Equipping: How do they do it?
Ongoing training and supervision
The WHO of Equipping
Volunteer team leaders and staff do the on-going work of equipping volunteers for their ministry. Many and sometimes all ministries can be led by volunteer team leaders and not the paid staff.
The WHAT of Equipping
Many teams are led and supervised “day to day” by volunteer team leaders.
Most paid staff can focus on supervising volunteer team leaders who oversee the day to day operation of the ministry. Then the staff person’s main responsibility is to equip and lead the volunteer team leaders, who then equip and lead their teams.
The WHY of Equipping
“The more people feel a sense of ownership the more they produce,” is what one ministry leader said. Giving the volunteer team leaders ownership of their ministry is the key. “Good people don’t need a lot of supervision.” is what another person said, and this might be directly related to quality selection and placement practices.
The HOW of Equipping
Paid staff use a combination of “one-on-ones” and “team leader meetings” to manage their ministry. Most have regular all-ministry leadership training times for on-going equipping. Ministries also used “mandatory training programs” for equipping volunteers.
In the Volunteer Leadership Development Program, we named two key pieces to have in the development plan:
1. A plan to equip volunteer team leaders.
2. A year-long calendar for training all area leaders.