7 Things to Include in Every Volunteer Meeting

There are 7 things that every meeting should include.

1) Food
Maybe it is a cultural thing. Maybe I am just a little hungry while I am writing this. Either way, every meeting should include some type of snack.

Ideas for food to have:
Muffins, donuts, bagels, fruit/veggie trays, nutra grain bar, nuts, cookies, or desserts.

Think about when your meeting is and just assume that people haven’t eaten yet. Try to include at least one healthy thing. This weekend, I had to take my daughter to the doctors before church. I was running around and didn’t have time to eat breakfast and I didn’t realize it until 5 minutes before church. Thankfully, there were snacks. Otherwise, I would have been thinking about how hungry I was instead of teaching the kids about how Jesus rose again from the dead and went to heaven.

2) A Thank You
Your leaders are not only giving up their Sunday Mornings but their time to meet with you. Be detailed and specific. Let them know that someone sees what they are doing and that it means something. The best way to say thank you is sincere praise versus a blanket thank you.

If someone has gone above and beyond the call of duty, give them a big thank you in front of everybody.

Time can be an issue, so if you are limited on time. We have some FREE Thank You cards that you can print and send them to your volunteers. There is something about a handwritten Thank You that technology can never duplicate. (Just add them to your cart and ‘checkout’ it will not ask for a credit card) CLICK HERE

3) Instruction.
Making a change? Adding a morning prayer time before service? Need to remind them about a policy? This is the time to talk about it.

4) Vision.
Without vision, the people perish. Does every single person in your ministry know what your vision is?  Repeat, repeat, repeat. Put it up somewhere where the volunteers can see it. Don’t have a vision?  CLICK HERE to read my journey with making a Vision board.

5) The Bible.
Read a bible verse. This doesn’t have to be a 35-minute devotional. Share what God is talking to you about. Encourage them!

6) Community Building.
Depending on how large your volunteer base is, there may be some people who don’t know the other people there. This is a great time to build community into your volunteer base, and have a little fun. This can be as simple as having everyone introduce themselves and share their favorite movie. Or, it can be a more organized game with points and prizes. You will be surprised what grown adults will do for a $5 Chic-Fil-A card.

I use to hate these type of games as a kid. The first day of class at school we all had to play these games in every single class. But now I see their importance. It breaks down peoples walls and makes them more comfortable.

We made a list of 25 FREE games that you could play in your KidMin, but some of these would be fun to play with adults too! CLICK HERE for more info.

7) A listening ear.
Not every meeting that you have can be an open mic night, but they should all include at least a couple minutes of Q&A or suggestions. They might have thought of something that you did not. Ask them what they think. Make sure that they understand what you are telling them.

I have made a handy little Worksheet for you to use at your next Volunteer meeting. There is a place to write down everything that I mentioned in this blog. This is for you, to print and fill out before the meeting, so you won’t forget anything. I don’t know about you, but whenever I get up in front of adults I literally forget everything I know. So, I always have a little ow where I am going in the meeting.

CLICK HERE to download.

What do you think? What else should be at a Volunteer Meeting?