Even for short-term ministries, the workers’ success will be directly proportional to the quality of training they receive.

For many people the term “training” conjures up images of a limited guidance focused on a particular task. Dogs are trained to hunt, sit, heel, and be obedient. Factory workers are trained to run machines and punch time clocks. Babies are toilet trained, and so on.

It’s extremely important for those in ministry to view training from a different perspective. Training for our purposes should encompass everything that helps to increase the realization of a person’s or an organization’s potential. In other words, we train people to help them succeed!

Training has never been more important. Increasing ministry needs, financial cutbacks as the economy affects giving, changing volunteer availability and skill levels, and staff burnout and mobility all contribute to the ongoing and ever-changing challenges facing volunteer managers today. To cope, new and improved skills—and ways of transferring those skills to others—are an absolute necessity. And it’s vital to understand that our shorter-term summer volunteers need and deserve good training, too.

Setup for success. Remember how the first day on a new job feels? You want to make a great impression and your head is filled with questions:

• Will the work be hard? Can I handle it?
• Where will I sit or work?
• Will I be able to use the new computer programs?
• Did I dress appropriately?
• Will the people be nice?
• Will anyone be available to help me?

These questions all boil down to one: Will I be successful?

Your volunteers want the same thing you want from them: to hit the ground running and to accomplish great things. By doing all the preparatory work—creating vision and mission statements, designing action plans, drafting ministry descriptions, intentional recruiting and placement—you are well on your way. Training and orientation builds on that foundation to give volunteers the individual keys they need to be successful. And when volunteers feel successful, they are much more likely to stick around!

Orientation and training are not the same thing. Orientation answers the question: What is it like to work here?Training answers the question: What does it take to be successful here?The goal of training is to help volunteers succeed in their new roles. Yes, training takes some effort and expense, but it’s well worth it because:

1. It’s how you build excellence. When you have thoughtfully recruited and placed volunteers, and they’ve shown motivation and commitment by being interviewed and attending orientation, you build excellence by training them to succeed.
2. It’s how you make volunteers happy. It’s been proven that one of the greatest motivators for people to volunteer is receiving sound training that develops or adds to their skills. People love to succeed and hate to fail.
3. It’s how you hold down costs. Don’t let people learn by trial and error—you’ll pay for the errors, and that’s not cost effective. If you think about it, it’s actually more costly not to train people. For example:
• What might happen if a nursery attendant doesn’t understand the proper ways to provide security for babies?
• What might happen if an elementary VBS teacher doesn’t know how to apply loving correction?
• What might happen if a youth volunteer doesn’t see anything wrong with letting the kids go unchaperoned at the youth lock-in?
• What might happen if someone ushering thinks nobody will notice if he slips away from his post to grab a cup of coffee with friends in the Hospitality Café?
4. It’s how you respect the calling of volunteers. If your church truly believes that God wants his people to utilize their gifts, abilities, and passions for him, then you’ll naturally want to encourage and equip them in every way you can. Training cooperates with God’s purpose for us.

Marlene Wilson has written and trained on volunteer issues for 35 years. More than a quarter of a million people have attended her workshops.

Copyright © 2004, Group Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.