Dr. Ron Hunter Jr. is the Executive Director & CEO of Randall House the publisher of D6 Curriculum and serves as the D6 Conference Director. His favorite titles, however, are husband and father. He is the author or coauthor of three books, The DNA of D6: Building Blocks of Generational Discipleship, Youth Ministry in the 21st Century: 5 Views, and Toy Box Leadership.
Volunteers on Steroids
People volunteer at your church because they believe in the mission. They want to make a difference! There are many resources regarding volunteers but to retain volunteers and help them develop, three elements are crucial: regular communication, consistently positive feedback, and training.
Most churches cannot afford to send large groups of volunteers to a conference for training. But good churches know how to cast a vision for volunteers to accompany staff and leaders to conferences with their own investments. This is an easy win for your church and volunteers. At the D6 conference, attendees will learn how to be better spouses, parents, grandparents, volunteers, and leaders in your church. It’s a win for everyone.
I regularly talk to pastors and suggest the following approach. Pray about those who should go with you. When you have a clear list of people that should attend after considerable prayer, go to the people on that list and ask them this:
Will you consider investing in your family and in our church? The church leadership would love for you to go with us to the D6 conference. We feel this would take our church to another level while also blessing you and your family and how you interact with your kids and future grandkids. The church cannot financially send every leader, but we do believe this is a tremendous investment in your family and one you will not regret. Also, you could take a couple of extra days and enjoy the incredible opportunities for your family in the Orlando area. Will you pray about going with us and after two or three days let me know your decision?
When I was a pastor, I practiced what I just outlined above, and I coach other pastors to implement it. We have a lot of churches that bring 12 to 18 people every year because D6 is the place they want to train their volunteers. If you follow the simple formula, the amount of excitement the first year will blow your mind. After two to three years, everybody will think your volunteers are on steroids with their high level of capacity, passion, and commitment to generational discipleship.
Posted with permission from Ron Hunter from here original post on d6family.com
