SIMPLY STRATEGIC VOLUNTEERS

In January, Group Publishing is releasing a new book, Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People for Ministry, by Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens. This book offers 99 straightforward solutions to help you recruit, train, motivate, and keep volunteers in ministry. The Inside Track is delighted to give Church Volunteer Central’s members a peek at this new resource. You can preorder this book at the members’ 20% discount by clicking here.

Tip #1: Don’t Ask for Help

This may sound counterintuitive, but we don’t ask for help at Granger. You won’t see a bulletin ad indicating a need for volunteers. You won’t hear one of the pastors talk about the shortage of workers in the children’s area. You won’t see “help wanted” signs posted on church bulletin boards.

Now, to set your mind at ease, this isn’t because we’ve found the magic formula for recruiting volunteers to fill every single role that could ever exist in our ministry. We can always use more volunteers.

We don’t need volunteers and we don’t ask for help because we’ve learned that most people will not jump onto a sinking ship. When you beg for volunteer help, you might be admitting, “I have no compelling vision for this area of our ministry, and therefore, no one willingly serves. So I’m going to try to guilt you into helping out.”

Then you will have created a vicious cycle: a ministry with no compelling vision and a bunch of people who’d rather not be serving in it. Oh, boy! Where can I sign up for that ministry team?

Instead of telling people what you need, tell them how you can help them use their gifts and experiences. Explain how they can find purpose and fulfillment. Communicate the mission and vision of the ministry, and then tell them how they could influence the lives of others by filling a particular role. Share stories about people who are already serving, and let them explain why they love to give their time and talents to the cause. Better yet, share stories about people who have benefited directly from the ministry.

We still post volunteer openings in our bulletins. Instead of asking for help, however, we offer opportunities for people to contribute to the lives of others. The focus isn’t on the ministry role; it’s on the person who’s interested in finding a ministry. The emphasis isn’t on the service that needs to be performed; it’s on the people whose lives are affected by the servant.

Tony Morgan is the pastor of administrative services at Granger Community Church, where he has developed and strengthened the administrative departments with creative systems, quality staff, and hundreds of volunteers. Tim Stevens is the executive pastor at Granger Community Church, where he has helped the church grow from 400 to more than 4,000 in weekly attendance.

Copyright © 2005, Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens.