WORKING WITH COMMITTEES.

One of the most effective uses of a leader's time is to work with committees and help them to effectively do their job. You are only one person and cannot be in more than one place at a time. However, a committee can be in several places and do several tasks at once. Most leaders never fully utilize committees because it is easier to do the work themselves and it takes a lot of work to train and lead committee sand volunteers. If you want to see more results in your ministry or programs, concentrate on becoming successful at leading people through a committee and volunteer structure

SET GOALS AND PRIORTIES. Whether you are operating a large facility or leading small group activities, a committee is indispensable. Your job is to set goals, determine needs, assign tasks, plan strategies, and enable people to implement those strategies. This means that you become an enabler.

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. Let me share a personal experience that led me to understand how important it is to use others to accomplish your goals. I was working as the youth director for a large YMCA. It was my responsibility to develop a Gra-y and Tri-Gra-y program in the local elementary schools. The Gra-Y is a club for boys and the Tri-Gra-Y is a club for girls

There were 22 elementary schools and I decided to start a club in each school at the same instead of one at a time. I hired 22 men and 22 women teachers to lead these clubs. I met with them and led them in a training session in leading YMCA elementary school clubs. We advertised and enrolled 20 to 25 students in each club. The clubs met each week in the school and had Saturday activities. The boys played flag football and the girls played soccer in the fall.

That meant organizing leagues, getting a place to play the games and hiring referees. I supervised the play each Saturday and had to find replacements for any absentee leaders or referees.

In the middle of the season I developed pneumonia and was hospitalized. There was no one else assigned the task of distributing the equipment, scheduling the referees and making sure that all leaders were present to coach their team.

While in the hospital, I had to spend several hours on the phone trying to get everything done. It became a nightmare. I was sick and no one else knew how to do what had to be done. I was a poor leader because everything depended on me and I learned that no program should ever be completely dependent on one person

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A couple of years later, after graduating from college with a degree in recreation, I was helping my church with a youth banquet. I had planned the theme, planned the decoration, selected the menu, and was in the process of planning the meal, recruiting cooks, printing the invitations and programs, decorating the fellowship hall, getting servers for the meal and booking the entertainment.

LET US HELP!  During the time of my frustration of so much to do, one of the parents realized the pressure I had placed on myself and came to me to offer her help. She made the statement “there are a lot of parents and youth leaders that would enjoy helping if you asked them.” That statement hit me like a baseball bat to the head. I was a one man show and that was not good.

Those experiences changed my life and my ministry. I began to develop a plan to maximize the use of Volunteers and Committees. My goal was to develop a group of volunteers that could carry on the program even if I were not there to supervise.

Here is the plan that emerged.

·         Take time to develop a list of dreams that I wanted to see achieved in my ministry or program.

·         Separate those dreams into a list of goals that could be achieved in the next five years, three years, one year, three months and one month time intervals.

·         List the activities, projects, programs, schedules and task that could be led and supervised by volunteers.

·         Write a description of the duties that would be needed to accomplish that list.

·         Divide the task into sub committees.

·         Plan a committee structure that could be used to determine how many volunteers would be needed.

·         Develop a list of potential committee members and determine who would be best suited for each task.

·         Recruit committee members; select a chairman, assistant chairman and subcommittee chairpersons.

·         Write a job description for each member of the committee.

·         Schedule a training session to inform each member of the committee of their responsibilities.

·         Plan regular meetings to assign tasks and outline the method of reporting progress.

·         Have a list of dates that I expect each phase of the assignment to be completed.

·         Evaluate these goals each week and measure the progress.

·         Meet with any group that seems to be falling behind in the schedule.

A Typical Committee Organization of a Youth and Recreation Activities Program.

Committee Chairperson (preferably a deacon and leader in the church)

Assistant to Chairperson (preferably a deacon and a member of the finance committee.)

Subcommittee chairpersons (one for each area of the program).

             Subcommittee members (four to six members who are interested  and  have the   skills necessary to successfully complete the duties assigned).

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE.

The committee chairman, asst chairman and all subcommittee chairpersons make up the official committee and meet on a regular schedule with the staff member responsible for that program to plan and report progress. The subcommittee members meet with their chairperson to plan and lead the programs and activities assigned to their subcommittee.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A LEADER.

You as the staff person or person responsible for the ministry or program should meet with all committees as often as necessary to make sure that they are trained and understand their responsibilities. Remember you are the enabler. You enable the chairpersons and the committee members to be successful at their job. That in turn means a successful program and frees up your time to minister in areas that only you can be effective.

SUB COMMITTEE HEADINGS

Bible Studies and Spiritual Growth Activities
Fellowships, Banquets and Parties
Food and Refreshments

Sports and Leagues

Crafts

Youth Activities - Bowling Night, Skate Parties, Swim Parties, Picnics, Hayrides, ect.

Camps and Retreats

Camping, Sightseeing, Bike Rides, Hikes act.

Age Group Tournaments

Transportation

Specialized Groups. Many of these subcommittees will need to divide into different specialized groups... Always provide adequate help in the areas that need specialized planning and supervision.

Remember, your goal is to use as many other people as you can in caring out your duties. Your job is to recruit, train and supervise. Not to do. You are an ENABLER. You enable other people to do the job that they were recruited to do. Do not micromanage.

Select capable people and help them be successful at what you selected them to do. Zig Ziglar, in his book, “SEE YOU AT THE TOP”, says, “You can get everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want”. That is a success principle that every person needs to learn. It is true in every walk of life and every ministry.

Good luck on you adventure with committees. There is much more available on this subject.  We will be sending additional information and suggestions on working with committees

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One of the most effective uses of a leader's time is to work with committees and help them to effectively do their job. You are only one person and cannot be in more than one place at a time. However, a committee can be in several places and do several tasks at once. Most leaders never fully utilize committees because it is easier to do the work themselves and it takes a lot of work to train and lead committees.

If you want to see more results in your church recreation ministry programs, concentrate on becoming successful at leading people through a committee structure.

Now Plan Specific Church Recreation Activities