The Power of an Apprenticing Culture

• attend regular youth leader meetings

2. The Periodic Check-in

Why does Barry Bonds have a batting coach? Why does Tiger Woods have a swing coach? Because fundamentals break down, even if you’re the best in the league. Without a periodic check-in, we abandon our volunteers to their own memories, and we prevent them from part of the experience they thought they would get when they said yes: interacting with us.

No matter how much of a self-starter the volunteer is, he or she will need regular follow-up from you. We may imagine that the more competent the volunteer, the less we’ll need to check in with him or her. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. When we fail to give strong leaders clear direction, we give them permission to take the project in any direction they want, regardless of whether or not that direction fits with the mission and values of our

ministry. Taking time for a five-minute check-in can save countless hours and maximize the chances of our best volunteers being willing to serve again.

3. The Celebration

Too many volunteers complete their term of sacrificial service, and no one says a word. Whether the celebration takes the form of a 10-minute post-event “afterglow” with all the key players celebrating together or a thank-you dinner, effective volunteer teams always take time to celebrate.

When these volunteer development processes are clearly in place, momentum begins to take over. For the past 10 years or so, our church has sponsored an annual parenting seminar, followed by a youth workers seminar by a nationally known youth leader. At first, our results were

disappointing at best. But this past year, we experienced the power of momentum in full effect.

When we met with Justin and Maureen Milam, our incredible volunteer chairpeople, three or four months before the event, we outlined the responsibilities, built in a few systems for periodic check-ins and got out of the way. Because they had served as lead volunteers before, they knew exactly what they were getting into, and they handled this responsibility with even greater effectiveness than in previous roles. And each year they got better, we all got better.

Taken from Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do About It by Mark DeVries. Copyright(c) 2008 by Mark DeVries. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, PO Box 1400 Downers Grove, IL 60515. http://www.ivpress.com/.