Youth ministry leaders, hear me out. Recruiting, training, developing, equipping, and retaining volunteer leaders is critical to the success of your ministry. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that your level of success or failure in the areas of building and developing your volunteer leaders will be directly proportional to the success or failure of your ministry's growth and impact. Yes, volunteer leaders matter that much! You may think that you are Superman or that you can be a one-man band, but a reality check says you are not, and you can’t. No matter how great and charismatic of a leader you are, without great, bought-in, equipped, passionate volunteer leaders, you and your ministry are going to struggle and wither in effectiveness. But if you can surround yourself with a team of great volunteer leaders, the sky is the limit because those leaders have the potential to have an even greater impact on how your ministry runs and the effectiveness that it has in ministering to students. With that in mind, here are 12 tips on developing your volunteer leader team.

No matter how good your youth ministry is, people will be more prone to come on board, stay, serve selflessly, and recruit others to join when they feel like they belong to a group of people; rather than feeling like just someone who is accomplishing some random mission and vision. So how do you build clear expectations, space, relationships, and community when it comes to recruiting and maintaining volunteers? Join me in this one-session Masterclass on-demand to find out.

So, you’ve got a volunteer team- that’s awesome! Have you ever considered structuring that team to provide clarity, fruitfulness, and fulfillment for those who serve with you? The idea of structure can feel intimidating or unnecessary, but a few key considerations could unlock the potential in the team of motivated volunteers you’ve already got. In this single-session Masterclass, we will look at what you can do to structure your volunteer team to ensure that they thrive in their key serving roles.

Recruiting and developing ministry volunteers is an essential part of leading in youth ministry. As youth workers, we often spend so much time and effort trying to get people to say "yes" to serving that we don't spend the time required to make sure they understand how to be successful in their serving role. This is especially true when it comes to our small group leaders or Sunday School teachers. So, what are the top three things your volunteer leaders need to understand? As you think about it, let me share mine with you.

Recruiting volunteers isn't seasonal; it's constant! Or, at least, it should be. Let me share with you three tips that our ministry uses to successfully recruit our volunteers.

Wake Up: Rediscovering A Passion for God and the Bible is a 31-day devotional experience designed to unlock the Bible for Christ-followers. Every day in Wake Up teaches you a different way of meeting with God in the Bible. Some feed your head. Some feed your heart. Some lead you to reflect. Some lead you to act. But every moment is designed to help you rediscover your joy for God and for meeting Him in His Word.

How To Be A Man: Pursuing Christ-centered Masculinity is a 40-day devotional experience that will spur men on to a more passionate pursuit of Christ-centered manhood.

How To Be A Man: Learning From Real Men Of The Bible [Adult Edition] is a 40-day devotional experience that uses the lives of eight men of the Bible as an example and challenges men to live a life of impact and influence, changing the world around them for the sake of the Gospel.

How To Be A Man: Discovering What It Means To Be A Disciple is a 40-day devotional that will help equip men with a powerful definition of what it means to follow Jesus.

These Volunteer Encouragement Cards are perfect for sending a handwritten note to your volunteer team in the mail or giving to them the next time you see them. 

This is a small gift that can pack a lot of punch as you remind your volunteers how important they are to you and the students in your ministry. 

Dimensions: 5" W x 2.75" H 

Free shipping in the USA, no minimum order amount!

The 7 Best Practices for Teaching Teenagers the Bible is a resource for youth workers that teaches seven meaningful practices they can use to help teach the Bible in a transformative and dynamic way.

Disciple: The Ordinary Person’s Guide To Discipling Teenagers, written by one of the leading voices in youth ministry, Dr. Allen Jackson, is a practical, down-to-earth guide for leading teenagers to pursue Christ.

Veteran youth worker Kurt Johnston writes, "Getting better at youth ministry is worth the effort because teenagers are worth the effort." With that in mind, he put together this compact, practical, and approachable book for youth ministry volunteers, brimming with insights and wisdom from his decades in youth ministry—including some memorable and hilarious stories of the mistakes that taught him along the way.

Small-Group Leader's Quick Guide to (Almost) Everything is a practical resource for small-group leaders who want to make a big difference in the lives of teenagers and point them to Jesus.

99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders delivers insights, tips, and veteran advice for anyone leading a small group. Youth leaders will be better equipped and more confident with these bite-sized pieces of wisdom.

99 Thoughts for Volunteers: Making an Impact Right Where You Are will encourage volunteers whose commitment, hard work, and dedication are essential to a healthy youth ministry. Volunteers are never "just a volunteer" — they're much more than that.

As a growing and thriving youth ministry leader, you know that the health of your ministry is directly connected to the health of your volunteers. But January is a natural time for your volunteers to start slumping slightly. How can you, as a ministry leader, encourage them to remain committed to the mission of Jesus? How can you, yourself, go from surviving the winter/spring semester to thriving? In this two-session Masterclass video, we will look at three key shifts leaders should take this January to remain hope-filled, give you three tips to help your volunteers stay motivated, offer three offbeat ideas to ensure that you remain healthy/motivated, learn three things that every volunteer needs from you, and discover how you can prepare yourself to be ready to ride the natural wave of momentum that is available to almost all of us in the summer and fall.

Every thriving youth ministry is only as strong and as healthy as its team of dedicated volunteer leaders. Without these volunteer leaders, your reach and overall effectiveness as a youth ministry leader are extremely limited. This is your team: men and women who are bought in, sold out, and willing to love teenagers where they are so that they can point them to Jesus. The question is this: What are you doing to celebrate and appreciate these amazing people? In this video, I want to share five quick tips for appreciating your leaders well.