Here is Guy’s rule:

A PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.

Sound crazy? Believe me, it has some sound wisdom within. Here are some details, generalized from the original:

Ten slides. Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting

Twenty minutes. You should give your ten slides in twenty minutes. Sure, you have an hour time slot, but you’re using a Windows laptop, so it will take forty minutes to make it work with the projector. Even if setup goes perfectly, people will arrive late and have to leave early. In a perfect world, you give your pitch in twenty minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion.

Thirty-point font. The majority of the presentations that I see have text in a ten point font. As much text as possible is jammed into the slide, and then the presenter reads it. However, as soon as the audience figures out that you’re reading the text, it reads ahead of you because it can read faster than you can speak. The result is that you and the audience are out of synch.

The reason people use a small font is twofold: first, that they don’t know their material well enough; second, they think that more text is more convincing. Total bozosity. Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty points. I guarantee it will make your presentations better because it requires you to find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well. If “thirty points,” is too dogmatic, the I offer you an algorithm: find out the age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two. That’s your optimal font size.

Read the full post on the 10/20/30 rule on Guy’s blog

1. Create a meeting agenda – this keeps you and your team focused during the meeting
2. Order your discussion – don’t hop around different topics. Create an agenda with order and flow, otherwise it will drain the team trying to keep track of each topic as you hop around
3. Send the agenda to team members at least two days prior – this prepares your team prior to showing up
4. If the meeting requires creativity, have a brainstorm prior to the meeting with some of your key team members – nothing keeps a meeting from getting out of control more than discovering a short list of options prior to a meeting and presenting those to the entire team. Team members may come up with something new, but meetings can often derail if a brainstorming session gets out of hand. Don’t abuse this, otherwise you’ll create an environment that suggests every meeting is really two meetings in disguise
5. Set a time limit for each speaker and stick to it using a timer. Alternatively, require the person speaking to hold a medicine ball while standing during their speaking time. Nothing stops long-talkers more than holding a heavy object while speaking

Keep these things in mind and you will improve your meeting experience for you and your team.

Having a quarterly meeting with your volunteers is essential to team growth and dynamics. Why? Several reasons:

1. You are able revisit your ministry vision and purpose
2. You can review what the team accomplished over the last three months
3. You provide time for volunteers to fellowship, especially those with opposite schedules
4. It allows for the introduction of new volunteers to the entire team
5. You can outline the next three months and put them into context with the big picture vision

These meetings can be informal at someone’s house (be sure to rotate homes if you do this) or a big meeting room, over snacks or over dinner, and using Powerpoint slides or sticky notes. Be sure to make it different than your average weekly meeting. Make it stand out, as it will be better remembered later in the quarter when needed the most. Have fun with it, and encourage the group to open up and share ideas that they’ve had but didn’t have the right forum to bring up.

You may also want to allow time for everyone to spend time just chatting about off-topic stuff. If you have quiet people, which is often the case for tech ministries, start with an ice breaker. Get people talking and laughing. And pray. Start with prayer, end with prayer, and get people praying for one another. These meetings can sometimes build a bond that will last for months, recharge everyone, and break the monotony.

One final rule: for a week before and after the meeting, lighten everyone’s load. Set expectations with staff and others that response times may be a little slower. Give them time to get their requests in beforehand, or set timelines for delivery a little longer than normal. This will prevent the meeting from being “one more thing” for volunteers to shuffle during a week, and will give them a well needed rest.

1. Leaders are not sensitive to the busy schedules of their volunteers. Many have families, help out in their child’s classroom, and perhaps have more than one family member volunteering
2. Leaders are too excited about what they want to do and think having multiple meetings close together will get others excited. This simply isn’t the case
3. Leaders consider meetings activity toward their goal rather than their true purpose, communication

Before you call a meeting of your volunteers, take these three questions into consideration:

1. Do I have information that I need to share?
2. Is there an open discussion that we need to have?
3. Is there a decision that we need to make together?

If your meeting doesn’t answer ‘yes’ to at least one of these questions, then you may be creating a meeting for meeting’s sake.

Volunteers need staff that will walk with them. Invest in them. Provide them with an experience that grows them. That is how Jesus approached ministry:

“…he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.” (Mat 8:23)

“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.” (Mat 9:10)

“Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.” (Mat 9:19)

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Mat 9:37)

Over and over we see Jesus spending time with the disciples, teaching them, growing them through experiences. Only after He did this for some time did He say:

“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” (Mat 10:1)

Notice the order: Jesus spent time with them, experienced life with Him, then sent the disciples out on their own.

Volunteers need a tour guide that will give them an experience, not just a task list.

This is part 1 in a 5 part series called “5 Things Volunteers Wish Their Staff Knew”

We’ll cover the following topics:

1. Volunteers need a tour guide, not a travel agent – walk with them
2. Volunteers have a lot to do and little time to do it – prepare the way for them
3. Volunteers have a lot on their mind besides church – remind them often
4. Volunteers live in a complicated world – simplify the process for them
5. Volunteers bring talent and passion – listen to them

Bootstrapping Your Service Team

Starting a new service team is often an easy step – you see a need and you fill it. The problem that most leaders face isn’t starting, but successfully bootstrapping a service team for handling future growth. There will always be something new that is needed or something old that requires repair. However, there may not always be someone available to lend a hand, often forcing the leader into a Balance or Burnout situation. Here are some tips for getting started with the right foundation:

1. Always take someone with you – this is often the step most ignored by new leaders, causing a leader to constantly do more to the downfall of their health and family. I’ve been there – it isn’t a fun place to be in
2. Find solutions that are easiest to train and build subgroups – when faced with a need, how can you best solve the problem such that almost anyone could lend you a hand? Service teams, especially those of a technical nature, often try to find the most complex solutions to a simple problem, thereby limiting the number of people that could jump in and lend a hand
3. Be prepared to say no – sometimes you have to say no, which means as the leader you must make some tough decisions about what you will and will not do. This is especially critical in the early days, as it sets expectations with those around you for what you will do in the future.

Building Leaders

After bootstrapping your service team, it is time to develop your future leaders. During the bootstrapping process, you have spent some time working alongside others. You should now have a short list of those that are potential leaders within your team. I’ve posted my experience with this approach in the past. Begin crafting a path for them to grow as future leaders by using some of the ideas below:

1. Use the Staircase Method to identify simple jobs that just about anyone can handle
2. Begin to backfill your new leaders with new team members, having them train the newer members
3. As they begin to train, give them an opportunity to start leading the team, with your guidance.

Pass It On

As your apprentice leaders begin to lead small sub-teams, you will begin to realize where they need training and what areas come naturally. Begin to develop these leaders, guiding them up the “stairs” of training. Keep in mind that some may not be able to grow and mature as fast as others may – that is to be expected! The point of the Staircase Method is to help you find those that have the ability to grow as a leader and those that don’t.

Without this approach, those not able to lead would have been put in a much higher position through their talent alone, causing more harm than good. This methodology helps you to properly work with and identify, over a longer period of time, who is developing as a strong leader. Keep in mind these tips, to help your ministry to continue to grow:

1. Locate apprentices for all of your team leads, to provide backup in case they become unavailable
2. Teach your leaders how to transition their leadership to their apprentices, passing on what they have learned
3. Give these leaders more authority over time, first over larger sub-teams, then over multiple sub-teams
4. Having spent time with your leaders as they have developed, create a short list of apprentices for your team leadership role
5. Mentor and transition your leadership role to an appropriate leader that is excelling in your leadership training plan.

I used this approach to create three sub-teams for IT/technology team I was leading. I made sure to meet with those leaders regularly, spending time building a relationship while mentoring them in their team leadership. This allowed me to move from leadership of a volunteer IT team into a new calling at my church within months, not years (or never).

Using this model for developing service teams, you should see yourself growing out of the “doing” and into true leadership, developing leaders of smaller groups along the way. In the end, you should be in the process of developing replacements for your leadership, freeing you up to start new service teams or simply to make you more available to service in the capacity you most desire.

Bootstrap Your Small Groups

Often the most challenging aspect of small groups is getting them started. It may only be you that is able and/or qualified to lead, making it harder to get started. Bootstrapping your small groups takes a combination of strategic and tactical decisions. Here are some things I recommend based on my past experience with starting small groups:

1. Use a discussion format rather than teaching – it will reduce the burden both on you and on your future leaders. Nothing will kill a small group approach than leaders without the gift of teaching in charge of a group. Adopt off-the-shelf materials or build on a message series from your pastor (current or past). Briefly (5 min or less) summarize the lesson and then ask the group to share their insights, challenges, and successes. Accept prayer requests and pray as a group over these needs, tracking them over time to see how they have been answered
2. Use icebreakers, especially if the people in your group are unfamiliar with each other – keep it light and simple, but do something that gets everyone talking prior to the meeting. This will eliminate crickets being louder than your group discussion.
3. Allow for fellowship time before or after the meeting – this provides time for everyone to know each other better over time, creating a tighter bond between them
4. Select some of your first attendees from your leadership candidate list – most often, you have some people in mind already as future leaders. Get them involved in the group, as you will be able to discover their strengths and weaknesses and also find those future leaders you didn’t even consider.
5. Build into your structure a simple model for allowing others to participate – from hosting, bring drinks/snacks, leading worship, selecting a psalm or poem to read, to facilitating based on your prior example. Allow others to see it isn’t as difficult as they thought to lead (as it shouldn’t be)
6. Encourage new visitors and “invite a friend events” – Keep the group as open as possible, keep it simple, and keep it friendly to outsiders. This means talking to new attendees, rather than going back to your favorite friends before or after a meeting. Set the example, and introduce your visitors to others in the group as similar interests emerge from the conversation
7. Multiply your group if you exceed 12 consistent attendees for a period of 4-8 weeks. If you aren’t adding new people to the group, consider adjusting something (hosting location, leadership, or topic) to encourage new attendees to join.

Your primary goal is to have an active group with members that are sharing openly and encouraging one another. Once this starts to fully develop, it is time to move on to the next stage…

Prepare the Foundation

Once you have a small group going, you will need to ensure that you can build new groups without your constant attention. This requires steps to be taken both during your first small group as well as on a continuing basis:

1. Identify 2-3 apprentices that would be good candidates to lead a group. They must be able to get others talking, not talk about themselves (huge difference!)
2. Document your approach – create a simple guidebook (no more than 3 pages) that outlines the group structure, expectations, and other techniques you use to manage your group
3. Share this guidebook with anyone you ask to lead in your place, as well as those you have identified as leadership apprentices
4. Meet with your apprentices individually on a monthly basis. If they are of the opposite sex, take appropriate steps to include a spouse or another person to prevent awkward or inappropriate situations
5. Begin to give your apprentices some of the responsibilities of the group over time, allowing you to do less while still mentoring them
6. Look for opportunities to allow a single apprentice to take over your current group while you start a new one. Often, this is the easiest method as the current group is comfortable with them and they have less work to do to start a new group. Alternatively, let a few of your current group members plant a new group along with the apprentice.

When things are at this stage, you are beginning to create multiple leaders that are able to create new and thriving groups. Now is when it is key to structure your groups for future leadership growth.

Grow Future Leaders

Finally, begin to structure your small groups so that leaders are not left on their own and you are not devoting all of your spare time to every group. This requires some very specific and deliberate steps, otherwise you will revert back to being a single group leader and never fully develop new leadership:

1. As your apprentice leaders begin to lead a new group, you will need to continue to spend time with them – this will help them learn, grow, and deal with difficult situations
2. This will require more of your time to spend with leaders, rather than leading a group yourself, so prepare to stop leading small groups yourself
3. As you develop more mature leaders through increased mentoring, identify those that could perform the same kind of leadership mentoring. Start transitioning them out of their small group leadership and into this new role by having them use their apprentices to begin to lighten their group leadership burdens.
4. Invite them to mentor a single individual, with you there to guide the meetings. Involve yourself in these mentoring meetings to start, until you are comfortable with the oversight they are providing. If needed, it may be them listening as you mentor the new leader, to learn the basics
5. If they show an aptitude for mentoring other leaders, slowly given them oversight of 1 or 2 more small group leaders, never to exceed 4-6 leaders at one time. At this point, they should not be leading a small group themselves anymore.
6. Should the leader not show an aptitude for this, try to get them leading with a single small group again, or limit their mentoring to a single leader and continue to oversee their meetings
7. Continue to develop them as a leader of leaders, encouraging them to help develop new small groups through their small group leaders’ apprentices

Have you used this approach before? Do you have a method of small group leadership of your own? Let me hear from you in the comments.

Step 1: The “No Brainer” Action

This step is the most critical: you must create a step so simple that it is a “no brainer” decision for them to sign-up to help. In the case of North Point Community Church, they offer New Believers classes. For Crown Financial, it is to learn how to manage your money better. What is it that your church or your team can offer? Here are some tips to get started:

1. Make sure they get something out of it. Put yourself in their place and ask “what’s in it for me?” (believe me, they are going to do this as a first step).
2. Make it a short commitment – no more than 12 weeks, with an optimum duration of 3-4 weeks
3. Create specific, simple steps that encourage them to participate in some way that they normally wouldn’t, such as leading a group or activity, such as an icebreaker, or asking them to do something outside their comfort zone.

Don’t expect everyone to fall in love with what you did. Just keep in mind that getting someone who never has helped your team (or volunteered their spare time for a church activity) to take action is a huge accomplishment. Once someone has taken that first first action, it will be easier to get them to commit to the next action.

Finally, put all you have into it. Give everything you can to make it a smooth, powerful experience. Don’t wing it, they’ll know.

Step 2: Identify the “Follow-Up” Action

The next step is to determine how you will follow-up with the volunteers with a second activity. Whether this is another small group, or joining a service-based team such as a cleaning crew, sound/lights team, or ushering/greeting team, find a place for them to serve. Here are some tips for designing this action:

1. Define a clear expectation and duration for the action
2. Try to build upon the first action, so there is still some comfort in what they are doing
3. Make it challenging enough to stretch beyond their comfort zone a little more

While the first action gets them doing something simple, this action begins to test them to see where their strengths and weaknesses are. This is where the staircase method shows its strengths because you are able to start assessing their ability to lead and adjust to change without throwing them directly into the fire. Offer to help them along or apprentice them by you starting the task, letting them try it under your supervision, and then letting them take the lead (“I Do You Follow”).

Step 3: Identify the “Ownership” Action

The final action is one that will likely be longer term and give them a chance to own something. This action should:

1. Give them responsibility and authority over a small area, such as one or two small groups or a small sub-team
2. It should not place them in a role that could harm or otherwise damage minors or adults (don’t have them preach, have them facilitate)
3. As always, define a duration and set of expectations for this action, allowing their results to be measured and managed

Throughout each of these steps, ensure that you are spending time with your volunteers, focusing on them above the tasks at hand. You can read more about how to do this through the ebook, Handle With Care.

Try to apply these principles within a single team first to learn how to do it effectively, then expand outward as desired until your entire church is using these principles. Pretty soon, you will have a large group of leaders that each have different leadership skills and abilities that can be given responsibility to varying degrees. And the few leaders you have now can take a well needed rest.

[tags]church leadership, volunteer leadership, leadership training, leadership[/tags]

I encourage you to send a quick email to those you think would benefit from the topics discussed here with a link to the new website. Whether the recipient is a new leader or an experienced one, there is something to learn for everyone.

Finally, I’d like to give a big “Thank You” out to all of my readers and RSS/email subscribers – thanks for your continued readership!

[tags]volunteer management, volunteer leadership, new website[/tags]