Recruiting Adult Volunteers for Your Mission Trip
Adults are crucial to the success of the mission trip, in fact, it’s required. So, how do you get adults as excited about your mission experience?
Here are some of our favorite tips for recruiting awesome adult volunteers:
Ask them individually – Pick out adults in your church or adults who are connected to your youth group who qualify to be leaders, and take them out for coffee or ice cream. Share the vision of your trip and the powerful, positive impact it can have on youth (and adults, too). There’s no better way to recruit a great team than to simply ask, one at a time.
Give them all the info – Share any brochures or handouts about the mission experience that you have. This helps to answer most of their questions and get them excited about the possibility of joining the team.
Creative announcements – A well-crafted announcement by youth or a light-hearted skit during a church service can have a major, positive impact on potential adult leaders. Work with youth to create announcements, skits, and advertisements that briefly outline the need, but also show how much the they really appreciate the adults who’ll join them on the trip.
Let experience speak – Stories of life change inspire other adults to volunteer. Have previous adult leaders who’ve had a good mission experience share a brief “testimony” to let other adults know of the great benefits of volunteering.
What have you found to be the best ways to recruit adult volunteers for mission trips? We would love to hear your brilliant ideas!
Thanks for loving students!
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Looking to partner with Group to bring a youth mission experience? We’re looking for volunteers, churches, and co-sponsors to join us all across North America for 2018, 2019, and beyond.
I agree with #1 – pick them out and contact them individually… I disagree with any other method.
for 47 years of youth ministry I have practiced and taught that the best way to recruit “volunteers” is to not ASK for volunteers through announcements for promotions…. too often when you ask for
“volunteers” you are then pressured to “take” them… and it is very difficult to “fire” a volunteer. So, ask for references, then as the article says, 1. make an appointment, do the interview, leave them the info and “job description” and “application”..let them pray about it…then do a second follow-up meeting to discuss the details of the trip and expectations (time and financial commitments). If this is for a more permanent youth volunteer position, it is important to give them a 6-week trial period (that is also announce to the students) then meet and decide if it is a go… then only recruit for a 1-year commitment… with a one-year casual evaluation and possible re-up commitment. my thoughts.
Randy! Thanks for sharing these details about your process. Being able to recruit volunteers is so essential, but I have struggled with identifying potential youth folks and have left it to announcements and mailers to see who is interested. As you mentioned, this process has been ineffective. Guess it is time to bite the bullet and drink some coffee. -Steve
Yes, recruitment is the best method to being effective and having an effective team. Good article!