What Have You Learned Lately?

{Editor's note: I met Darcie at an advanced leader's conference in San Juan Capistrano a year ago, and knew our members would benefit from her insight. She came to one of our conferences, and I spoke to her again in early January. She told me about their incredible Christmas programs and the effort to equip volunteers to make it happen. I asked her to write for us, and she asked, "What should I write about?" I said that with all she had done recently, the things she had faced were probably the same as many of our members. So why not just tell us what she has learned lately?}

"What have you leaned lately?" This question seemed to touch my heart. It caused me to slow down and reflect. (That's a big deal for me. Slowing down will be a lesson God is teaching me until the day he calls me home.) It made me think about the guy who came through a doorway at church and said to a volunteer, "I'm 31 years old and no one in my family has ever been to church. I mean it; we have never even had a relative's funeral in a church. I feel like I'm supposed to be here...can you help me?"

Or the young woman who was asking a volunteer, "Who wrote this Bible and who is Jesus? Why do you smile so much when you talk about this Jesus?"

And then I was told about a second grader who had an amazing grin, with several missing teeth. He ran up to his small group leader one Sunday morning and squealed, "Jesus lives in my heart now! I couldn't wait to tell you! It took forever for it to be Sunday again!"

The senior pastor reminds me on a regular basis, "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I need that reminder, and I appreciate his efforts. But I also felt God tugging on my heart when I was presented with the question, "What have you learned lately?"

Our ministry serving teams had taken some tremendous steps forward. We had been amazingly blessed and we're prayerfully humbled by it. We've had some wins and some moments to learn and try again. During our seven Christmas services and four community outreach dinners, we had over 2,000 serving opportunities that were blessed with incredible servants.

But what had we learned, and where was God leading us next?

1. Simplify

We've embraced the "less is more" theory. God has been teaching us to focus on our mission and our vision. We pray a lot. We plan and brainstorm to determine the steps that we'll take to get there. We strive to honor him with everything that he has given us. It's a constant effort to narrow the focus to the fundamental mission: to connect the unconnected to Christ and together grow to full devotion to him. It's that simple.

Equipping and training sessions for serving teams have been simplified. Yes, the leaders continually cast vision and remind people of our mission statement. We teach the reasons we're doing what we're doing. But they don't need to hear everything that's going to happen in the next year. We need to inform serving teams, but we don't need to overwhelm them.

We offer lots of time for questions and input from them as well. We clarify and restate a thought when needed. We use clear and simple language to convey the principles, and we don't give them a lot of unnecessary information. It honors them and their service to the Lord, and it's a more effective use of everyone's time. It has provided for more clarity, more ownership, and greater levels of serving satisfaction.

2. No thanks

We've learned to say, "No thank you." We hear lots of ideas that are great, but don't fit the mission and vision which are the foundation for the ministry. It's okay to say no. Of course, we use grace and kind words, but we cannot offer every option, every seminar, every support group, or every student program.

God has given us a specific mission, and by focusing our resources on that mission we do a better job at it. It really is okay to say, "No thanks"-even to things that are great ideas-without guilt!

3. Tell stories

We're learning to tell stories and savor the blessings more frequently. As people share their stories, everyone can celebrate what God is doing in their lives. We make a lot of videos, especially of servants in action, and then we include their testimony. We share these moments in worship, at training sessions, and as part of team building. People who aren't serving realize they are missing out.

Stories touch lives. It's the technique Jesus modeled. You find a purpose, joy, and blessings through serving, and we're taking steps to tell these stories.

One great example: A man shared that having friendly people at the door to welcome and help him made an eternal difference. He wasn't really interested in coming to church, as you can tell from his excuse that it was just too much effort to get all of the kids ready in time. He fully intended to walk in, look around, and leave. He also mentioned that strawberry pancakes were "calling his name!" Thankfully, friendly volunteers were at the door with smiling faces and a willingness to help this man and his family find their way. Now this man has accepted Christ and the family is building a relationship with God. One servant made an incredible difference in this man's life and for his family as well.

So what have we learned? We've learned to simplify things, to graciously say no, and to tell stories. We have also learned that one servant can make an incredible, eternal difference. Imagine what teams of volunteers can do!

Darcie Pinkelman is the extension pastor at Central Christian Church in Henderson, Nevada, where she launched the equipping ministry. She is also a presenter for Church Volunteer Central Live.

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