Simply Strategic Volunteers

In January, Group Publishing released 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 order this book at the members' 20% discount by clicking here .

Tip #8—Give People T.I.M.E.

About once a month, Brian (children's pastor) and I used to have the same conversation. He would be having difficulties with a volunteer leader. Perhaps the volunteer was being stubborn, reflecting a bad attitude, or creating other difficulties. We'd discuss our options. Most often I would end up saying, “Brian, he just needs your touch . He needs your inspiration and your motivation . And he needs your encouragement .” I said this so often that one day we realized that I'd inadvertently created an acronym: T.I.M.E. So from then on, we would remind each other, “They need our T.I.M.E.!” And nine times out of 10, giving that leader our T.I.M.E. would make the tension go away.

T Is for Touch
You don't have to be a scientist to know that being touched by the right person, at the right time, and in the right way feels awfully good. We've all heard about scientific studies proving that human touch can actually improve mental and physical health, boost career performance, and even increase longevity. An appropriate touch can go a long way toward communicating love and acceptance. The well-timed touch on the arm, pat on the hand, squeeze of a shoulder, or platonic hug can improve a person's outlook, and it may be the only pure touch he or she receives.

I Is for Inspiration
We all need inspiration. We need to know why we're toiling and sweating and sometimes putting up with difficult situations or people. Make sure that your volunteers are attending the services each week. In the rare instances that our volunteers can't attend a service because of their roles, we make sure that they receive a free CD of the service.

M Is for Motivation
Two sources can be used to motivate most volunteers. The first is training that's specific to their roles. If you can find the best seminar, workshop, book, or tape that will help them do better in their roles, most people will be very grateful. The second is stories of life change. Make sure they're hearing about the lives that are being positively influenced by their ministries. This could be done through a simple Internet-based bulletin board that captures and shares the stories.

E Is for Encouragement
What's the best way to encourage people? Listen. Take time to find out about their families, hobbies, and interests, and in the process, listen to their hearts. More than anything else you can do, listening causes people to feel special and valued. Think about it: People will sit in a bar late at night, click into an online chat room, or call a nighttime radio talk show just to be heard. We all need someone who will listen to us. Of course, in order to adequately listen, you must make sure you don't have too many direct reports.

Make sure you're giving your people T.I.M.E. Teach your leaders the importance of giving T.I.M.E. to those under their care. If this isn't natural for you, then systematize the practice into your life. There's nothing wrong with putting it on your schedule or to-do list. People matter too much not to make this a priority.

—Tim