Seven Steps To Getting The Volunteers You Need

Are you tired of trying to push square pegs into round holes? Do you keep running out of pegs of any shape? If you are in charge of recruiting volunteers for your church, you know how frustrating it can be to find the right people for all the positions. The solution is not better recruiting techniques but a fresh perspective on what you are trying to accomplish.

As futurist Leonard Sweet said, “The church of Jesus does not have volunteers. It has ministers.” Do not view your job as a matter of filling all the slots but as a ministry of releasing and equipping people to exercise their spiritual gifts. Here are some practical ways to approach it.

Pray

Sometimes we forget that the church is not merely a human enterprise. Prayer should be our first priority, not a last resort. When Jesus faced a situation where the ministry was understaffed, He did not send the disciples out to twist some arms. He told them to “ask the Lord of the harvest … to send out workers” (Matthew 9:38). Prayer should precede and permeate each of the other action steps.

Identify The Tasks

Write down all the functions you need volunteers to perform — not just a list of the warm bodies you must have to make do. If recruiting gifted individuals was just a matter of asking, what kinds of volunteers would you want? A riveting Bible teacher? A keyboardist who can transpose choruses on the spot?

As you do this, map out the structure of the entire ministry, showing each department and where each volunteer serves. You may find that you can alleviate a shortage in one area simply by reassigning some of the people already serving.

Specify The Skills

Carefully think through what gifts and abilities each volunteer needs to have. Jim Wideman at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma, finds that many ministry leaders are uncertain about exactly what needs to be done and for how long, whether the necessary resources are available, and how to gauge effectiveness. He says, “There’s nothing that scares away volunteer workers faster than not being clear about what you need.”

Write Job Descriptions

Now take what you have come up with and craft a written job description for each position. This should be something you can hand to potential volunteers so they know exactly what you are talking about and can make an intelligent decision. It also keeps you from falling into the trap of formulating a job description that fits a particular person rather than the task. Once you have described the task, you can look for the right person to help grow the ministry. Wideman says, “I’d rather have no volunteers than the wrong volunteers.”

Evaluate And Equip Current Volunteers

The person you need could already be on your team. You might just need to hone her skills or give some coaching to move her up to the next level. Evaluate your volunteers’ performance; it lets them know you have high expectations and sends the message that what they are doing is important. Ask them to evaluate themselves, telling you three areas in which they want to improve. Then help them sharpen those skills by teaching them the fundamentals and modeling good habits. (For more ideas, see Chapter 7 of Awesome Volunteers, Group Publishing, 1998, by Christine Yount.)

Let Your Volunteers Recruit

Those who are already serving in a ministry can enlist others more easily than you can. People expect you as the recruiter to present volunteer opportunities in a favorable light, but they trust someone in the trenches to tell it like it is. Encourage your best workers to talk to their peers about joining the team. You are still in charge of screening and training, but you do not have to be the one to find every new volunteer.

Ask Anybody Any Time

One reason we do not have enough volunteers is that we fail to approach individuals. In a survey of u.s. church members, George Gallup found that only 10 percent were active in any personal ministry, but 40 percent expressed interest in getting involved. They were not because they had not been asked or did not know how.

Do not wait for promotion Sunday to roll around or until someone resigns. Be on the lookout for good people all the time. If you meet a person who seems qualified, pull out your job descriptions and see if he fits. If so, get him plugged in right away.

Wideman suggests getting a list of all your church members who are not serving in any capacity. Then contact them one by one and invite them to consider getting involved in a particular ministry. “There are people in your congregation who need to be needed,” he says. “Find them. When you connect with these folks, they will be the most faithful workers you have ever seen.”

For additional practical tips, see the first section of Quick Relief for Children’s Ministry Leaders by Ivy Beckwith (Group Publishing, 1998).

Dennis Cone. ©Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Used with permission from Pastors.com. Adapted from chapter 12, Children’s Ministry Leadership: The You-Can-Do-It Guide, by Jim Wideman, published by Group Publishing, P.O. Box 481, Loveland, CO 80539, http://www.group.com.