Recently a friend who’s just starting out in ministry asked me two questions: “How often do you have volunteer meetings?” and “What do you do in volunteer meetings to make them worthwhile?” Find out how I answered…and what tips you can glean to improve meeting effectiveness.
First, let’s look at meeting frequency.
How Often to Hold Volunteer Meetings
Here’s what I recommend to stay in touch with, train, and equip youth group volunteers.
1. Meetings Every Two Months, Not Every Month
My volunteers are busy, so I prefer to honor their time and their families by keeping it to every two months. However, it’s important to “supplement” them with other training and communication.
2. Weekly Email Updates
This helps volunteers stay plugged in with details of various programs and upcoming events. I also text, call, tweet, and email leaders individually.
3. Training/Update Videos
On the months we don’t meet, I create short videos that include program information and a quick training tip. The tip is usually something I’ve seen recently that I want my volunteers to focus on.
How to Make Volunteer Meetings Worthwhile
1. Keep Them Efficient and Short!
My goal is to complete volunteer meetings in less than 90 minutes (or, even better, 60). Again, it’s important to honor leaders’ time. But it’s also imperative to realize that more than 90 minutes of a meeting equals too much information. I want volunteer leaders to walk away with one or two pressing applications.
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