You know, like if it's just this huge group and one leader and that's a really easy way to lose a leader too If you give them way too many students and it's too overwhelming and they can't control it.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: You know, if you work with junior hires especially, you know that getting through a small group successfully, even for the most seasoned professional, is tough, especially our eighth grade boys right now.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you, andy, you're doing a great job.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: If you're listening, andy, he is like a pro man, but it's a hard group.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: So all that to say, pair people up, don't leave.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Their experience will be better if they have a partner in crime, all right.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Number two of the way to elevate your volunteers experience is on you to communicate well.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So I like to email my leaders once a week my leader email with everything they need to know.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Then I like to use an app called Discord, because that breaks down communication into specialized teams.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: So Discord can be broken down into different channels.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: So we have our youth group main channel and within that we have worship team, tech team, interns, small group leaders, everyone.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: You know there's different, so depending on who we have to communicate to and that comes through like as a notification on your phone.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: It's kind of like a texting service, but it doesn't come through in your text messages.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: It comes through on the app, but you get notifications for it and it's very easy.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: One of my my worship leader turned me on to that a couple years ago and I was very skeptical like discord, I don't need another thing.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much, and I heard it was for like video game people, so I was like all right, but it ended up being awesome it.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: It is so good, and then it cuts down on the group text chat and then you're like I'm not a part of this, I don't want to get all these messages.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's like I just download it.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: It's awesome, it works so well.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: And then for communication we also do a 15 minute leader meeting before our program begins.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: So from six to six 15, we do our leader meeting just kind of quick, like what do you need to know for tonight, what do you need to know about what's coming up?
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Does anyone have a question or something we need to pray about?
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: And then we're out by six 15, hopefully, and then program starts at six 30.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: So kids show up early.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: So my guy's director like my associate pastor kind of guy, he is not in that meeting because he already knows everything.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: So he'll be out like receiving kids and new families and parents as they come while we're in a meeting.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: And then I have a couple other leaders out there too, like my snack shack guy, you know, I just make sure I catch him up, but he's out there too, so it's not like there's no leaders you know.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: So he's out there, which works out really good.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: And then this one listen carefully.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Okay, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to return your leaders texts, phone calls, emails within a 24 hour window.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: No ifs, ands or buts.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Okay, so these people are giving their time.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: The least you can do is respond.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: It's a real bad look, don't give me an excuse.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: No matter how busy you are, we're all busy.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: That's the most tired excuse in the world.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: We're all busy.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Congratulations, you can get back to your leaders, these people giving up their free time to love on students, without whom you could not do ministry.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Text them back, call them back, email them back.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: If you are the pastor who is notorious and there's so many of them notorious for not responding to people, you may not know this, but people are very frustrated with you.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: And.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: I'm just going to let you know that.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: So the good news is you can change that very easily, no excuses.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, so go through your email at the end of the day and see who you haven't replied to yet.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: If it's a big, long response and that's why you're putting it off, just give an acknowledgement.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Hey, thanks so much for this question.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: I want to do it justice.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I will get back to you this week when I don't know, but I want you to know what's on my mind, just something like polite to let them know why you're not responding.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Text messages are the same.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: At the end of the night I try to scroll like from, like the last day and a half, like did I leave anyone hanging?
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: And then sometimes I just like to send a voice text because it's a lot easier and I can get a lot more information out and stuff like that.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: But always, always, always respond.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: You know we've talked about that with parents before.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: You know we have a rule at our church like their tithes are paying your paycheck, like you need to be available for people.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Don't hide communication.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Like oh, I'm so overwhelmed I can't write back.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: But we've talked about we have a rule 24 hours to respond to a parent and I would put that in the same category as your leaders 24 hours or less to respond to them.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: So that's kind of how they're going to have feel seen, known and heard, because that include days off.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: I don't think you're going to like my answer but yes what if you're not checking on a day off?
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: so I was thinking of text messages.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Riddle me that Batman okay so fine, if you get an email on Saturday morning and you don't get back till Monday, I will accept that that's okay.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Got him.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: I like to check my email every day just to make sure I'm not missing anything super important or whatever.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: That was kind of a junior high response.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: What about your day off?
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: What if someone was dying?
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: What if the world blew up, all the computers all of a sudden.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: And what?
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: moving on number three, after you, communicate well, prepare them well.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: So give them the discussion guide before small groups.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Obviously they need to be prepared to know what they're leading and how to lead their small group.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Give them plenty of advance notice on events, especially events that are going to be requiring something from them.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: Like well, this is on a Friday night.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Like make sure you get it off work, or you're going to need a costume for this event, or this one is off campus and this is where to meet us.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: So give them plenty of notice on those things.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: And might I say, communicating things once will never, ever, ever cut it.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: It will never be enough.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: Like all I told you, like three weeks ago that youth group was canceled.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: You know it's dripped in at the meeting, at the email, on discord and on stage announcements to if they're listening to those.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: But in your communication with leaders, make sure you're clear, concise and consistent.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: So, like I would add spouses to that too Make sure, when you were talking to your spouses, that you're clear, concise, repetitive, because they'll forget.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Is there something you want to tell me?
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: No, I think that's sound advice to anybody.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Well, in the consistency piece.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: I feel like they should know oh, it's my Monday email from Kristen, instead of just like, well, what if she does this Just like sporadic email?
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: I think you don't catch people.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: So trying to just be like this is the one concise, clear communication I'm going to send for this week and then, if it needs a discord, little reminder or an individual text to someone, but make sure you're communicating well to prepare them for what you want them to do.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: So you know, I always take the view that if my leaders fail, I try to push rewind and think where did I drop the ball on my expectation?
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Where did I drop the ball in my communication or my preparation for you?
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Like, I feel like when my leaders succeed, I'm like good, like I put you in the position to have everything you needed to do a job well done and enjoy it and feel successful.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: And if you failed, I don't automatically look at them like what's wrong with you, but I'm like did I not set you up to succeed here?
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Did you not have everything you needed or know everything you needed to know?
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: You know, I try to let it fall back on me.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: They say every organization is a direct reflection of its leadership.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: So before we look at other people and point the finger well, you're the leader.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: So I mean, yes, junior high Jeff, there are things that aren't your fault.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: But I think it's worth consideration to rewind a little bit and say hmm, did my leadership, or lack thereof, have anything to do with this failure right here?
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Did I not say that clearly?
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Did I not say that often enough?
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: You know, I think about that kind of stuff a lot.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: So and just a quick email tip I guess this would go with text messages too but always try and be as concise as possible.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Say everything you need to say in the fewest amount of words as possible, giving all the details, obviously, but nobody likes a run-on, rambling 17-paragraph email.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: Or it's like oh, I emailed it to you.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: It's like I don't want to quit my job to have to read your emails.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: I mean for those that have kids in school.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: You know how many emails the schools send out and texts and just phone calls and it's all over the place.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: It gets overwhelming.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: So if you can read an email, that's and here's another tip make it bullet points, like it's not a paragraph?
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: yeah, because I I text somebody recently.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: It was a client of mine and I was like in detail, giving him all this stuff and this really long text.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: I didn't realize how long it got and I pushed send and he literally wrote back.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: I'm not reading that.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Rewrite it in a much shorter version, fair enough.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: I think I know who that is, so I can hear his voice in that yes, good point.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: So, uh, bullet points are I like to do headings like coming up and then it's like the next two events and everything you need to know, and then I have a section for like events and everything you need to know, and then I have a section for like camp dates for the future, and they're always there so they know all the time this is winter camp, this is summer camp, and it's just like two little bullet points, so like sometimes different category headings so that they can find what they're looking for quickly when they're going back to try and find something Right.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: So number four love them well.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: Okay so, partner them up, communicate well, prepare them well and love them well, See them.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: See them and appreciate them.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Nobody wants to feel invisible, nobody wants to feel left out, nobody wants to feel sidelined or not a part, like in a lot of times.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: People serve because, yes, they love students, but they also want to be a part of a team and be connected.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: So it's so important that you, as the pastor, sees them like and you are so important in that.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Like one of our head pastors told us recently, he's like not recently, he said this a few months ago, but he was like, don't underestimate you.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Like what he's, like how people see you guys and I and I don't see it, obviously, because we're in it, but he's like but your position, it's like it's special, like when the pastor is very aware of you, you know like you're the one in charge of everything.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: But when you're very aware and present with someone like it means even more.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: You know, because it's like I hate when people say like, oh my gosh, I know you're so busy so I don't want to bother you.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: I don't want to ever give the impression like I can't right now, like I have too many other important things to do than like be bothered by you.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: It's like no, you are my job.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: It is my job to be bothered by you and you do a great job of bothering me, bother away.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: I heard it as it's coming up I'm like, no, it doesn't.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: I don't mean that, but it's like, yeah, like pastors, that's our role to like be there for the people and like hear them and see them and understand what they're going through.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: And so, along with that appreciating them, you know, like I just feel like these people, like I said, kind of with the communication thing, we shouldn't be rolling the red carpet out for them, finding any opportunity to appreciate them, and with that supporting them, like don't let kids walk all over them, don't let kids disrespect them.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: Defend them.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Be kind of like you know, if a leader is super discouraged because of the way a small group is going, you know I've, you know let them step out.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: And I've been like kind of going to bat for the leader of like hey, do you want to know why they left?
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: Because you guys are being so disrespectful.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: If I ever have to come in here again, I'm going to call every single one of your parents because the way you're treating this person is not OK with me and I'm not going to let it happen.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: And I think they need to know, like, as the pastor, we have their back, not just like good luck in there.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: You know like it to know like, as the pastor, we have their back, not just like good luck in there.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: You know like it's like no, I won't allow people to treat you badly.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: You know, just like I wouldn't for a kid.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: If a kid was being treated badly by another kid, I would step in the way of that and I think as a pastor, we are protectors, you know, and spoil them Like if it's Christmas they should get a Christmas gift.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: If you have a really intense event.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: We have the battle coming up on Tuesday in two days, our first day and it requires a lot more energy.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: They're yelling, they're screaming, they're cheering and they're like so tired at the end of the night.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: So I do this little like green room for them in the kitchen where there's free drinks, cold drinks, snacks, candy, any like lots of things.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: And I said at any time you need a break, you don't have to ask, just excuse yourself, kind of, sneak off when it's all like crazy and get yourself a Gatorade or a Dr Pepper or whatever you want and take a moment and then come back out.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: So it's just that extra little thing to say.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: I see you Like this is a lot of work For four weeks.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: For four weeks and I know we're going to be tired, it's going to be worth it.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: And it's just a little nod of like, yeah, like I'm thinking of you guys.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: You know, make sure birthdays, that kind of goes without saying.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: I like to this like past season I've been doing birthday parties in their small group.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: So like I'll send them like their own little texts and I'll post about them on Instagram and we'll bring them up on stage and we sing happy birthday with like a slide, with their face on it in the back, like something cute, and then I'll buy treats and bring it in for their whole small group.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: So I'll be like the birthday fairy is going to visit your small group tonight and then the kids get so excited and get to celebrate with their small group leader.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: So I feel like that's been a win in this last season.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: I've really liked doing that.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: What?
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: do you do for students for birthdays?
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: Do you do one big one for the month, or?
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I used to.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: I always forget, so I haven't been as consistent with that lately, but we used to do the first Tuesday of every month like, all right if it's October, so October birthdays, come on up, we're going to sing to you all at once and then we would give them like a little coupon for the snack shack, which I love that idea.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: I just always forget.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: We're always doing something.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so, like you could anytime send an encouraging text, send an encouraging card.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: You could do great one-on-ones with people of like hey, let's meet for coffee on Saturday morning or let's go for a walk and just hear about their day, hear about their life, how are things going?
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: You know, don't forget about leader night outs.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: We've talked about those a lot.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Shout outs and thank yous, you know, go a long way to just if you catch someone doing something great of like oh my gosh, like that kid was a tough nut to crack last week, like he was having a hard week.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: You handled that so well.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: I saw that, you know, and obviously it has to be genuine.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: But you know, they're like what kid who Tough nut Well huh, forget about it, you're doing great yeah.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: I just think like catching people doing really great things and acknowledging it is like makes them realize we don't take them for granted.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: I'm just like you're here, we did another night Great, but like stopping to see what they're doing and then number five give them meaningful work and steward their leadership well.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: So people want to be useful.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: They don't want to be used and there's this line, this tension between supporting them and micromanaging them.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: I don't think leaders want to be micromanaged, I don't think anybody wants to be micromanaged, but we want to support them.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: So it's like this tension of not just like okay, bye, and so a conversation might look something like this like, how's it going?
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: Are you enjoying your role here?
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: How's your small group?
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: What's going well?
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: What isn't going well?
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Do you have any ideas of how things could go better?
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Do you need anything more from me?
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: And I think all those questions come across very supportive, rather than like micromanaging, like, oh, I have some ideas of how you could do things better.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: You know, I think always giving them the opportunity to well, what do you think could go better?
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Or how are things going?
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Or what's been a challenge, how can I step in and help you, so that you always position of like I'm here for you, you're not here for me and for me to critique and size up all the time of how you're doing.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Really, the small group leaders are the pastors.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: You know the word pastor in scripture.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: It's like a shepherd of the people, someone who shepherds them and disciples them, and that is what our small group leaders are doing, so really empower them in their role of like guys.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: I might be titled the youth pastor at this church, but we are all youth pastors.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: You're the youth pastor of your small group.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Like, you're going to know those kids way better than I ever would or ever hope to, and you're.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: You know how to lead them well, so lead them well.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: So what does that mean?
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: You're going to teach your leaders how to discipline kids, how to disciple kids, how to walk through a difficult time with a kid.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Leaders should be empowered enough to be able to handle some issues.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: There's obviously the issue that has to come to you when it's something you know they might need help with or if it's a very serious thing.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: But for the most part, they should be able to disciple their students on a weekly basis.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Just, you know, business as usual kind of stuff, without your intervention, if we've trained them and empowered them well because they're the pastors they should be able to do that, because that happens best in the context of these consistent relationships, and that's what small group leaders have with these kids.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: So empower them to lead their group, not always call on you.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: And if there's another cool role that they want to do, um, or if they have good ideas of how the youth ministry could be like, why don't we do this?
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Or have you ever thought of this?
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: Or I see this as an issue Like, do you think we could come up?
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: You know, like, listen to those ideas, because everyone sees the ministry from their own vantage point and comes at it from a different angle and they might see something that you don't.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: And I've had people reach out to me over the years where they're like you know, I've been volunteering for a long time and my youth pastor doesn't listen to any of our feedback or any of our ideas, and we see some barriers to growth here or some unhealth.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: And you know, we want to be respectful, but we also, like, feel very unheard and I'm like oh my gosh like obviously there's two sides to every story, but I feel sometimes that youth pastors feel like if I don't know everything, then people are going to doubt me.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: So if I, if I listen and make an adjustment, it's like why didn't you see that coming?
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: You should have seen it first.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Where it's like no, like you can, everyone can have a voice at the table and you are stewarding that leadership and I'm like, yes, like let's do what you think let's do.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: You know it's not no one's going to look down on you because you didn't think of it first.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: You know, when you think about volunteers, they really are the shareholders.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: You know they're the investors of this thing and so us listening to them is wise, it's prudent.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: You know it's not just like let's, let's make them feel important by letting like no, like they're the ones who are deeply invested in this thing and so when they speak, we should be all ears and lean in and like not think well, if it wasn't my idea, we can't do it.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: You know, like that is a really quick way to put a ceiling on your own leadership If you don't listen to your volunteers or take their ideas to heart.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: And some people aren't like the kind of people that are just going to come up to you and say that, and some people aren't like the kind of people that are just going to come up to you and say that.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: So I think it's really good to ask hey, what's your experience been like in this ministry?
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Is there anything from where you sit that you think could go better, or do you think what do you think we're doing really well, what do you think you know we might be missing the mark on?
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: Or have you, have you noticed anything Like if you were me, how would you lead or what would you have done differently?
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: I love asking those you know, and it's just shows that humble heart too, of like, well, I'm in this position, but I don't.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean I magically know everything just because they called me a youth pastor, you know.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: So five ways to elevate your volunteers experience.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have obviously a ton of episodes on volunteers, and that is for a good reason because, like you're saying, they're the lifeblood of any youth ministry.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: So one you might want to check out is we did one recently about how to create your dream team of volunteers, so make sure you check that out.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Whether you're listening on a podcast or on youtube, all right, the question of the day this week is and I can't remember if we've done this before, but whatever, we'll see if our answers are the same what is a regrettable hairstyle or haircut that you once had?
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: I've been seeing them on tiktok like as a vintage commercial.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: I'm like thanks, uh, but do you remember bump it?
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: yep I heard they're coming back are they?
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: I think like everything's cyclical, but okay, well, if you don't know bump.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: It's were like these plastic curved pieces that you would like put your hair like this, and then you put the bump it in and then you put your hair over it.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: So then you would like get a bump in your yeah like, like snooki, you know it was kind of like her, so that was extreme example, yeah, her she had, like the, the big, perfect one, mine.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: I remember I was at church one time and I was roughing around with the kids and I did some kind of somersault on the floor, I don't know, and my bump, it fell out and one of the volunteers picked it up and she looked at me.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: She's like what is this?
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: The crown of my heart?
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Hide it.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was awkward.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: What about you?
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: Back in my like punk rock phase, where I was out of high school but, you know, kind of had my own freedom a little bit, I buzzed my head like all my hair, except for the front, which I left not super long, but maybe about four inches long so like bangs, yeah, basically, yeah bangs and then bald bangs and then bald, kind of like that raver style.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: But I I changed it because I bleached everything blonde so it was buzzed really short, all blonde, so kind of like a tennis ball.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: But the front was brown and long and then those were braided and like in probably about five or six braids.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: I'm glad I didn't know you then, yeah, it's pretty bad.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: An unfortunate thing is, I think there's like one picture of glad I didn't know you then yeah, it's pretty bad.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: An unfortunate thing is, I think there's like one picture of me.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: I don't know where it is.
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: It was a short period of time and my parents were on vacation.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: When they came back they just kind of looked at me and were like, okay, you do, you good that was probably the right response.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: I guess I wasn't looking to make them yeah, exactly, I wasn't looking to make them mad, it's just looking weird.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: I guess menace to society something like that, straight out of the suburbs.
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: You know me all right, so this is the community comment of the day.
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: This comes from mackenzie evans, who said I just want to say how thankful I am for this podcast.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: It has been a tremendous help to me in my first two years of church ministry.
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: I'm excited to get to hear you speak at First Decade in October.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: Mackenzie, come say hi in person, I will be there.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: I am first.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: What's it called First Decade?
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: First Decade in Youth Ministry Conference?
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: Yes, coming up.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: I'll be there October 17th I believe that's the Wednesday.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I'm doing a little breakout.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so make sure you come Come say hi, Mackenzie.
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: Say hi, Mackenzie.
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your comment and thank you guys for watching and listening.
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: And we'll see you next time.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: Every organization is a direct reflection of its leadership.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: So before we look at other people and point the finger, well, you're the leader.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: So if my leaders fail, I try to push rewind and think where did I drop the ball on my expectation?
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: Where did I drop the ball on my expectation?
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: Where did I drop the ball in my communication or my preparation for you?
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: I don't automatically look at them like what's wrong with you, but I'm like did I not set you up to succeed here?
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: Don't let your ratios get out of control.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: If it's just this huge group and one leader and that's a really easy way to lose a leader too If you give them way too many students and it's too overwhelming and they can't control it.