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.

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]

Building on the recent post about the Staircase Method of leadership development, let’s look at some examples of how others are successfully using this model to grow their leadership base. This will help you understand the method better and spark your creativity for how you may be able to apply this model to your church.

Example #1: Parable of the Unjust Steward

The first example is directly from Luke 16:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. “

Through this parable, Jesus shows us that we are given stewardship only over what He can trust us to handle. The staircase method allows stewardship to be given in increments rather than all at once, allowing problems to surface sooner and before the impact is large scale. Though this can take more time, it is a most effective way of isolating immature leaders from the potential damage they can do to a church.

Example #2: Crown Financial Ministries

One of the best demonstrations of this technique today is Crown Financial Ministries. They use their course on Bible-based financial management to allow each member to facilitate at least one meeting sometime during the 10-week study. This shows each member that it isn’t as hard as it may seem to facilitate a small group. This also provides a method for the current leader to spot individuals or couples that could lead the next round of Crown or another type of small group.

Example #3: North Point Community Church

North Point Community Church is another example, where they focus on using small groups to not only encourage fellowship and study, but also to teach material typically taught in a class setting. Often, the first group that a church member attends is a “new member” class to learn more about their church and Bible basics. As members graduate from this group, they move to another and continue their growth. At a certain point, the member becomes qualified to lead a small group, where some become qualified to oversee multiple groups.

Consider these examples as you start to build this structure into our own church. By helping our next generation of leadership to climb stairs rather than mountains, they will be better prepared for what lies ahead. They will also prove their ability to lead before you give them a title, ensuring that your church remains healthy and continues to grow for years to come.

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

The Mountain Method

If you don’t have a specific plan for leadership growth, or if your plan is filled with large obstacles to be scaled by only the most capable, you are using the mountain method. This method can be further identified by the following criteria:

1. You require more “gear” from your future leaders (skills, talents, time)
2. You spend more time trying to find future leaders than training them
3. You require more commitment from your future leaders (years, not weeks or months)
4. You often see leaders trip and fall from the “mountain” and never try it again

While I agree that it takes a special set of skills and habits to find a really good leader, there are quite a few left at the base of the mountain. That is where the staircase method may help you.

The Staircase Method

The staircase method, however, provides a simple path with easy steps along the way that enable a leader to grow over time. You will see an increased number of potential leaders ascending the staircase with you, rather than staying at the bottom of the mountain waiting for the right gear, training, or self commitment. This method:

1. Requires far less gear from your leaders (less skills, less talent, less time)
2. You spend more time training potential leaders to determine where each one can add value to your church/team
3. You require less commitment, creating more opportunities to find and engage future leaders
4. If leaders trip and fall, they can pick themselves up and start ascending again

Much different, isn’t it? What might your team or church look like if you were spending more time training a larger pool of leaders than searching for the one or two leaders in your church that have those “perfect” skills? How will you find ways to create opportunities for future leaders to start ascending the stairs today rather than preparing to climb the mountain?

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

Find out more and download the PDF for free! Also, I’d love to hear back from you, so drop me a note or leave a comment and let me know what you think!

As a thank you to my regular subscribers, this book has been available for a few weeks as a link at the bottom of each article. This is one of the many reasons to subscribe to this blog using email or your favorite RSS feed reader. So, take a minute to subscribe now if you haven’t already.

[tags]ebook, church leadership, volunteer management, volunteer recruiting, ministry leadership, ministry management, agile ministry[/tags]

As The Consultant

While my primary focus is as training coordinator, our timeline for moving into a new building is short (5 months) and has required me to wear the consultant hat recently. As we prepare to take on the new building, we know that we will see an increase in attendance from those in the surrounding neighborhoods that want to “check out the new church”. This means we need to prepare our leaders, especially those on the frontline, for the increase of volunteers required to service these new visitors We know that we need repeatable processes to get the new volunteers trained, and a process that ensures volunteers are placed with the ministries that match their passions. This has required us to bootstrap our volunteer placement process, which I’ll try to post about in more detail soon. We also determined that we needed to train up our leaders.

As The Training Coordinator

We also had to consider our leaders’ strengths and weaknesses to determine how to prepare them for managing as many as 2-5x their current volunteer count. What we found is that the topics I’m writing about for an upcoming eBook are exactly what is needed for a leader bootcamp to get them better prepared for the growth. So, I’m using the material from my eBook to produce a 7 week training program for preparing ministry leaders for growth.

Lesson 1: Finding a Balance

What we learned is that it is good to spend time thinking about the entire process up front and the impact of your decisions. While bootstrapping a church (or a startup) requires making sacrifices due to resource constraints, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend some time to understand the long-term impact of your decisions. Our prayer has been to find the right path that allows our church to prepare for the move to the new building without negatively impacting our leaders.

Lesson 2: Looking Forward Is Important

It was initially thought that by focusing our efforts on recruiting volunteers, we would have the headcount to support the new building. Before starting a detailed plan for recruiting, we assessed what would happen if we gained a number of new volunteers. This helped us formulate a plan for what was needed immediately, and what could wait until later.

Lesson 3: Start Small For Big Impact

As we rolled out the recruiting workflow, we then realized that without proper training our leaders may not be prepared to handle additional volunteers. So, we then created the plan for our leader training. This includes a small bit of training on a new process for leaders to schedule their team and report team progress to staff each month. It also includes a leadership meeting to kick the process off and cast the vision for what will happen after the move.

While it takes an investment of time to prepare a leader, we know that there are some foundational principles that are needed to get everyone at the same level of preparedness. In the end, we know that the 7 week program will probably become 3-4 separate programs, but we know that time won’t allow us to build out the complete program, so we are building on what we have for what we need.

So, we still have much to do but we know God’s guidance has led us to this point and that the steps we are taking is the right ones at the right time for the largest growth. I’ll keep you updated!

[tags]church building, leadership training, bootstrapping[/tags]