YoungLives Handbook - Flipbook - Page 63
Contact the Young Life Human Resources Department to find out current volunteer onboarding
practices. The mentor covenant (if the area or coordinator chooses to use it) upcoming missionwide trainings and events, along regional or local trainings, are also tools to help with orientation.
When you are ready to invite someone onto the team, give the person a specific role. Volunteers
who don’t engage in activity outside of meetings or take ownership of the mission do not feel as
valuable.
God can use anyone who has a heart for adolescent parents and loves Him and seeks His will for his
or her life as a YoungLives volunteer. A healthy YoungLives team will have volunteers from varied
backgrounds and different life stages, from college students to empty nesters. Don’t assume that
being a mother or father, being married or being a certain age or race is a required qualification for
volunteering.
TRAINING AND EQUIPPING VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers who are new to Young Life will need to become familiar with the organization as a whole
and trained in the Five C’s: contact work, club, camp, Campaigners and committee. Collaborating with
the local Young Life area and tapping into their leader training can be a great way to introduce new
volunteers to the bigger picture of Young Life in their community.
In your region or area, look for a person qualified to help you train your new volunteers. Ask your
supervisor who this person might be, and ask him or her to help you lead your initial training sessions.
For your initial training of mentors, utilize the nearest Young Life area director or regional coordinator
to help provide the Young Life philosophy and foundation of ministry. Supplement Young Life leader
training with the YoungLives Mentor Training Handbook.
Onboarding new volunteers happens throughout the year, so work with your supervisor to figure out a
strategic time to offer training. Continued training will happen throughout the year at monthly mentor
meetings. Invite volunteers to any trainings offered on the regional, divisional, and mission-wide level.
Check out the Mentor Meeting Discussion Guide for more ideas on training your volunteers.
Too often mentors are recruited, interviewed, trained and then left on their own. Providing ongoing
monthly mentor training and checking in with them one-on-one is as important as running club. The
monthly mentor meetings should include time for prayer, questions, idea sharing, training on relevant
topics (abuse, sex, discouragement, boundaries, camp, discipleship, cultural sensitivity), recognition/
appreciation, and friendship building.
Link to more training topics/resources
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