A ministry that has had phenomenal success in helping Christian organizations recruit and sustain volunteers is “High Impact” by Newell and Associates. They identify some approaches we make to finding volunteers that aren’t just ineffective, but also unbiblical. Here’s a quick summary:

Spectator Approach: You come and watch
Helper Approach: Help me do my ministry
Assistant Approach: You can assist me with smaller jobs while I handle the bigger ones
Feel Good Approach: Sure you can do that in our ministry if that’s what you love (even though it doesn’t help us achieve our ministry goals)

What we ought to be looking for are “volunteers who can do what we can do, and better.”

Of course there’s a lot more to this but I’ve taken the time to share this because I believe our perception of volunteers can revolutionize our ministries!

A ministry that has had phenomenal success in helping Christian organizations recruit and sustain volunteers is “High Impact” by Newell and Associates. They identify some approaches we make to finding volunteers that aren’t just ineffective, but also unbiblical. Here’s a quick summary:

Spectator Approach: You come and watch
Helper Approach: Help me do my ministry
Assistant Approach: You can assist me with smaller jobs while I handle the bigger ones
Feel Good Approach: Sure you can do that in our ministry if that’s what you love (even though it doesn’t help us achieve our ministry goals)

What we ought to be looking for are “volunteers who can do what we can do, and better.”

Of course there’s a lot more to this but I’ve taken the time to share this because I believe our perception of volunteers can revolutionize our ministries!

Through the years I have learned to spread a wide net (parents, young adults, grandmas, college kids). Also, I have stopped saying “no” and/ or making up excuses why so and so can’t serve in middle school.

Further, one of the best strategies to being fully staffed each year is supporting your current staff really well. If people stick around for 3,4 or 8 years that’s less people to recruit over the summer. Equip staff well for what you are asking them to do. Probably the best for me has been making sure very small group has two leaders. It does require twice the staff but well worth it (even if some groups are a little bigger than your ideal). That’s my best recruiting/ retaining strategy.

One last thing and then I’ll stop rambling. My current staff are the best recruiting tool. Announcements from the pulpit or bulletin are terrible and lead to awkward situations of saying no to people. At the same time, we need to teach our staff how to ask. Just saying, “Do you want to lead a middle school girls group?” probably won’t be super effective. I ask my staff to share why they serve and paint a picture of what it might be like for the potential recruit to join.

Enough said. Good night!!

Through the years I have learned to spread a wide net (parents, young adults, grandmas, college kids). Also, I have stopped saying “no” and/ or making up excuses why so and so can’t serve in middle school.

Further, one of the best strategies to being fully staffed each year is supporting your current staff really well. If people stick around for 3,4 or 8 years that’s less people to recruit over the summer. Equip staff well for what you are asking them to do. Probably the best for me has been making sure very small group has two leaders. It does require twice the staff but well worth it (even if some groups are a little bigger than your ideal). That’s my best recruiting/ retaining strategy.

One last thing and then I’ll stop rambling. My current staff are the best recruiting tool. Announcements from the pulpit or bulletin are terrible and lead to awkward situations of saying no to people. At the same time, we need to teach our staff how to ask. Just saying, “Do you want to lead a middle school girls group?” probably won’t be super effective. I ask my staff to share why they serve and paint a picture of what it might be like for the potential recruit to join.

Enough said. Good night!!