While it is possible people need help with time management, it is also possible they simply don’t value teaching as much as they do other activities or responsibilities in their lives. Consequently they don’t feel they have the time to invest more into it than they already do preparing and presenting the lesson.
The Reality about Being Too Busy for Teacher Training:
We usually make time for what we view as important. If teaching God’s Word is viewed as a high calling, something very important to us, we will want to give it our all and that means taking time for teacher training so we can keep learning and growing.
Remedies for Getting Busy People Involved in Teacher Training:
Start when recruiting to build into people an understanding of the importance of what they are doing and the need to participate in pre-service as well as in-service training. If you give the impression you are merely trying to fill positions when recruiting, that could influence the level of importance people place on what they are doing. To help people understand the importance of training in their commitment to teach, some churches enter a contract with their Bible teachers with training as a requirement. At minimum, make your recruitment tactics reflect the importance of this ministry.
Many people truly are very busy so also offer alternatives for how they are trained. When possible provide teacher training that can be done on their own time, at their own pace, and in their own place such as worksheets, workbooks, audio, video, etc. Remember, however, busy people could let other activities crowd out the time they should put into training. Build in a process for accountability when training is done on their own.