Five-Minute Mentoring: Turning ‘No’ Around in Volunteer Recruitment | Season 5: Episode 6
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Do you struggle with asking for help? You’re not alone. Join me, Kirsten Knox, as I divulge my own trials with this issue, particularly how it influenced my effectiveness in recruiting volunteers for youth ministry. Learn how changing my perspective from seeking help to inviting others to partake in the transformative work God is already doing in our youth’s lives made a significant impact.
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Show Transcript
Kirsten Knox: 0:00
Youth Ministry Institute Original Podcast. Welcome to the Making Sense of Ministry Podcast, the podcast designed to help you lead well in your ministry, transform lives and impact generations. I’m Kirsten Knox here with another five-minute mentoring episode. We’re starting off today with a confession. Here’s my confession I don’t like to ask for help. It’s something I have learned to do. It’s an area in which I have grown in and some might say I still have room to grow in that area in my life. Here’s what I realized my struggle to ask for help was limiting my ability to recruit volunteers. Well, I was making a common mistake when recruiting volunteers I was saying no for them before I even asked them. I recognized it was hard for me to recruit volunteers and not say no for them when I saw it as them coming to help me Instead of understanding that asking them was really about inviting them to be a part of what God is already doing in the lives of young people. This was a game changer for me and I believe it can be for you too. You believe in the ministry. You see how it is shaping the lives of young people. You know how being a part of it has changed you. You get what an honor it is to help young people discover God’s love for them. So don’t sabotage your recruiting efforts, like I did, by saying no for them. Instead, ask them and let them say their own no. It’s important to remember that when you ask someone to volunteer in the ministry and they say no, it might be more about timing than interest. One time I had this adult that I watched the way he interacted with our young people on Sunday mornings and I was like man, I want him to be a part of our team, and so I worked up the courage and I did the ask and I had a conversation with him and it was in that conversation that I realized he was interested and right now, in this season of his life, with his work schedule and the age of his children, it would be difficult for him to engage in the youth ministry. So after our conversation, I went back to my list of potential volunteers and I put a note next to his name. I wrote interested, but not good timing. This was a reminder to me that in the future, to circle back with him, I did, and he became one of the best volunteers I have ever worked with. As we wrap up our time together, remember these two tips in recruiting volunteers. One don’t say no for them. Ask them and let them say their own no. And number two if they do say no, get some clarity on the why. Is it timing or interest? Maybe their interests and passions align better with another ministry in the church and you can help them get connected there. Or maybe it’s about timing and you can make a note on your list of volunteers and remember to engage them at a later time. Well, friends, I hope this has helped you make sense of this thing we call ministry. To learn more how we might guide you toward success in youth or children’s ministries, head over to yminstitutecom.
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