Staff Positions
Just to be clear, the staff at a local outreach are also volunteers, but they are volunteers who choose to be heavily involved and often trusted with leading a local campus.
Local Outreach Trustees
The leadership positions at an outreach will require a large amount of time by those involved. They will generally be the trustees in charge of overseeing an individual outreach location. Also, they will have significant interaction with guests. Therefore, those seeking a staff position must go through an interview process and be in agreement with all six points of the simplified statement of faith. Staff and volunteers will need to understand and accept the ministries goals, purposes, and strategies. Without this acceptance, they would not be reliable and trustworthy. They need to be held to a high standard, reliable, respectable, responsible, good with children, able and willing to follow rules and guidelines, able to work in a team environment.
Host Families
A large part of day to day care of guests goes to the host family (who might also be the Trustees). To become a host family, both husband and wife must be in agreement that they want the position. The host family will be a witness to the guests of what a loving believer should be. Therefore they are expected to treat their guests with hospitality, respect, and dignity. By sharing living space and interacting with one another an example can be given to the guests.
Technically, the spouse of a staff member does not have an official position. That person can focus on taking care of his/her own family. If a spouse desires to become a volunteer or both want to become a host family, then those positions can be interviewed for and given upon approval.
Training
Staff should receive the same training as volunteers. They should also have regular ongoing training in how to manage a volunteer group. Both volunteers and staff should be able to ask guests how they are doing in a caring, friendly, and non-condemning way.
Sabbaticals
Serving and helping other people at a mission can be stressful and even exhausting. A regular time of reprieve or sabbatical should be set up and allowed when it is needed. People need time for themselves and for a time of refreshing so they do not suffer burnout. Even for host families, there should be the ability to leave and let another family take over.
Local Rules
Various rules and regulations will need to be made to encourage good behavior or discourage bad behavior (such as limiting where smoking may be done). This belongs to the trustees. When rules are made, they should be simple, straightforward, and clear. The disciplinary actions for breaking the rules should be just as clear.
Outreach Community Meetings
Trustees and Family Hosts should have regular meetings to discuss any potential issues or problems. All staff meetings should be called as needed. Proper time to consider and pray about decisions should be available if possible.
Any group will operate better when each individual knows his / her role. Also, working together as a group has many advantages. Group decisions should not be rushed nor worked on late into the night. Take time to pray about it and consider the issue. Although the input of volunteers is important, decisions are to be made by the staff.
Publicity
The Trustees should make effort to regularly get into the news in a good way. This can include press releases, radio broadcasts, and fliers to area churches. This will be especially important as the new outreach begins to announce what is happening.
| Encouraging Life Children's Mission Summary | |
|---|---|
| Poverty | |
| Mission |
Motto, Goals, Vision, Mission, Outreaches, Statement of Faith, Partners |
| Outreaches |
Objectives, Operations, Buildings, Training, Staff, Volunteers, World, |
| Services | |
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