How to Volunteer Like a Pro: An Amateurs Guide for Working with Teenagers

By Jim Hancock

Thank you for making the decision to be a volunteer youth worker you give the gospel a flesh and blood presence and show God s compassion for students in a way no one else does. Being a youth worker can be exciting, intimidating, fulfilling and challenging, and until now there was no manual on how to be a volunteer in a youth ministry. After more than twenty years as a paid youth worker, Jim Hancock left and became a volunteer in a student ministry. That experience taught him things he may never have learned as a youth ministry professional, and now he wants to empower others who are passionate about being volunteer youth workers. Inside this book you ll find practical help, like: tips about what to do on the first day ideas on how to build and develop relationships with students ways to combat youth culture shock how to prepare students for life after youth group how to say goodbye when it is time to leave and many more indispensable insights that will make your experience as a volunteer youth worker valuable and rewarding for you and your students."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310287766
• ISBN13: 9780310287766
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not Just for "Amateur's"

This book is great and a really easy-fast read. There are great tips for the non-volunteer and regular youth leader as well.

Great basic intro to youth volunteering

I got to do an advanced reader copy of this book out of some luck. I have a degree in youth ministry, and was reading it from the perspective of "would I give this book to my volunteers". The short answer is "no." I would not give this one out to the volunteers I currently have because they already know all this information. However, if I were in the process of recruiting volunteers, especially those who don't think they are good enough to work with students, I would strongly recommend this book. It is basically a very brief overview of how to love students. The chapters are incredibly short (sometimes in a good way, sometimes not). They cover all the basics, with an emphasis on building relationships and how to do that in practical ways. I give this four out of five for new recruits. I doubt it would be very useful to anybody else.