A prepared volunteer makes an effective volunteer. 

And a team of effective volunteers makes an effective ministry. 

No wonder Thrive devotes so much time and energy to preparing each volunteer before she does a minute of service. 

Ask any volunteer and she will tell you that preparation is one thing that sets Thrive apart from other ministries. 

Thrive also seems to understand that there’s no such thing as too much communication—a core value that allows the volunteers themselves to, well, thrive. 

A key component to preparing volunteers is the detail-rich communications lavished on us in the months, weeks, days, and even hours prior to arrival on site. Aside from providing travel details—which, when you’re coordinating logistical details for 40+ volunteers and 100 attendees from across multiple continents, are legion—these communiques helped us feel informed and thus as relaxed as possible about what awaited us in Phuket. 

Jennifer, like every first-time volunteer, was greatly helped by Retreat Coordinator Leigh’s readiness to answer any and every question she had about the upcoming retreat. Preparation included training videos and the pairing of new volunteers with veteran mentors as well as co-leaders for the duration. “We were so well connected,” Jennifer said. “Which meant I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on.”

Preparation is also the reason Thrive brought us all on-site a full three days before the attendees’ arrival so that we could go through many hours of additional targeted, hands-on trainings about personality types, communication styles, and small-group facilitation skills.  And over everything is a thorough drenching in prayer, prayer, and more prayer. 

All of this allows us to relax into our roles so that we may be fully present for the women we’re here to serve.