Off the Agenda: Conversations for Building Church Leaders

Did Jesus ever ask for volunteers? I think that's the answer. It's interesting that we talk a lot about WWJD, but are we professionals guilty of ignoring this aspect of the ministry of Christ?

It's hard to find the balance as a church leader between what we think needs to be done and using the resources including the volunteers wisely.

My developing philosophy is: If a ministry doesn't have anyone to do the work, then maybe it's not time to start the ministry or it's time to drop the ministry.

Todd

I think that you're right on, Amy! Too often those in leadership think of their volunteers as just another "resource" and not as a partner or teammate in ministry. It's so important for the church (or other ministry) staff responsible for working with a volunteer "workforce" to take time for the volunteers to evaluate and "re-up" for another year. If a leader views the volunteer as a commodity, they can wear the volunteer out, but when they view them as a teammate and respect their time and gifts, the end product can be much more productive for the cause of Christ!

Maybe churches need to cut back on how many ministries they provide and concentrate on ones they administer best. Many churches feel they must be all things to all people. Cutting back on one ministry means that another church in the neighborhood will most likely pick up the slack. Fewer ministries allow the same number of members to donate time less often but with greater desire. A good church leader doesn't need the credit for a job well done, only that the job was done well

Well said. However, this is a very complicated issue. My husband is the senior pastor of a small church. He is a "second career" pastor who worked as an engineer for 15 years while we ministered as 'lay people', and then was finally able to retire from engineering after ten years as a bivocational pastor. Here's the rub: On one hand, we lived where you are, Amy, trying to balance family, full time job and lay ministry. Now that we are pastoring, we are still trying to balance family, job and pastorate. Nothing else has much changed except expectations. Because we have actually spent more time "in the pew" than "in the pulpit," we have found it difficult to ask our people to volunteer, because we KNOW first hand the pressures they face. The result has been we have ended up doing a lot of things that people in our congregation should have been helping with, and so our time to "lead and cast vision" has been limited. That being said, we are excited about doing a few things well. We, as a pastoral couple, have learned that we are no different than those in the pew. Like them, we are trying to walk out the calling on our lives. Our calling is just different. Once we figured that out for ourselves and began to teach our people that, we have begun to see more and more people realize that they are also ministers with a calling to minister in business or in the schools or in the hospitals, or even at Wal-Mart or McDonalds. One by one, as each person has begun to see themselves in that light, believe it or not, they are also beginning to share their gifts and callings in the context of our local church ministry. It is really getting exciting here!

I think that sometimes the pastor's and or church leader's vision can overtake a church. If the church is truely acting on God's vision, then God will provide the people and the resources to get the job done. We do no one any good just filling voids with warm bodies. I agree with the above posts, if there is no one qualified with a passion for a ministry, then no matter how grand the ministry sounds, perhaps it's not in God's will for that ministry at that time.

Amy Simpson's article and comments posted so far are thoughtful and the emotions shared are definitely real.

I believe we miss the point of the Holy Spirit's role in directing all church activities and the efforts of salaried and volunteer staff.

It's easy to feel guilty about saying 'no' to church leaders when they really needs us, but many of us feel far more guilty when we have given more to our churches than to our own families - which are our first ministries.

As for single people, Paul the Apostle said celebacy was a gift from God and that their lives could be completely devoted to Him and His purposes. I'm not advocating that only single people should work in the church, but what I am saying is that if our spiritual priorities are aligned by the Holy Spirit within the fabric of the Word of God, church leaders may be better able to garner the support needed to fuel each ministry and prospective volunteers may be able to discern when their season of service is upon them.

Frank

Great Thoughts! Thank you. As a senior pastor, I've had to grow comfortable with two things. First, unfilled positions. We have cancelled ministries and events due to insufficient personnel (and I have a wonderful, hard-working midwest church). When this happens we don't lay on the guilt but treat is as a "not now" event.
Second, I keep going back to 2 Cor 9:7 where we're told to avoid compulsion as our motivator. When I feel the "need" to motivate the congregation, it's often an indication that compulsion is driving me. That may produce a short-term fix but in the long run it never works.

I wonder if part of the issue is the term (and subsequent thoughts it actually evokes) "volunteer". Volunteer is something people do to help out someone else. That's not a bad thing- but it sounds more like what we do at the animal shelter, than how we operate at selfless Body parts.
We're ministers, all of us. Right? Volunteer assumes that it's something you're helping someone else with, when what we're looking for is people to own their piece of what God is up to.
In my opinion, if a community is doing too much, then they'll have a lot of people wanting to help in the myriad chores of pulling off the menu of offered programs, but largely unable. Ultimately, it's just tiring and not abundantly clear what all the clutter has to do with the mission. But I am beginning to be a believer that if you get a few great things focused on in a community of people, and those people involved can then tell others plainly how they are contributing to the mission- they suddenly have more time and energy and resource than volunteers do.

If you mean "stop broadcasting a generic appeal for 'someone' to help out in an undefined future ministry opportunity" or even "come volunteer to do a job none of the staff wants to do", then yes, we need to stop that kind of activity.

What we need more of is jobs with specific duties and measurable goals, and then "hiring" people into the positions. The IRS treats non-profit labor as having a specific value (with benefits, the IRS's national estimated average is $18.77 per hour!); we should treat each volunteer job as if we were paying a salary, and giving them honor and encouragement and thanks for the gift of labor.

And we should allow them to vacation - or even resign from their responsibilites if the work is not appropriate - without making them feel guilty that the kingdom of God will fail unless they continue.

I am four months into the (paid) position of Director of Christian Education at my church. I served for five years on the CE committee under the previous Director (a Children's Minister). The most time consuming role is recruiting for Sunday School.

There are volunteers who will always come through when asked. As much as I hate to constantly turn to them, I sometimes have no choice! My attempts to enlarge the volunteer pool are met with reports that people are too busy with their kids' sports and other extracurricular activities, or they volunteer so many hours at the school that they feel too overwhelmed to do more. Members without younger kids are just too busy, period. I have spoken during services, I have asked at my Bible study and the mother's group (I have 3 kids, 8 years and younger), I have put notices in the bulletin, church newsletter and on the website. I have made personal pleas. And, I still have holes in the teaching schedule. So, I have my "old faithfuls". I thank God for them each time I need to turn to them. I pray that they are blessed as they serve, and that their preparation and presentation time is protected and fruitful. I try my best to give them breaks, and to read their body language as they respond to yet another request.
Amy's post is a good reminder to remember the volunteer as a person, rather than as a role filled. For the volunteer, I'd suggest responding after prayer or discussion with a peer or mentor. As a volunteer recruiter, I don't know all of the demands put on any particular person's time - whether it is from church, family or work.

Ultimately, I would say it is the individual's responsibility to not get over-enlisted. However, in the interest of maintaining a healthy, functional volunteer pool, it bears monitoring by those of us who enlist as well as anyone observing (ie: elder, parent, pastor). There are people overextended for a variety of reasons, including pride/ playing the martyr; underestimating commitment requirements; or just not being able to say, "No". Whatever the circumstances, it impedes the success of the service, both for the volunteer and those being served.

All the comments have been very helpful to me. Myself and my husband are ministers in a very small church. Which means that if 20 people show up it's a crowd! :-) Nevertheless, we've been termed 'administrators' by our Pastor. Which means that we're there anytime to doors opens, open up service etc. We're also perplexed on how to encourage (not munipulate) more participation from the congregation in church and kingdom work. So far, my husband and I multitask alot of the operational aspects of running the church. At the risk of getting burnout, we're not sure what to do other than pray of course, for other individuals to recognize that we're all apart of the ministry. Anyway, thanks for the encouraging responses thus far. You've given me alot to pray and think about. If anyone has any suggestion for our particular situation, I'd be glad to here from you. God Bless.

This article was very helpful as I start to lead a women's ministry team at my church. I think the key word in my life with volunteering has been the word Balance. If I'm asked to do anything at church, I first seek my heart to see if there is peace about it and than say I will have to pray about it. Than after I have had time to seek God in prayer and His word I will give an answer. I also know that I have the talent to do a lot of things good but I can only do a few things well. What is key is helping others discover their passion and spiritual gifts first before asking them to serve. My church has a course that anyone can take to learn what their spiritual gifts are. That helps the leaders to plug in people in an area where they are gifted and passionate about. As a leader, we need to let people think and pray about what we are asking of them while we continue to pray. I would rather have a person who knows their giftedness and passion in God's kingdom than just a warm body filling in.

Thanks so much, Amy, for your article. I am a mom who first began working in my church ministries as a single college student. Now as a married mom of teenagers and a full-time teacher, my time is not my own and I can obviously no longer commit to doing the same amount of work as when I was single. Because of this shift, I have received messages from older congregants about how they miss me and "where were you?" I know based on how much peace my family and I enjoy in our home that I have made a good decision to focus my energies on family but occasionally get the nagging feeling that I have "left my first love." It also does not help that other moms who have over-committed to ministry are set up as examples in spite of "their houses appearing to be out of order" (wayward children, health problems, financial hardships, etc.). Finding your article helped me feel more at peace with my decision and has strengthened my commitment to pass through this season of motherhood well and return to ministry recharged when children have left the nest.

While I think there are obviously many churches with this problem, it is usually a case of 20% doing 80% of the work.

The problem is that when recruiting, the 20% are always easier to get to do another thing, while the 80% who do nothing (or almost nothing) are the ones who usually find it easy to refuse to help.

I think recruiters need to ask themselves a couple of questions:
1. Why am I asking this person? (Is it because they always say yes, or because I really believe this is a great fit for their skills, gifts, time availability, etc --- if the former don't ask).
2. Am I aware of the load this person is carrying? (not only in ministry, but in life) If not, find that out before you present the opportunity. This is also time to assess if they are in the 20% or 80%, which may determine whether you need to give a little push to encourage them to get involved.
3. Am I asking in a way that gives them an out? (Will they appear to be totally unspiritual, insensitive, etc, if they say no? If so, find a different way to ask).

After the recruiting is done, we need to regularly assess if people are over-burdened. If WE initiate giving them a break they will feel appreciated and much more likely to come back, than if they have to initiate when they feel totally burned out.

I believe that as pastors we sure do need to care for the flock. What has been little discussed so far though is the cost of discipleship. Is being a disciple of Jesus Christ supposed to be what we do after we do everything else? Of course we need to be sensitive to the energy, drive, and level of commitment of others, but I don't think discipleship is cheap.

Remember what Jesus said about the man who would follow, but wait until he went to check his field, or start his marriage? Or even put the hand to the plow and then look back?

My understanding of stewardship and spiritual gifts is that we all should be playing a part. Rather than taping the same pool of top volunteers time and time again, we need to develop others who are not yet serving. In this sense I don’t think we should stop asking people to volunteer, but we do need to start asking the right people..