Can you estimate the (total) approximate number of volunteers in this brief list of organizations? (US-based only)
- Salvation Army USA
- American Cancer Society
- United Way U.S. network
- Girl Scouts of the USA
- Special Olympics
- American Red Cross
- YMCA of the USA
- Habitat for Humanity
(Est. total is well over 5,000,000 volunteers!)
Here’s the inspiring point – the church engages far more volunteers. It’s not a competition, it’s about the amazing potential.
NOTE: I agree that “volunteer” isn’t the best terminology, but we all know what is meant, so it serves its purpose well for this post.
Volunteerism begins within the heartfelt desire of each person to be part of something truly meaningful and quickly connects to the quality of the organization and its level of credibility. (Trust is a significant component.)
People want to be a part of something they care about, and they want to participate with people they connect with.
Most of your congregation loves your church. They believe in the vision and want to help expand the reach so that more people can know Jesus – but this doesn’t happen automatically.
When it comes to serving, don’t assume those who attend your church know exactly what to do or how. They are willing to engage, but it’s up to us as leaders to help them serve with purpose, meaning, fruit and joy.
The capacity to serve is present in every Christian. It’s part of what the Holy Spirit does at regeneration. However, serving others doesn’t come naturally, it must be cultivated.
It requires:
- Vision
- Community
- Clarity
- Training
- Organization
We’ll address each point in more detail after a few additional key principles.
Leading volunteers isn’t always easy, but it’s one of the most rewarding and truly enjoyable endeavors imaginable. It creates incredible teamwork!
It starts with a clear mission, and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is unmistakable. We are called to make disciples of Jesus.
Further, Ephesians 4:11-16 makes it clear that we (pastors, staff, and leaders) are to equip God’s people to do the work of ministry that He called them to do.
And the purpose:
“. . . so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:12-13
The local church cannot function without the loyal and dedicated volunteer teams who carry on the leadership and mission of the church. I’m amazed at how hard volunteers work. Their passion humbles me and their contribution to the Kingdom is a blessing that stirs my soul.
The following framework will help you build a culture in which both staff and volunteers thrive.
5 foundations to build a strong volunteer culture:
1) Your vision is inspiring.
Your volunteers want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
When you invite someone to participate in something larger than they could achieve on their own, three important things happen.
- It is honoring – you communicate the person’s value by the invitation to be part of something that big and significant.
- It is spiritually strategic – You advance the purpose of the Kingdom of heaven
- It is empowering – You help each one become the person God created them to be and do the meaningful work He intended for them.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
A great vision helps people believe for something bigger than they can imagine possible on their own. A great vision is bold enough to inspire yet grounded enough to be achievable.
A great vision is big enough to require faith and compelling enough to cause people to take action. The bottom line is that a great vision is always in the best interest of people and helps them change their lives and the lives of others for the good
2) The relationships among your teams are strong
Your teams want to connect in a community where they are loved and appreciated.
Very few things surpass the importance of healthy and productive relationships within your volunteer teams. If you are the senior pastor, on staff, or key leader, think about how much you want to enjoy the people you work with. Your volunteers want that as much as you do.
Every human heart has a God-created desire to belong. He designed us with a deep, natural longing for connection and community. Organized community (serving teams) deepens each person’s sense of purpose.
Three relational teamwork fundamentals:
- Intentionally cultivating space for personal connection rather than teams merely getting their tasks accomplished. This includes knowing each other, trust, honest conversation, and a light-hearted spirit that makes the work fun.
- Mutual appreciation of each other’s unique personalities, contributions and always giving the benefit of the doubt.
- Encouragement is like a relational oil to the human machinery of teamwork. You simply cannot encourage too much as long as its sincere.
3) Your team expectations are current and clear.
Your volunteer teams want to know what is expected of them so that they can succeed.
Clarity is essential. Your teams want to know that their contribution matters, and their time is highly valued. Few things drain a volunteer faster than feeling ineffective or unappreciated.
When each person understands their specific role and how it fits within the overall vision, your foundation becomes stronger.
It’s important to be appreciative, flexible and to extend grace, but not done in a way that lowers your standards. Lowered standards isn’t a form of grace, it’s the easy way, and it can become lazy leadership. I’m not suggesting that you create a corporate feel to your organized teams. A brief and clear ministry description is all that’s needed. It can be as simple as an overall objective in two-three sentences and a few bullet points of specific responsibilities. That easily fits on a half-page or less. If you want to include team or staff values, it still easily fits on one page.
4) Your ministry training is practical, meaningful and up to date.
Your volunteer teams want a sense of personal competence to feel good about what they do.
A great training process includes three elements:
- Equipping – specific skill training required to accomplish tasks and functions
- Developing – investment in their spiritual growth and leadership ability
- Coaching – someone who comes alongside to encourage, guide and instruct
Equipping focuses on the specific skills needed to accomplish a particular ministry. This can be accomplished by a live workshop, on-the-job training, online video, or any combination of these options.
Development is more about investing in a person’s overall personal growth, usually in leadership or spiritual life.
Equipping and developing overlap. The important thing is that you know the difference between the two and provide both as consistently as possible.
Coaching is provided in varying levels of frequency and intensity. Different volunteer ministries require different amounts and levels of coaching depending on the level of skill and responsibility.
5) Your organizational systems are streamlined and helpful
Your volunteers want structure to prevent confusion and foster good teamwork.
Provide enough structure to keep ministry flowing smoothly, but not so much as to bog down progress with unnecessary administrative hassle. When done correctly, being organized sets your teams free from red tape and helps things run smoothly so they can do their ministry with relative ease!
Good communication is essential for your ministry systems to function well. Always follow up in a timely manner and do what you say you will do.
Don’t require your volunteer teams serve the structures and systems, your structures and systems should serve the ministries and volunteers.
