“Then there are the leaders. We maintain a high standard for our leadership; all of them are carefully trained in our own approach to evangelism… trained, skilled, dedicated people.”
Jim Rayburn - 1952
The number of our volunteers has grown exponentially since Jim Rayburn said the above quote creating the problem that we cannot easily guarantee what Rayburn says about our leaders is still true today. Dedicated and skilled? Absolutely. But well-trained? Every kid deserves a well-trained leader and that is what we all want to ensure.
Obstacles to good volunteer training include time, busy schedules that cause leaders to miss meetings, and distance from training opportunities.
In the beginning of 2020, another obstacle showed up… COVID-19. But, where some people see an obstacle, others see an opportunity. A pause in our hectic world gives time to regroup, reset, and find true north again.
A rocket traveling to the moon that is off course by just one degree will miss the moon by 4,169 miles. We don’t want to miss the mark by even a foot when it comes to the training of our volunteers.
Thankfully, the new Volunteer 101 training course available on Young Life Access allows you to reset your training compass and points all of your volunteers in the same direction when it comes to contact work, club, camp, and Campaigners.
This four-part course ensures that we are passing on the DNA of the mission and excellent training to the next generation of leaders. Today’s volunteers desire to feel confident, equipped, and well-prepared the first time they walk into the school, club, or camp. This generation of leaders wants to impact the world and will give their time to the organization that best prepares them to do that.
One Area Director remarked, “After the completing Volunteer 101 training, new leaders became self-starters for campaigners, contact work at the school, and speaking at Club. I believe this is because they fully understood the ministry and its vision and mission along with how they could make it happen for kids in our community. They got excited to serve!”
Each section of the training covers one aspect of Young Life:
Part 1: We Go After the Unreached
Part 2: We Go Where Kids Are
Part 3: We Share the Gospel in Terms Kid’s Understand
Part 4: We Follow-Up; Helping Kids Grow in Their Faith
The idea behind Volunteer 101 is to create a blended approach (both face to face and online) to volunteer training that includes a trackable, standardized training piece that every volunteer can complete before they ever set foot on campus or become a leader. In no way should this course take training out of the hands of the area, but rather it gives the staff person a foundation to build on.
Areas can send the training to each leader individually to complete on their own time, or complete the training as a group at a weekend retreat or over a series of leadership meetings as part of their blended approach to training. The training can be streamed easily to a TV or projector.
The bottom line is that with Volunteer 101, we will be able to ensure that every kid in Young Life has a well-trained leader and that these leaders will have Kingdom impact. Beyond Kingdom impact, easily accessible, quality training helps our recruiting and retention of volunteers and increases their likelihood for immediate effectiveness.
After having every volunteer in his region complete the training, Regional Director Billy Suess said, ”The Volunteer 101 course came at a great time for our region as we were looking for ways to inspire our volunteer leaders to reach deeper into their communities and engage students from every walk of life. God has opened so many doors, but we needed better volunteer training so our leaders would take hold of the foundations of relational ministry and feel more confident to step out in faith with students. The Volunteer 101 course hit the mark and has led to more students in our region encountering Christ through a volunteer Young Life leader."
The four-part Volunteer 101 course is available on Young Life Access (younglifeaccess.com) and also translated into five different languages. Don’t have a Young Life Access free account? Contact your staff person or email laura@younglifeaccess.com. Your account will give you access to great Young Life training along with video Bible studies from Francis Chan, Tony Evans, Jeanie Allen, Jo Saxton, and so much more.
*A collaboration of staff from around the globe, organized by Brian Summerall and team.