I enjoy eating and I enjoy people. Put them together and (no I don’t mean eating people silly) get a great way to build your team! This weeks Thursday team building thought is to consistently take your volunteer staff out to eat.

I would recommend that if you can do this at least quarterly and if you can pull off monthly then you are doing really well.

What happens when we sit down and eat together?

• Time - it’s one of the best ways to utilize your time because you have to eat, they have to eat and any time that is spent together helps build trust (depending how you act). But the great part is you really aren’t taking any more time out of your day.
• Stories - Everyone loves to hear stories and you get the opportunity to look into the life of your volunteer as they share stories about what has been happening throughout there week. This will give you more insight into how to minister to them and how to equip them.
• Laughter - I hope that when you get together that you can share something funny. Laughter really is a great medicine and can help bring down any defenses that may be up when you get together. Take something funny you can share with them.
• Planning - Time for some small chat on future events or just to bounce some ideas off of your staff to see what they think. You may get some great feedback and ideas.

There are others - if you have some ideas on what you see happening when you go out to eat with your staff share them.