I Thought This Was Obvious: A Lesson In Training Others

I Thought This Was Obvious: A Lesson In Training Others

As I was standing in line at the Sacramento Airport, I noticed this safety sign posted in a prominent place so everyone could see it. I thought was, “Isn’t that obvious? No guns, no smoking, no explosives, no in incendiary devices. Did you really need to post this? Haven’t we all heard this a million times?”

After shaking my head, I paused and realized that this was my perspective, as someone who travels regularly. For others, this may be the first time they’ve ever flown, or maybe they haven’t flown in a very long time. I also remembered that one time a mission trip colleague, also a seasoned traveler, inadvertently packed a very long knife in her carry on bag for a trip to the jungle, which is obviously not allows. Whoops!

So I guess the obvious isn’t always so…obvious! This is a principle to remember as we prepare to train our volunteers for a new season of ministry. As leaders, we eat, sleep, and breathe children’s ministry, but that is not the case for our most of our volunteers.

So let’s remember:
1) Repetition is key. Do no assume that volunteers fully understood an idea or instruction the first time.

2) Make your key points big, simple and obvious. Be bold and just say what you need to say. For example: “We expect our kids to listen and obey while in class because we value them learning and living out the Word of God.”

3) Avoid big words. What does incendiary even mean? It means “(of a device or attack) designed to cause fires” by the way. If you want to make your point clear, use words that the average person can readily understand and apply.

Your whole ministry will benefit when you look at your training through the lens of others!

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