Last weekend was our 17th annual volunteer retreat. Ok, I actually have no idea how many retreats we’ve done but 17th annual has a nice ring to it. Here’s the thing, of all the things we do in our student ministry, I believe that our volunteer retreat is in the top 3. It’s crucial to our culture. I can’t imagine not doing it next year and here’s why you should be putting one on too.
YOU NEED GREAT VOLUNTEERS
This year we set a new LifeLine record with 116 small groups so yes, we have a bunch of volunteers. But here’s the thing, if you have more than 12 students, you need small groups and if you need small groups then you need volunteer leaders. Not only do you need volunteers but you need great volunteers. You need the kind of volunteers that you can trust to be spiritual shepherds to our students. And, not only do you need great volunteers, you need great volunteers who will serve year after year because student ministry is a long-term investment.
So, how do you end up with great volunteers who stay engaged for the long-haul? You invest in them. A volunteer retreat is an incredible opportunity to invest deeply in your volunteers. Here’s how it works.
VALUE
Here’s what I know: volunteers who feel valued stay engaged in our ministry. When volunteers understand, not only that we need them but that we enjoy them as people and value their individual gifting they tend to stick around. We use our volunteer retreat to to create space for value conversations. There is so much more that can be said on a weekend.
FUN
Volunteers who have a great time serving in student ministry tend to stay in student ministry. If our volunteers are bored then we are seriously missing the mark. We treat our volunteer retreat like a party. Last weekend’s retreat included loud music, big prizes, crazy costumes, interactive games and hilarious videos. If it isn’t fun you aren’t doing it right and your volunteers will likely go find someplace fun to serve. Conversely, we’ve found that volunteers who have fun serving in our ministry stay engaged year after year.
SKILLZ
Nobody likes to suck at stuff. This is a fundamental principle of humanity. Student ministry is not an easy gig. Leading a small group can be terribly difficult. Volunteers who don’t feel like they are doing a good job will rarely stick around. It’s our job as ministry leaders to equip them because volunteers who feel competent stay engaged. We train our volunteers every other week but there is something special about getting away together on a retreat to really dig into core training concepts.
COMMUNITY
We are all hungry for community. We believe that volunteers who have strong community make better spiritual shepherds for our students. Some ministries require that their volunteers find a solid community, we build it right into our structure. We have found that volunteers who connect deeply with other volunteers tend to stay engaged in our ministry for years. For us, this is the biggest win of a volunteer retreat. A weekend creates a ton of space for connecting.
GO AND DO
So, what’s the bottom line? You should do a volunteer retreat! Why? Because we need great volunteers who stay engaged for years. Volunteers who stay engaged feel valued, have fun, feel competent and serve in community. A volunteer retreat is a great opportunity to invest in volunteers in each of these areas.
Tomorrow I’ll share some ideas on exactly how to pull off an epic retreat.
