volunteer Archives - Church Operations Toolkit

How to Develop Current Volunteers for Future Growth

You may have just enough volunteers to get by today. But what will happen when your church experiences a growth spurt? Now is the time to lay the groundwork for a strong volunteer team. You might be thinking, “We don’t have enough people staying committed to serving now. How are we supposed to plan for the future?” Fair question. First off, you’ve got to stop the bleeding. That starts with learning why volunteers keep drifting in and out of serving. Here’s how: Talk with people who used to volunteer and, without judgment or accusations, ask why they stopped. Talk with your staff and see if they know why people have stopped serving. You’ve got to identify the problems before you can fix them. Start addressing those issues right away. Issue: Volunteers received multiple requests from different staff members to serve in various roles at the same event and got frustrated by the lack of coordination. Solution: Use your church management system (ChMS), or a spreadsheet if you don’t have a ChMS yet, and track who volunteers in what roles within that system. Start a new process: before staff members contact people to serve, they have to check the system to make sure that person isn’t already committed on that day/time, or that someone else hasn’t already contacted them. This also means your team has to become disciplined at entering that information into the system. Issue: Some volunteers may have entered a really busy season (new job, buying/selling a house, new baby, etc.) and had to take a break. (See this post on “Why Volunteers Quit”) Solution: Ask them if they’re ready to come back. Also, provide volunteer opportunities that are 1-2 commitments per month instead of every week. Whatever the root cause of volunteers not coming back, figure out how to address it and take action immediately. Next, make sure you’re providing sufficient training and clear expectations to new volunteers. If they don’t know what you want them to do, they’ll do their best, and make it up as they go along. That creates a lot of opportunities for mistakes and errors, and you’ll both be frustrated. If a volunteer feels stressed out and confused every time they serve, they won’t last long. Once you deal with the immediate issues and have at least enough volunteers to keep things moving, now it’s time to focus on the future. What are the goals of your church leadership team for the next 1-5 years? All of those goals will require more volunteers to help you be successful. First, you need to determine how many more volunteers you’ll need and in what roles. You need a target to aim at here. Talk with your staff about these goals. Get their input. Do you have the right roles and reasonable numbers included in your plan? Change it as needed, based on their feedback. Next, how many volunteer leaders will you need? These are volunteers who’ll coordinate and lead teams of other volunteers. Consider your current volunteers and think of those who are already natural leaders in the group.Focus your initial efforts on developing them as leaders. When you share the vision and the “why”, you inspire people and help them realize that they can play a vital role in achieving that vision. Finally, make sure your congregation knows why you want them to get involved beyond attending a service. Volunteering can’t be all about getting stuff done. While that’s a valid need, focusing on a volunteer program as discipleship instead of just a volunteer workforce is much more effective. A discipleship mindset will impact how you approach asking people to serve, how you train and develop them, and how you communicate with them. When we serve, we grow. I’ve developed lifelong friendships, learned from my fellow volunteers, and became a stronger Christian as a result of volunteering in ministry. Focus on developing an environment where those are the normal results. It takes time and focused effort, but it is so worth it. If you get discouraged, ask God to show you how your volunteers are growing spiritually. He knows we’re only human and can’t see the eternal impact of our work. Ask Him to help you get a glimpse of what He’s doing in and through you. Hold on to those testimonies and use that as motivation to keep asking, developing, and building a strong team of faithful volunteers. By investing in your current volunteers, you’ll start adding to the team and will create a strong foundation of volunteer leaders as you grow. That foundation is key to maintaining and propelling church growth.

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How to Fire a Volunteer

Jake Douglas

One question I frequently receive when talking about recruiting and retaining church volunteers is what to do about a volunteer who isn’t working out. In other words, how do I “fire” a volunteer? This is obviously a delicate situation that you need to handle carefully. This individual is donating his time and efforts; he’s part of your congregation and a brother in Christ. You don’t want to offend him or damage the relationship but his performance in the volunteer role is hurting the team. So, what to do? First off, deal with any issues that involve breaking the law, overt sin, or safety concerns immediately. However, assuming that this is a matter of the volunteer not meeting expectations, having a poor attitude, or isn’t doing the work as needed, then here are a few options for you to consider. #1: Is this person in the wrong role? Someone in the wrong role doesn’t mean you need to fire a volunteer. It may indicate that person needs a different role. How do you assign new volunteers? Do you simply match up a warm body with a spot you need to fill? Do you let new volunteers choose whatever role they want regardless of skill-set or personality factors? That might be the real issue. Your poor-performing, hard-to-get-along-with volunteer may be a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. In this situation, establish a process for all volunteers (current and new) to guide them into a role that will align with their skills, interests, and personality. Part of this process should include a spiritual gifting and personality test (i.e., DiSC, Myers-Briggs). Also, develop job descriptions for each volunteer role and include which spiritual gifting and personality types would be best for each. Once your volunteers complete these tests, see if each person’s results line up with their current role. If not, talk with those volunteers about what role(s) might be a better fit and suggest they try a different one. #2: Does this person know what you expect? Have you provided this volunteer with documented instructions, a training session, and periodic reminders of what you need him to do? If not, do that before you decide he has to go. You can’t reasonably expect a volunteer to perform with excellence without knowing what a win looks like. Set your team up for success. #3: Discuss the issues before deciding to fire a volunteer Before you fire a volunteer, you need to give him a chance to change. Does this volunteer have a dreadful attitude and is consistently gossiping about church leaders? If so, you need to clearly yet kindly confront him about his behavior. It’s probably best to not do this alone, so have one other leader present for the discussion. A few pointers for this discussion: Try something along these lines for the first confrontation. If you’re still noticing issues, then a more direct approach may be necessary. So, what if you’ve tried all of the above and things still aren’t working out? The first step is to pray and seek God’s direction. You may not realize that there’s a difficult family drama or other issue going on in this person’s life right now. Perhaps he’s had a bad experience at another church and that’s impacting his response, etc. Pray for him and ask God to give you the right words. Next, set up a time to talk with the volunteer (do this with another leader at least around if not directly involved). Never do this via email or over the phone. This is too personal of a discussion and you need to do everything you can to make sure the volunteer’s relationship with God and with the church remains intact. Start off the conversation on a positive note by honestly complimenting and stating how much you appreciate him serving at the church. Ask how he’s feeling about his volunteer role. Mention that you like to check-in with volunteers on occasion to see if they’re happy where they’re at, if they want to take a break from serving, or if they’d like to be reassigned to a different role. See where that takes the conversation. Perhaps he’s uncomfortable in that role but didn’t know how to approach the issue. Give him an easy, face-saving way out. If that’s not working, then remind him of prior discussions you’ve had to correct his behavior and/or offer a change in roles. State that you haven’t noticed any changes and that you need him to take some time off from serving. Reiterate that you value him as a brother in Christ and as a member of the church. Ask for his thoughts and if he has any questions. Close out the meeting in prayer and follow up with him within the next week to see how he’s doing. There are three key priorities in this situation: Ministry is messy and this is a perfect example of the mess church leaders must be willing to dive into with volunteers. However, when these moments are handled well the outcomes can be pretty amazing. Hang in there, pray for wisdom, and seek Godly counsel. God placed you in this leadership role for a reason and He will equip you for these moments. Trust that He’ll lead you to do what’s best for your volunteer and for the congregation as a whole.

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What Makes People Hesitant to Volunteer at Church?

Jake Douglas

You need volunteers. You need them in the nursery, greeting at entrances, checking in children, making coffee, running sound, and much more. If you’re running short on volunteers, consider how you’re presenting the opportunity to serve. There are several unknowns that makes people hesitant to volunteer at church. Here’s what makes people hesitant to volunteer at church: #1 – They don’t know what you’ll expect. Potential church volunteers need to know what they’re getting themselves into. You probably wouldn’t apply for a job (much less accept it) if you had zero information about the expectations and responsibilities associated with that role. Potential volunteers feel the same way. Develop a brief description for each volunteer role that includes the following: #2 – They’re worried about failing. What if a volunteer signs up for a certain role and realizes a few weeks in that it’s a bad fit? You need to give new volunteers a graceful and shame-free way out. If they serve in the bookstore for a couple of Sundays and realize they’re better suited to be a greeter, make that an easy transition. Let potential volunteers know they can try out a role for a few weeks before making a longer-term commitment. #3 – They don’t know what volunteer role to sign up for. You’ll have better success with volunteers if you take the time to match each person to the role that’s the best fit for him/her. You can have them take a personality and/or spiritual gifting test. You could also take 5-10 minutes and talk with the individual. Get to know potential volunteers and then assign them to a role you both think they’ll enjoy and be successful in. #4 – They don’t have a clear reason to volunteer at church. Now, most potential volunteers won’t come right out and ask you why they should serve. However, it’s something we all consider at least subconsciously. Why should I serve? If you can’t answer that one question, answering all of the others listed above is a waste of time. They have children to raise, bosses to report to, errands to run, and a ton of other responsibilities. If they don’t know why serving is important (for them and for others), then serving won’t be able to compete with all the other items on their to-do lists. Help them see how they can easily get started and how vital their participation is to the vision of the church. After all, this isn’t just about why you need people to serve in the nursery. This is about why followers of Christ should serve others. Weave that answer into your communications about serving at your church. Volunteering helps us grow in our relationship with God, make life-long friends, and enjoy the feeling that comes from knowing we’ve helped someone else. Help potential volunteers understand why, remove any mystery about your expectations or the commitment involved, and help new volunteers get acclimated quickly. This isn’t an overnight solution. However, if you’ll take the time to answer those questions you’ll end up with more volunteers who’re passionate about serving.

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Why Volunteers Quit

Jake Douglas

Volunteering at church can be an incredible experience. It helps us connect with our church family, develop stronger relationships, and further our growth as disciples of Jesus. While there are many excellent reasons to serve, sometimes volunteers fade away and we’re left wondering what happened. So, why do volunteers quit? I’ve enjoyed serving and usually said, “yes” to requests to volunteer, there were times when I stepped away from serving. You may run into this with your volunteers. A long-time volunteer may tell you he needs a break and wants to step down in a few weeks. Your most dependable leader in the nursery may say she’s ready to move to another ministry area. While this can be frustrating and discouraging, it’s something you need to be prepared to handle. Why do volunteers quit? Some reasons have nothing to do with the church: Other times, the reason has everything to do with the church: What can you do to you prevent more volunteers from quitting? #1 – Don’t let people overcommit Every volunteer coordinator loves people who’re willing to sign up for more than one responsibility. However, while it’s great when a reliable volunteer is willing to help in several areas, you need to protect him from himself. As a general rule, don’t let volunteers serve in more than two services per week. Also, if someone is serving weekly don’t ask her to serve at every single special event (especially if your church has special events each month). #2 – Know what’s going on in their personal lives Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t about getting too nosey. This is about getting to know your volunteers (especially those in leadership roles). These types of life events can be wonderful but also energy draining. If a volunteer is serving in multiple areas and has a demanding job or new responsibilities coming up, you may need to be prepared for him/her to step back from something. Talk with your volunteers and gauge how each is doing. #3 – Develop a leadership pipeline It can be hard to find qualified and reliable volunteer leaders, so when you find a few it’s tempting to load them up to max capacity. Please don’t do that to them or to yourself. Constantly be on the lookout for people with leadership potential and invite them to serve. Put them under the leadership of your current volunteers and work together to develop them. Then, as your current volunteer leaders need a break or fewer volunteer roles, you’ll already have others who’re ready to step up. #4 – Honor your volunteers Don’t expect to keep volunteers for long if you… You’ll frustrate, discourage, burn out, and frankly just tick people off doing that stuff. As Carey Nieuwhof pointed out in his post on why churches lose high capacity volunteers, “Few things are more demotivating than giving up your time as a volunteer only to discover the staff person responsible didn’t set you up to succeed.” Instead, take the time to plan ahead for each service or event: #5 – Request feedback Meet with your volunteer leaders at least quarterly. Find out what they’re hearing from their teams and what they’ve noticed personally. #6 – Be open about shortcomings As someone progresses from attending, to serving, to leading other volunteers, he will get closer to seeing the inner workings of the church. This includes the great things right along with the less-than-ideal stuff. If a volunteer has the pastor or other church leaders on a pedestal, he may become disillusioned when he sees the real deal. Here are several ways to counteract that issue: #7 – Provide Clear Expectations Create job descriptions for each volunteer role. Include why the role exists along with specific tasks someone filling that role should perform. We provide sample volunteer job descriptions in The Church Operations Toolkit to make this effort easier. There’s a lot you can do to retain volunteers. Protect them from themselves, plan ahead, communicate often, express your appreciation, be open about what needs improvement, and ask for forgiveness when needed. What are some other reasons you’ve heard of volunteers quitting?

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