Podcast

009 – 14 Church Leadership Training Ideas (Part 1)

Posted on July 1, 2020December 4, 2023 by Ryan Sparks

What’s in this Episode?

Ever been asked to attend a meeting where someone was going to provide training and you just dreaded going to it? I mean, you’ve sat in enough of those meetings to know that they can be a major drag, you get nothing out of it, and you tell yourself, I’m never coming back to one of these again. Well, what happens if people feel that way about the meetings that you provide? No one wants that. So in this episode, we’re going to look at how to conduct a successful leadership training that your key leaders actually look forward to coming to. Here are 14 leadership training ideas for churches.

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Dick Hardy 0:31
You know, I’m part of a group of pastors that gets together once a month or so and we always generally have a lunch and they’re all together, maybe 15, 20, 25 of us, then the guy who’s leading the group will do a training time. When I sit in those training times, I just go down, I just think, why in the world am I sitting here? And so then I don’t go for three or four months, and then I get to feeling guilty. “Well I should go to things.” So I go back and we’re eating again. And then the training thing starts again and they’re just blabbering out there. And I’m saying to myself, this is why I don’t want to come to these things. This is why I’ve told myself that in the past. I feel for the guy, he’s leading this training, and it’s not going anywhere. And I’m betting, you don’t want to be that guy. He doesn’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be that guy. So it’s for that reason that we’ve taken some time to put together three podcasts. So we’ve broken this into three podcasts. We’re going to talk about 14 church leadership training ideas for you, that will help you take your training of your volunteers, your staff, your board members, your key people and take them to brand new levels in understanding what you want done through your training. So let’s get started with that, you know, I honestly, we really hope that these five that we talked about today are going to start you on the road to being the best leader and trainer that you possibly could be. So Jonathan, get us started with the first one.

Idea #1: Tell People What You’re Going To Be Talking About

Jonathan Hardy 1:58
Yeah, that’s great. So at the outset, I think it’s important to mention that we don’t have these necessarily in sequential order. I mean, we tried to as best we could to do some things, but you know, some things overlap. So these are just some ideas that you need to be thinking about as you get ready for some sort of church leadership training, whatever that is. The first thing is simply this, you want to tell people what you’re going to be talking about. So as you get together with these folks, at the outset, right at the beginning, set the stage for what this time together is going to look like. So if lunches in part, so here, we’re gonna have lunch here, then we’re going to have a time of training, then we’re going to be done by, you know, a certain time. And so that way the people have an expectation upfront of what is going to be happening in this training. So you give a clear overview, and help people to know why they’re there. You know, what’s going to be accomplished through this meeting? Why are we here together? We’re not just here for the sake of getting together. It sounds like maybe in your example, you just mentioned maybe sometimes we’re just doing it because well, that’s just what we do, but that’s have a purpose behind why we’re getting together. So don’t just have a monthly training for your volunteers, for example, without there being a reason why you’re having a training. And so sometimes that can happen. We just get in this routine and say, okay, well, we’re just gonna do it because it’s on the calendar, we’re supposed to do it. Well, why? And then of course, communicate that to them. That’s so important. So that’s the first thing you want to tell people what you’re going to be talking about.

Idea #2: Now Do It

Dick Hardy 2:41
And the second thing is, once you’ve told him what you’re gonna talk about, you now do it. Now you’re actually doing the training. Now, this is different from Jonathan, as he talked about the overview. This is where we’re getting into the nitty gritty of what we’re doing. Now, let me tell you, here’s the difference between telling them what you’re going to do and then doing it: telling them what they’re going to do has them picture what they’re going to learn. So if you’re training elementary, Sunday school teachers, when Jonathan talks about now, this is what we’re going to be doing, they’re picturing themselves learning how to be a good elementary teacher. What I’m talking about is actually teaching them to be a good Elementary teacher. So rather than them envisioning that I’m going to learn, now they’re envisioning them teaching. You see the difference there. So this is really where you’re getting into the nitty gritty. And do this, do this, do this, handouts that describe what you want done, the job descriptions and so on. And make it as clear as you can and actually do the teaching.

Idea #3: Review What You Talked About

Dick Hardy 4:25
The third thing that we want to cover here today is review what we just talked about. So now what we’ve got is, Jonathan started the meeting by saying this is what we’re going to learn today. The second part was we’re actually learning it. The third part is now review what you’ve learned. So now you’re going to say, okay, now you’ll remember we talked about this and this and this and you got to remember that to do those things, and when you do, then you’re going to move forward. So that’s repetition reinforcing. Now they’ve heard what they’re supposed to learn, they’ve learned it, they’ve reviewed what they’re supposed to learn. What’s the fourth way, Jonathan?

Idea #4: Explain Visuals Before You Show Visuals

Jonathan Hardy 5:03
So, those first three really kind of give you the overview of what a typical meeting looks like start to finish or just kind of a general overview and how we’re going to dive into a little bit more of the nitty gritty of some details and thoughts, not only for the rest of our time today, but then in the upcoming episodes as we break down all 14 church leadership training ideas that we’ve got. So fourth one is this explain visuals before you show visuals. So say you’ve got a PowerPoint presentation, say you’re going to show a video, don’t just throw it up, you want to give explanation to why you’re putting it up. So maybe you have a video and you’re going to show them and you want people to see. Let’s use an illustration of a hospitality team. And there’s a video where they’re gonna say okay, for the hospitality, I want you to watch this interaction between a couple of people in the video. So you tell them that upfront, so that way they understand okay, when this video is playing, I need to be watching for this interaction because that interaction is what the teacher presenting wants me to see for what whatever it is that you’re talking about in training. So that way, what you’re doing is you’re explaining it before you actually show it. So that way, it has the best impact. I mean, otherwise you can throw it up and then they don’t really understand why they’re watching this video, they miss it. And then all of a sudden, it’s like, oh, well, then what was the point of the visual in the first place? So explain the visuals before you show the visuals.

Idea #5: Have Food At Your Training

Jonathan Hardy 6:17
Then another tip, this is huge, huge, huge, is to have food at your training. Now, most of the time, I think people get this I think they know that it’s important to do. I mean, food and drinks are so powerful. It kind of puts people’s guard down, it makes people feel more relaxed, and it’s more of an enjoyable time together.

Dick Hardy 6:38
I don’t see any food here…

Jonathan Hardy 6:39
Well, I know I’m waiting for you to get it. I guess we missed the memo on who’s supposed to be bringing the food today. But no, it’s just important. It’s an important atmosphere component. You know, obviously, we go all the way back to Scripture. I mean, they would meet together and they broke bread in people’s homes, they had food. So you know, there’s something valuable about that and so I would encourage you to have food at your training, but not just a few little snacks. Make it nice for people, especially if you’re the pastor, and everyone coming to the training is 100% volunteer. They’re sacrificing their Saturday as an example, because they worked all week. Now they’re coming on a Saturday for a couple hours for training. Make it nice for them, you know, give them some good food and I know that cost money, I get that. But you know, people worked all week. Now they’re coming to take their Saturday, which often is their day off. And they’re giving it to you, for the training, for the church, to serve the people. And so we want to take care of them. And so having that food is important, not just because of the atmosphere, but it’s because it’s a way for us to be showing them the appreciation and the care that we have for them and that we respect and are thankful for what they do. So that’s number five.

Recap

Jonathan Hardy 7:54
So let’s do a quick recap of the five things that we talked about today. Again, we’re going to be talking about more in the upcoming episodes, but the first one is to tell people what you’re going to talk about in your training. Second tip is to describe what you want people to take away from the meeting. Number three, review what you just talked about. Number four, explain visuals before you show visuals. And number five, have food at your training event. So it’s very important that you do these things. And that’s going to set you up for success. What else do we have here, Dick?

Dick Hardy 8:21
Well, I want to encourage you, if you haven’t taken the opportunity, while we talk about this subject of doing meetings, all this starts with you, as a leader, and I strongly, both of us would strongly encourage you to take advantage of the Five Day Leadership Challenge that’s available to you. It’s of no cost at all. Just put in Leaders.Church/challenge, and you can jump in. Literally today can be day one of your Five Day Leadership Challenge. This is going to help you be better, and when you’re better, then you’re going to be able to start into these leadership training ideas, and when you’re doing training with your people, they’re going to be better. Because you’re better, they’re better. So I strongly encourage, Leaders.Church/challenge.

Jonathan Hardy 8:21
Yep. And I might mention to the challenge is basically a challenge to devote 15 minutes a day for five days to invest in yourself as a leader. So, not a huge massive commitment on your part. Obviously, it’s free as he mentioned, but it’s a way for you to say, hey, for 15 minutes, I’m going to invest in myself in my own leadership and it’s going to be huge for you.

Dick Hardy 9:22
Exactly right. Hey, certainly, if you haven’t subscribed yet to the podcast, the Church Tips Podcast, we’d love to have you do so on whatever platform you’re watching it. We just really feel honored and privileged to be able to be part of your life and your leadership at the church. Anything else you want to throw at them?

Jonathan Hardy 9:37
That’s it!

Dick Hardy 9:38
Okay, well, thanks for watching. Stay tuned for episodes. The next two episodes are going to take right off on this and give you some more tips to be the best leader of your volunteers possible. Make it a great one today and be blessed.

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Podcast

009 – 14 Church Leadership Training Ideas (Part 1)

What’s in this Episode?

Read the Transcript