Volunteer Training Plan so far this year

My first six years in student ministry were as a volunteer. Honestly, I thought I knew everything there was to know about leading students. It wasn't until I joined staff four years ago that my ignorance and arrogance were exposed. One of the most terrifying moments of my career was the first time I stood in front of my peers and tried to "train" them. Maybe it's just me, but year after year I feel like the volunteers in our ministry are a whole lot smarter and more knowledgeable than I am. I often feel like I learn more from them than they learn from me. What I have realized over time is that student ministry is far from brain surgery. Most volunteers come in with a great knowledge base, and it's my job to help mold and shape what they already know, and help put handles on it.

This summer, our team spent significant time boiling down everything we feel is important for a new volunteer to know and a veteran volunteer to be reminded of. The result of these conversations lead to our first training plan. This is not a new idea, and most of these ideas are borrowed from people who have been doing this a lot longer than I have, but I wanted to share it in hope that it might inspire, encourage, and challenge others. Here's what we have done so far.

Note: Our structure allows us 45 minutes each week with just volunteers. We alternate between training and giving our leaders time in their cell families (gatherings of 6-10 leaders)

Week 1: Run Through Night: We took a night to walk volunteers (without students) through what we do and why we do it.
Week 2: Purpose of Small Group: Why we believe small groups are at the core of what we do + a basic understanding of how we handle discipline.
Week 3: SG Basic Training: Basic "how to's" of small group time
Week 4: SG Do's and Don'ts: the "do's and don'ts" of small group time
Week 5: Mentor/Friend: What it means to be a mentor and a friend to students
Week 6: Abuse, depression, cutting and suicide: How to handle these situations.
Week 7: 5-3-1 (borrowed from Doug Fields): How to prioritize your investment in your small group students
Week 8: Social Media Etiquette for volunteers (facebook, twitter, etc.)
Week 9: Gender Grade discussions: Round table discussions for leaders of each grade and gender.

If you would like details on any of these trainings please email me at jgrunden@adabible.org.