This is Part 2 of our series on training your ministry team. In Part 1, we explored God’s blueprint for ministry and why training changes everything. Now let’s tackle the common objections and discover the lasting impact of investing in your volunteers.
“But My Situation is Different”
Five common objections, answered graciously
1) “I don’t have time”
You do not have time not to. An hour a month of training can prevent countless hours of firefighting, confusion, and re-teaching. Think of training as maintenance on the engine. You can keep driving hard, but without oil the whole thing seizes.
Consider this: How much time do you currently spend explaining the same things repeatedly, fixing volunteers’ mistakes, or doing everything yourself because “it’s quicker”? That reactive time could become proactive training time.
2) “I’m too young or too inexperienced”
Timothy felt that. Paul’s answer was not “come back in five years,” but “set an example… devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:12–13). You do not need to be the guru. You need to open the Bible, share what you do know, and invite the room to learn with you.
Remember: your volunteers chose to serve under your leadership. They’re not looking for perfection. They’re looking for direction and growth. Often, younger leaders bring fresh energy and relatability that more experienced workers appreciate.
Frame your training as collaborative learning. Instead of “I’m going to teach you,” try “Let’s explore together how we can better serve these children.” Share your struggles alongside your insights. Ask for their wisdom and experience. The best training often happens when the “trainer” admits they don’t have all the answers.
3) “My team won’t turn up”
Maybe not at first. People come to what feels valuable, doable, and pastoral. Start small, keep it short, make it warm, make it immediately useful, and follow up with encouragement. When volunteers leave feeling better equipped for Sunday, word spreads.
One youth worker started with just three volunteers and focused on their biggest pain point: handling disruption. The training was practical, encouraging, and immediately applicable. Those three became advocates who recruited others. Within six months, the whole team was engaged.
Make it worth their time:
- Address real challenges they face
- Provide practical tools they can use immediately
- Create space for prayer and encouragement
- Follow up personally to see how it’s going
- Celebrate growth and learning
4) “I prefer doing it myself”
Be honest. Sometimes we would rather be the hero than the multiplier. But if you insist on being the hero you will also be the bottleneck. Training turns heroes into coaches and churches into communities.
This objection often masks deeper fears: What if they do it differently than me? What if they do it better than me? What if I become unnecessary?
Here’s the truth: good training doesn’t make you unnecessary. It makes you irreplaceable. The leader who multiplies ministry is far more valuable than the leader who merely delivers it.
5) “I don’t know what to teach”
Good news. You already have a curriculum: the Bible and your actual programme. Train to the real tasks of your week. Keep it simple and repeatable.
Look at your upcoming Sunday morning. What will your volunteers actually need to do? Train them for that. Planning a series on prayer? Train the team in how to pray with children. Running games? Help them understand how games can build community and teach spiritual truths. Doing craft? Show them how to connect glue sticks to gospel truth.
The best training curriculum is your real ministry context plus the Bible’s wisdom for that context.
The Ripple Effect
When you train your saints, you don’t just improve your programme. You participate in God’s grand design for his church. That volunteer who learns to share the gospel with seven-year-olds might one day plant a church. The parent helper who gains confidence in pastoral conversation might become a small group leader. The teenager you equip for ministry might spend their life making disciples.
You’re not just filling roles; you’re forming disciples. You’re not just running programmes; you’re raising up the next generation of church leaders.
A Challenge for This Year
Commit to training your team. The children and young people in your care deserve more than your best efforts. They deserve a team of equipped, confident, gospel-hearted leaders who will know them, pray for them, and point them to Jesus.
Your volunteers deserve more than a task list. They deserve training that dignifies their calling and equips them to flourish in ministry.
And you deserve more than burnout. You deserve the joy of seeing others grow, the relief of shared responsibility, and the fruit that comes when ministry is built on God’s design rather than human determination.
The question isn’t whether you have time to train your volunteers.
The question is whether you can afford not to.
