Volunteers

It might be helpful to think of every request you make of a volunteer as withdrawing money from the bank. If all you ever do is withdraw, withdraw, withdraw, the account will become, all too quickly, overdrawn. How do you prevent your account from being overdrawn? You have to be sure to make deposits! And the deposits have to be greater than the withdrawals. How do you make deposits in the volunteer bank? Call them to ask if there's anything you can be praying for. Invite them out … [Read more...]

Every Monday at staff meeting we give a shout-out on Facebook to at least one volunteer who really helped Sunday go well or who has just been very faithful and helpful in general. We do this because "What you celebrate, you duplicate" and because you ought to "Reward what you want repeated." And here are the side effects: It encourages the person receiving the shout-out (everyone likes to be appreciated). It gives honor where honor is due (Romans 13:7). It helps create a culture of … [Read more...]

When recruiting volunteers I feel its very important to present opportunities vs needs. Here's why: When you present a need you come across as a losing team (i.e. We aren't winning and people don't want to be a part of what we're doing. Can you please bail us out?). When you present a need you are asking for something for you, not for them. When you present an opportunity, it's all about them, not you (i.e. This is a next step you can take to grow closer to Jesus and follow in his … [Read more...]

I was recently asked by a church planter "How do you prevent volunteers from being unfaithful - not showing up when they should, not doing what they said, etc?" I replied that this is a tension to manage, not a problem to solve. While you can't eliminate volunteers canceling (or canceling without notice) there are things you can do to minimize these occurrences: Clearly communicate expectations on the front end. Have in writing what you expect (i.e. that they are faithful in their commitment … [Read more...]

I first learned of the Pareto Principle my freshman year in Bible college from a John Maxwell book when I wrote a paper on leadership for one of my classes. The Pareto Principle basically teaches that 20% of the people do 80% of the work, and that it then takes the other 80% of the people to do the other 20% of the work. There are many ways you can apply the Pareto Principle, but in this post we'll apply it to spending time with volunteers in your church. As leaders we all have a limited … [Read more...]

I believe in writing out a job description, not just for paid staff, but even for volunteers. Why? Because agreement prevents disagreement. Let me explain what I mean... When volunteers sign up to serve they ought to be committing to a certain set of responsibilities. You ought to print them a copy of what they are agreeing to do by signing up to serve. This agreement on the front end prevents disagreement on the back end. You see, when you aren't clear about what they are committing to, they … [Read more...]

Never give a title without a timeline.  I once met with a guy and asked him to be our band leader for six months. I told him that after six months I would need him to recommend someone else to lead the band for the next six months. He did a great job in many ways but didn't have the people skills needed to continue in the role. So after six months I thanked him for his service, gave him a gift card to a restaurant and asked him to recommend someone else to lead. He recommended someone that I … [Read more...]

It's hard to have volunteers serve willingly and with a good attitude if you don't help them see the larger picture. When they're arriving at early on Sunday morning to set up for church, they're not just setting up equipment...they're preparing for lives to be changed. When they volunteer in the kids ministry, they're not just babysitting kids...they're introducing kids to Jesus (some for the first time)! It's easy for our volunteers to focus on WHAT THEY'RE DOING instead of WHAT IS RESULTING … [Read more...]