As a youth minister working with volunteer leaders, there are two approaches you must avoid. I call these two destructive approaches Users and Doozers.
A User is someone who simply uses his or her leaders to accomplish a job. You have tasks to complete, and your leaders are there to complete them. I’ve talked to former youth volunteers who have been burned out by the user approach. They don’t like being used. They are asked to fill ministry roles but don’t feel they’re appreciated or part of a team.
If you don’t want to be a user, one of your most important jobs as ministry leader is to look for ways to make your volunteers feel loved, cared for and valued. Check in with your leaders, especially the ones you lean on the most, and give them yearly opportunities with you to evaluate their work with the ministry. Let them know how much you value them, but also let them know that if they’re ever in need of a break or a change, you are open to their needs.
A Lesson from the Fraggles
To explain “Doozers,” I will need to journey back my 1980s childhood and “Fraggle Rock,” a TV show created by Muppeteer Jim Henson. (I’ll pause here while you Fraggleheads sing the hit theme song. OK, let’s continue.)
Fraggles are Muppets that live in a hidden world of caves that are connected to the outside world by a hole in the wall of a man named Doc. Fraggles live in a symbiotic relationship with small creatures called Doozers, whose primary purpose in life is to build Doozer constructions, which is the Fraggles’ main source of food.
In one key episode, the eco-earth-mama-Fraggle named Mokey successfully organizes a movement to stop the Fraggles from eating the Doozer constructions, thinking this behavior is disrespectful toward all of their hard work. Before long, Fraggle Rock is so filled these constructions (as no one is eating them) that the Doozers have to pack up their belongings and leave. Mokey thought she was helping them, but she was taking away their raison d’etre, their reason for existence.
The point is that sometimes we ask too little of our leaders for fear that we are overburdening them with our requests. In this scenario, everyone loses. We don’t lighten our load, and our leaders are prevented from fully participating in a ministry for which God gifted them.
We have to remember our volunteer leaders are similar to Doozers: They are made to do. We sometimes think we’re blessing them by not asking them for help, just as Mokey thought she was helping the Doozers by not letting anyone eat their constructions. What she didn’t realize was that Doozers were created to build. Likewise, your leaders were made to lead, organize, disciple and be active participants in the kingdom of God.
A Balancing Act
You are helping your volunteers realize what God made them for when you give them opportunities to lead. It may often require more work on your part to work with volunteers rather than merely doing everything yourself, but having volunteers help you is worth it.
The negative ramifications are the same as in the user scenario. Your Doozers eventually will pack up and move on if they aren’t given ample opportunity to fully use their gifts.
You would do well to take a quick self-evaluation of your ministry leadership style. Are you at either end of the spectrum? Are you a user? Do you prevent your leaders from being Doozers?
Who knew ’80s cable TV could teach us so much about the balancing act required when you manage volunteers?
