Top 5 Reasons You Should Come To The Winter Training Series
The 2011 NeighborLink Winter Training Series starts this Saturday morning at Fellowship Missionary Church, and I thought a Top 5 Reasons you should be there post is necessary. Here goes.
1. Content
Since NeighborLink operates very organically and allows our volunteers to jump right in, we often don’t get to meet all of our volunteers. We think our process of allowing our volunteers to choose their level of engagement is a really progressive concept, but it also doesn’t give us an opportunity to pass on the great info that may or may not help them be a better volunteer or use our system to it’s advantages.
Every session or roundtable scheduled each month is designed to address practical issues or experiences you’ll face as a NeighborLink volunteer. There will sessions on the history of NeighborLink, how to use the website, guide to local social services as well as topics that revolved around how to engage with the recipient.
The content is designed to inform and equip you with information and confidence to volunteer long-term.
2. Experienced Leaders
NeighborLink has been around since 2003 and we have volunteer leaders who have been around since then too. We rely on them and trained professionals to help lead our sessions.
There are no play books when it comes to this type of community service and we have to rely on those that have been serving in this context for awhile. Luckily we have a lot of great leaders who like to share their knowledge with others.
3. Meet Others With Similar Passion
This reason may be the best part of our trainings. There are over 1000 registered members on NeighborLink and with over 450 projects completed in 2010, you’re bound to meet other people that have been serving and having similar experiences as you.
This is the one time of year that I get to meet a lot of new faces and I look forward to it. It brings a unity to our NeighborLink community.
4. Learn Something New
Combine great content, excellent leaders and others with similar passions and you’ll always learn something new. Each year, more and more volunteers get involved and our committed volunteers get more committed, which leads to new ways of serving our recipients. When we come together and share our experiences, we always leave more equipped with the knowledge and enthusiasm to serve.
5. It’s Part of Your Discipleship
Loving our neighbors isn’t as easy as many pastors and leaders make it out to be. Trying to live a life that is glorifying to God and is Kingdom oriented isn’t as easy either. We need to take our faith development seriously and if we’re truly going to live a life of service, we need to learn how to do it better than we did it the last time. One way we do this is by following the direction of others who have the experience that we desire to have.
The research in books like, When Helping Hurts, and from my own experiences, I’ve learned firsthand that our good intentions can do more harm that good. We can give money when money isn’t the right solution. We can fix something for someone when we should be teaching them how to fix it themselves. In many cases, our efforts can prohibit the growth and development of the individual receiving the help. We can do better.
These are great opportunities and I hope you can make it in January, February or March.
I hope you can make it in January, February or March.
