Team-Building and the Secret of Pizza

When our camera crews have dwindled in the past, I have attempted recruiting schemes that have brought in a few new volunteers at a time. One publicity stunt had me running from camera to camera during the service, deliberately making a spectacle myself. I explained that I was the only camera operator and must run all three cameras myself. It was more funny than effective. We have also participated in ministry fairs and put announcements in the bulletin.

But for some reason, our most recent call for new camera operators brought in an unprecedented eleven participants to our first training class. I'm not certain what brought them all in. I'm sure each has their own motivation. But it would seem that we did something right, so I'll give you the steps we took this time around.

1.  Detailed announcements were made during the service with video of our best work running in the background. People really knew what they would be getting into.

2.  Another promotional video cycled in the foyer with the signup sheets near by. Having people sign up for the class gave us contact information so we could remind them about the first session.

3.  We served pizza. Everybody has to eat. This also served as a meet-and-greet before getting down to business.

4.  We scheduled a training class to run during an evening service that we normally don't record. This gave participants a chance to operate a camera during a real service, but without the pressure of a real recording. We rotated camera operators and gave additional instruction to participants while they were away from a camera. I think this approach made our new recruits felt more at ease.

So now we move forward with the task of keeping the teams together. This is when all the principles of consistent communication come into play. Stay tuned to see how that goes.

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