{"id":32439,"date":"2022-09-10T16:09:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/your-5-biggest-volunteer-recruiting-questions-answered\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:09:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:09:37","slug":"your-5-biggest-volunteer-recruiting-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/your-5-biggest-volunteer-recruiting-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"Your 5 Biggest Volunteer Recruiting Questions Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"
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rawpixel photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Helen Gibson<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been involved in ministry, chances are you\u2019ve been there\u2014in need of an additional volunteer at the last minute and scrambling to find someone you trust to get the job done.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps you\u2019ve announced a need for volunteers from the pulpit and advertised it in the bulletin, yet you still have a hard time filling vital positions.<\/p>\n

Encouraging the people of your church to step forward and serve can be frustrating, but it doesn\u2019t have to be, according to Lifeway\u2019s Todd Adkins, Daniel Im, and Eric Geiger, hosts of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast.<\/p>\n

Recently, Adkins, Im, and Geiger released five episodes specifically related to recruiting volunteers in churches, providing church leaders with practical advice and answering some of their top questions. Here are some of the highlights from their conversations.<\/p>\n

First of all, what is recruitment? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cTo me, recruiting is inviting people to join a great mission,\u201d Geiger says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just to do a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Focus on church members who aren\u2019t already particularly engaged, he says. Perhaps these members come to church twice a month and are a part of a small group.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they haven\u2019t displayed their ownership of the mission of the church by joining some kind of ministry that allows them to serve in the context of their church,\u201d Geiger says.<\/p>\n

Geiger, Adkins, and Im agree that the responsibility of recruiting volunteers doesn\u2019t just fall on a church\u2019s pastor; it\u2019s everyone\u2019s job.<\/p>\n

And recruiting volunteers isn\u2019t just about filling vacant positions, they say; it\u2019s about encouraging people to grow into spiritual maturity as they serve as an expression of their faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s helping that person be who God has created them to be,\u201d Adkins says. \u201cWhat we\u2019re talking about is fulfillment here, and I would say you cannot experience fulfillment\u2014you cannot experience spiritual maturity\u2014apart from using your gifts in service to Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do you recruit for different types of positions? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

While pastors and church leaders should encourage everyone in their congregations to serve, not all volunteer positions are created equal. While some are entry-level, others, such as a coordinator or leader of a ministry area, require more responsibility.<\/p>\n

And with different positions comes a need to recruit differently, the hosts of the podcast say.<\/p>\n

Adkins, Im, and Geiger agree that church leaders shouldn\u2019t merely rely on cattle calls\u2014or a wide, open call for all volunteer positions in the bulletin or during the announcement time. Instead, they suggested different strategies for different positions.<\/p>\n

Im, for one, says the offering time is a good opportunity to discuss different ministry areas and invite people into those entry-level positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need more Sunday school teachers for your kids\u2019 ministry, during your offering, before the offering plate is being passed out, or before you have your time for prayer, cast vision and tell your congregation about the life change that is happening during kids\u2019 ministry and what is happening because of their investment into the church,\u201d Im says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then say, \u2018Hey, just like you are financially investing into the lives of these kids, you can invest into their lives by volunteering your time.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that way, it doesn\u2019t sound desperate, but you\u2019re still sharing the message.\u201d<\/p>\n

For positions with more responsibility, Adkins says the position should be filled by someone who is already volunteering in that area, following a pipeline of leadership development.<\/p>\n

What are some of the best ways churches can recruit volunteers? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Adkins, Im, and Geiger agree the best way to encourage someone to volunteer is in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never going to get a better result than making a personal ask,\u201d Adkins says.<\/p>\n

Asking in person is even more important when it comes to positions that are further up on a leadership pipeline and require more time and responsibility, Im says.<\/p>\n

In addition to being relational, Geiger adds that effective recruiting requires a vision, with a leader sharing the ministry\u2019s ultimate objectives and impact from the beginning. And he says effective recruiting is clear, with leaders being up-front about a position\u2019s time commitment, responsibilities, and goals.<\/p>\n

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See also  How Can Pastors Build Healthy Church Relationships?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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How do you create a recruiting culture in your church?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If pastors or church leaders want to see high levels of volunteerism within their churches or ministries, they must make it part of their church\u2019s culture, Geiger says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be a culture of recruiting volunteers, where it\u2019s not just the senior pastor on the stage twice a year preaching his guts out trying to recruit volunteers, but there\u2019s a culture where people in the church are also inviting people to serve,\u201d Geiger says.<\/p>\n

When it comes to creating a certain culture within a church, Geiger suggests telling stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to create culture, you tell stories that embody the values you want to see in the culture,\u201d Geiger says. \u201cIf, for example, you want everyone in the church to think, \u2018Hey, I can recruit,\u2019 you tell stories about other people who\u2019ve invited people to join them in their ministries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Church leaders can also hold up and celebrate people who have been faithful and fruitful in their positions, Geiger adds.<\/p>\n

Before attempting to change a culture, however, leaders must understand their church\u2019s current culture. Geiger says they can start to do this by paying attention to the stories and heroes that are currently lifted up within the church.<\/p>\n

Then, they\u2019ll have a better idea of the values and ideas that are treasured within a church. And while holding onto some of a church\u2019s positive values, they can start to infuse a couple of new values at a time into a church\u2019s culture, such as an increased emphasis on volunteerism and service.<\/p>\n

How do you bring volunteers onto a team? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The final step of the volunteer recruitment process is \u201conboarding,\u201d or officially bringing a new volunteer into a position. And this part of the process is very important, Adkins says.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing that really well will increase their likelihood to serve long-term and to want to continue serving and to want to be a part of moving up your pipeline and recruiting other people to join in,\u201d Im says.<\/p>\n

The way to succeed at onboarding, Adkins says, is by making everything \u201cclean and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make sure they know what their next steps are, that those are clearly defined and laid out,\u201d Adkins says.<\/p>\n

Adkins adds that each volunteer should have a clear role description, examples of which can be found on Ministry Grid, a subscription-based volunteer training platform provided by Lifeway Leadership.<\/p>\n

New volunteers should also be provided with a concise and easy-to-follow summary of information necessary to the position. Every volunteer doesn\u2019t need a three-ring binder, Adkins says, but a page or two that clearly explains what they need to know to get started can be incredibly helpful.<\/p>\n

The hosts also emphasize the importance of providing ongoing training and development, as well as feedback for volunteers, so they can continue to grow.<\/p>\n

And, as always, they agree church leaders should help their members see the ultimate importance of serving in the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you serve, that\u2019s actually how you become more like Christ\u2014because that\u2019s what Jesus came to do,\u201d Im says. \u201cSo why don\u2019t you do what Jesus did, and why don\u2019t you grow and become more like Him?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more information on how to better recruit volunteers to serve in your church or ministry? Listen to all five \u201crecruitment week\u201d episodes on <\/em>Apple<\/em> or <\/em>Android<\/em> devices. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Helen Gibson<\/h2>\n

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Helen is a freelance writer in Cadiz, Kentucky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n