Equipped to Serve

Preparing volunteers to serve with confidence & integrity.

Volunteer Training

Using Movies For In-Service Training

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movies feature image

I believe that movies can do more than entertain us.

  • They are windows into the world of others that we have not (or maybe never will) experience.
  • They make us laugh, which is so important during these trying times.
  • They make us cry as we see our own grief and losses mirrored in the story.
  • They instruct us as to what is healthy and unhealthy.
  • They show us the good in people’s hearts and actions.
  • They show the fight between good and evil.
  • They ask questions of us and cause us to rumble with hard issues.
  • They illuminate so many things that we might not have paid attention to as we go about the day to day in our lives.

I have used movie clips in my classroom training for many, many years. Using movie clips is a great way to introduce another training method into your training. 

  • Movies can demonstrate concepts that are being taught in the training. Who better than Merrill Streep to hit home a point you are trying to make?
  • Watching movies together makes for great processing and conversation about the topic the movie is portraying.
  • Movies engage all of our senses in ways that other forms of training (like lecture) cannot.

One of my favorite movies of all time is “Enchanted April.” This movie can be used to demonstrate unconditional love, connecting, consequences of unresolved grief, and humility.

Here is a brief description of the film:

“For Lotty Wilkins, romance is no longer part of her marriage. In an effort to find what’s missing from her life, she and three other women rent an Italian villa for the month of April, leaving behind the everyday cares and monotony of their respective lives.” (from IMDB.com)

The movie is about the interaction of these four women and the other characters that come in and out of their lives during the course of the story. It is really about scarred people who are transformed by love.

The film is available to watch for free on Amazon Prime but can be bought or rented from Prime Video for $2.99.

Here is how I imagine a virtual in-service discussing a movie would be organized:

  1. Communicate the date and time of the online in-service. Ask them to watch the film before the meeting date. I would give them a month’s lead time to watch the film.
  2. Ask volunteers to RSVP to know how many will attend. You need this numbers so you can plan for a few people or many people.
  3. If you have a paid Zoom plan, utilize the breakout room function if you have a large number attending the ins-service.
  4. Email the list of discussion questions to all your volunteers. Ask the volunteers not attending the in-service to watch the film, if possible, and think through the discussion questions on their own.

Here are some questions I would use for Enchanted April but these same questions could be tweaked for almost any film and the training concept(s) you are focusing on:

  1. Who or what influenced you the most in this film? Why?
  2. What created the disconnection between these women?
  3. What kind of pain, loss or trauma was each woman dealing with?
  4. How did their new environment (Italy) begin to change them? Why was this an important part of the story?
  5. What was significant about the time-period (right after World War 1)?
  6. How did each character use a mask to hide their scars and pain?
  7. When and how did things begin to change for each of the four women? When did they realize the change in themselves?
  8. How did love transform each of these characters in the film?
  9. How was the love expressed to each of them? When and how was it received?
  10. What was the transformation for each of the women and other characters in the film?
  11. What role does humility play in this film?
  12. What does this show us about connection verse disconnection?
  13. How did connection transform the relationships?
  14. What will you remember most from this film?
  15. How can this inform and inspire your work with clients at the Pregnancy Center?

I hope you consider using movie clips in your initial volunteer training. In the resource sections of both the Equipped to Serve volunteer training manual and well as the leader’s manual there is a list of books and movies that I recommend. It takes some technical know-how to capture clips from movies, but I am hoping that you are able to find some savvy tech person to be able to help you.

Happy movie watching!

Training Deep Dive: Humility

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As we have lived through these past months of pandemic, quarantine, isolation, and the race to the White House, I have realized more and more the importance and power of humility. Humility is often confused with being quiet or fearful or a doormat.

Humility is anything but those things.

I recently joined Community Bible Study and we are studying the Gospel of John. In the first chapter, soon after John introduces us to “The Word,” he tells us part of John the Baptist’s story. His story is a wonderful lesson in humility. (John 1: 13-38)   

We have to look to the other gospels as well to get the whole beautiful story which I hope you take the time to read in Luke Chapter 1, Matthew Chapter 3 and Chapter 11:1-24, and Mark 1:1-11.

Humility demands that we have an accurate assessment of our strengths and weaknesses, your giftedness and your place in God’s plan. John the Baptist understood his calling, his place in God’s plan, and accepted it fully. He always clarified to whoever asked that he was not the Messiah but the one who was called to prepare the way for the Messiah.

How did John the Baptist embody humility?

  • He was clear about his identity – who he was and was not.
  • He squelched any thoughts of rivalry with Jesus
  • He knew his success came from heaven.
  • He prepared the way and made the path straight for people to recognize and follow Christ. He exalts Jesus above himself.
  • He understood that he must decrease.
  • He was obedient even in the face of hardship and eventual death.
  • He viewed things in light of eternity.
  • He never complained about his place or purpose.
  • He was joyful at Jesus’ success and was happy to see his disciples leave and follow Christ.

John knew his calling was to prepare the way and then get out of the way.

What can we learn from John the Baptist about humility that we can take into our ministry work at the Pregnancy Center?

  • We need to clearly know our strengths and weaknesses.
  • We must trust God to use us as we believe our success comes from heaven.
  • We prepare the way for the Lord to do the work in the clients. Humility builds safety and earns us the right to speak into their lives but the Lord does the real heart work.
  • We have a clear calling to speak the truth in love that can give us strength in the face of hardships and difficulties we might have while ministering at the Pregnancy Center
  • We must see our work at the Pregnancy Center in light of eternity. The results of what we do and the people we serve is often unknown or uncertain in terms of outcomes. We must trust that the Lord is in control. We must not be deterred or frustrated by our lack of knowledge concerning the outcomes of our times with clients. If we have done the best possible job in loving and caring for a client we must trust that the Lord is able to carry her and call her no matter what she decides. Every Pregnancy Center has stories of clients they thought would choose an abortion but found out months or even years later that the client chose to carry to term and parent their child.
  • We must not compare ourselves to others but trust that the Lord will give us the grace to complete our mission with his help. Remember God created you in all your gifts and uniqueness and he never compares you with anyone else.  
  • Be joyful and celebrate both the small and large accomplishments of yourself and others.
  • Prepare the way and get out of the way.  What is your job in preparing the way and making the path straight for a client to meet Jesus while they are at the Pregnancy Center? Sometimes we must decrease after our job is completed and let the Father, Son and Holy Spirit do their job.

Jesus’ words about John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11a)

“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”

I hope that these insights might give you a new perspective for training your volunteers on the concept of humility during your initial volunteer training.

I would love to hear about how you teach on the concept of humility. We could all use an extra dose of humility during these trying times.

Peace,

Cyndi

Courage to Do What Needs to Be Done

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Photo by Sammie Vasquez on Unsplash

Here is the definition of courage that I found in the dictionary:

the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief.

It takes courage to persevere in this ministry. It is important to think about how to build or at least invite courage into your volunteer program.

Let’s think about this:

  • It takes courage to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
  • It takes courage to persevere in the face of women choosing abortion.
  • It takes courage to love.
  • It takes courage to believe that love wins.
  • It takes courage to pursue people who believe differently than we do.
  • It takes courage to choose relationship over being right.
  • It takes courage to listen to people’s difficult stories and painful choices.
  • It takes courage to be vulnerable.
  • It takes courage to believe that Jesus is in charge.
  • It takes at least some measure of courage to do almost everything that volunteers are asked to do, especially when meeting with clients.

So how do we build courage into our volunteer programs?

I think we must remind ourselves, as trainers and leaders, the courage it does, in fact, take to work with clients at the Pregnancy Center. Then we have to hold that reality as we plan all aspects of the volunteer program.

In all aspects of the volunteer program we can build in the reality of the courage it takes to volunteer.

  1. When recruiting volunteers it is important not to “sugar coat” what it means to work with clients. Our prayers must be that God sends us volunteers who are up to the task and come with willing and open hearts to learn how to interact with clients based on your ministry model.
  2. When screening potential volunteers we must ask the hard questions to help us  both understand what is the motivation behind their choice to volunteer.
  3. Volunteer training can give volunteers the skills they need to utilize when a situation arises where they need to be courageous. Having skills to help volunteers navigate their way through difficult client situations can provide them with the ability and strength they need to be courageous in the face of personal fears or pain and grief.
  4. Setting clear job expectations and giving regular positive and helpful feedback allows volunteers to know what is expected of them, how they are doing and that you are available to help them improve. This can sometimes be difficult and time consuming for staff. If this is not in place volunteers are often left wondering how they are doing or not knowing how to evaluate their own performance. Without standards, feedback and encouragement volunteer rarely grow in their abilities to work with clients.
  5. Encouraging volunteers with prayer and the word of God is invaluable. Finding scriptures, books quotes, films, etc. that will encourage them to live-out your ministry model is essential in building courage.
  6. I think any kind of volunteer appreciation should include a nod to the courage it takes to volunteer and continue to volunteer.

Courage in the Pregnancy Center ministry is like a muscle that your volunteers are constantly building with your help. How you screen, train, evaluate, encourage and appreciate volunteer are the tools that will help them build the courage muscle they need to become long-time volunteers in your ministry.

How are you building courage into your volunteer program?

Experiential Learning

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If you have ever had me come and train at your Center or have a copy of the Leader’s Manual then you know I am a lover of experiential learning.  This type of learning is based on adult learning theory and has many advantages.  Here are just a few:

  • Experiential learning is the opposite of passive learning. It requires participation and engagement.
  • You can use experiential learning for motivation as well as teaching content.
  • The experiential learning model is an inductive rather than a deductive process:  the participants discover for themselves the learning offered by the experiential process.
  • Trainees will remember the learning longer because they have to come up with the answers themselves during the exercise. It creates “A Ha!” moments.
  • Exercises break up the monotony of a lecture format.
  • Trainees can get to know one another while learning content.
  • It serves kinesthetic learners. Deep learning occurs via the process of doing.
  • Trainers can take a break and observe trainees while they interact and learn new skills.

Experiential Learning Process is broken down into five parts.

Experiencing 

The process starts with experiencing.  The participants become involved in an activity.  They act or behave in some way. Or they do, perform, observe, see, or say something.  This initial experience is the basis for the entire process.

Sharing 

Following the experience itself, it becomes important for the participant to share her reaction and observations with others who have either experienced or observed the same activity.

Interpreting

Sharing reactions is only the first step.  An essential, and often neglected, part of the cycle is the necessary integration of this sharing.  The dynamics that emerged in the activity are explored, discussed and evaluated (interpreted) with other participants.

Generalizing

Flowing logically from the interpreting step is the need to develop principles or extract generalization from the experience.  Stating learnings in this way can help participants further define, clarify and elaborate them.

Applying  

The final step in the cycle is to plan an application of the principles derived from the experience.  The experiential process is not complete until a new learning or discovery is used and tested behaviorally.  This is the experimental part of the experiential model.  Applying, of course, becomes an experience in itself, and with new experience, the cycle begins again.

Equipped to Serve Leader’s Manual

Included in the Leader’s Manual are the general processing questions for each of these stages of the experiential learning cycle. This is called the disciplined reflection of the experiential learning process. In the Leader’s Manual there are about 30 different experiential exercises created by myself and others who have attended my training the trainer seminars.

You can download two of my favorite experiential exercises to utilize in the evangelism section of the Equipped to Serve Training. They include all the instructions and processing questions you need to successfully facilitate the exercises and walk trainees through the disciplined reflection after the exercise has been completed. Click on the exercises below to download.

  1. Step to The Cross
  2. Evangelism as Teamwork

I would love to know if you use experiential exercises in your trainings and which ones are your favorites.

The Importance of In-service Training

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In-service training often does not feel it has much ROI (Return On Investment). There is a lot of staff time and work that goes in to planning an in-service training and then the number of volunteers who attend can be low.

Here is why I think they are important:

  1. In-services build community among volunteers who might not see each other because they work on different shifts.
  2. Everyone gets a larger view of the ministry no matter what their volunteer job description.
  3. Volunteers don’t feel alone in their struggles and victories.
  4. It deepens their understanding of how to utilize the fundamentals taught in basic volunteer training since they have begun seeing clients.
  5. It shows the importance of continued learning to help them connect better with the clients they see.
  6. You cannot teach all topics in depth during basic training. You need in-service training to delve deeper into topics such as adoption, post-abortion stress, evangelism, etc.
  7. It is a vehicle for Center staff to be able to observe and evaluate volunteer skill levels in a non-threatening manner.
  8. It is an opportunity to connect with speakers from other organizations and to utilize volunteers to help plan and execute the in-services.
  9. If you plan ahead you can make sure all volunteers are able to hear the guest speak or the main topic online after the training is over.

Here are some tips that might be helpful in encouraging attendance:

  1. Invite volunteers to be on a small planning committee for in-service training.
  2. Plan well in advance and ask volunteers to put the dates on their calendars
  3. Remind volunteers of the upcoming in-service early and often.
  4. Ask volunteers what topics they would find helpful
  5. Make attending a designated number of in-services each year part of the volunteer commitment and emphasize this in pre-training interviews and make it prominent on volunteer applications.
  6. Engage volunteers to help and they will be more invested in the training
    • They can help with:
      • Planning & pre-training communication
      • Scheduling the guest speakers
      • Making copies of any handouts
      • Planning for and acquiring refreshments
      • Recording the speaker
      • Editing the recording
      • Creating your private You Tube channel

But what about the volunteers who don’t attend the in-service trainings?

  1. There should always be a process that enables volunteers who did not attend to have access to at least the guest speakers or the main topic of the in-service.
    • Watch a recorded version of the main topic presentation
      • Create your own private You Tube Channel where all your recorded speakers can be saved
    • After viewing the speaker, ask volunteers to fill out a quiz or reflection questions and hand it in to their supervising staff person
  2. Due to Covid-19 you might have to take in-service trainings to a virtual platform such as Zoom or Google Meet.
    • Record the meeting and make it required viewing for anyone who did not attend the virtual training.

Days and Times

When I was the volunteer coordinator at the hospice where I recently worked, I scheduled two in-service trainings in one week. This was to hopefully give volunteers two options for their schedules. One was scheduled on Saturday morning from 9:00 to 12:00 and the other on an evening during the week from 6:00 to 8:00. You would need to only record one of the sessions.

Planning Worksheets

I have designed an In-service Planning Worksheet and an In-service Checklist that might help you or your planning committee to plan for upcoming in-service trainings. I imagine that most in-service trainings would last about 2 hours and I have divided the times in the planning worksheet around that time frame. You can write in the actual time slots on the worksheet based upon the time(s) you choose.

You can click here if you would like a copy of the worksheet and checklist. They are in Microsoft Word format so you can alter them to fit your needs.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash