1,212 words will take about 4.1 minutes to read for the average reader, but for rock stars like our readers, probably 3.
Many of us grew up with the Sunday school lesson - “Here’s the Church. Here’s the steeple. Open the doors and here are the people.” The lesson included the illustration that began with clasped hands, moved to index fingers pointed high as the steeple and then opened hands and wiggling fingers to represent all the people.
Great lesson. Great illustration. But today when we open the doors we are missing a lot of the people, especially the volunteer crew, the faithful that rocked babies, hung out the teens, served on a connection team … perhaps you are feeling that pain. Most all the churches that I talk to each week are feeling it and experiencing the reality that it has on their capacity to execute the mission as people begin to trickle back into the building.
Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with Jessica Bealer. Jessica is the Director of Family Ministry Services at Generis. She has been leading children’s ministry for 19 years, six of which were spent overseeing standards, systems, staffing, and atmosphere for the children’s ministry of Elevation Church. She has overseen the launch of twenty locations and is considered a specialist in kidmin multisite. And these days she’s helping churches recruit and reengage volunteers.
Following are some highlights from that conversation:
Greg: Jessica, is there a central idea or principle that you believe helps leaders understand what’s needed to engage or reengage the volunteer forces?
Jessica: One of the things that most churches miss is that recruiting and onboarding are two different things. Too often we lump them together, but knowing their differences is key.
Recruiting – What we are doing to attract people to our ministry or to reengage our volunteer base.
Onboarding – Encompasses the time between the moment a person says yes, “I’m interested in serving,” to the point they are settled into a position with a team and ministry leader. It is really the functionality of making that transition.
Recruiting is where we can make strategic changes. I believe that serving in the local church is what is best for everyone. Yes, we’re filling roster spots to be able to execute our mission, but it is essential to remember serving is good for our volunteers too … it’s a part of their discipleship journey.
Greg: So what are some of the keys to effective recruiting?
Jessica: There are five things that you really need to do:
Ask the question: “Would I want to volunteer in my ministry?”:
Recruiting to a ministry that feels inefficient, ineffective or unsightly is impossible. When parents pick up their kids, are the volunteers stressed and outnumbered or joyful and welcoming? Is the space appealing?
Know What and Who You Need:
You should always be able to answer the question, “How many volunteers do you need?” with more than “a lot.” If you’re not specific about your needs you have, it gets complicated. It’s always hard to hit a moving target. Be as specific as, “I need two male small group leaders for the elementary rooms and three guest services volunteers for the welcome center.”
Increase Viability
As much as we fight against siloed ministry, it’s still a regular occurrence in many churches. For example in family ministry, much of the action happens in rooms with soundproof walls behind layers of security in another part of the building. The same is the case with other areas of ministry. The isolation makes it hard to recruit anyone other than those who come in direct contact with your ministry. A few ways to increase visibility include:
Prepare and deliver impactful announcements in worship when given the opportunity.
Share B-roll of the ministry in action … during the offering time, pre/post worship, in the lobby.
Design ministry specific T-shirts that stand out in the crowd and put them on people who welcome conversation.
Share ministry updates through all the avenues available in your church (newsletters, website, social media, etc.)
Great signage is key as well!
More from Jess after this brief commercial break.
I am pretty confident that this article is scratching where you itch in terms of potential solutions to “what’s next” for volunteer ministry. But perhaps there is another area where you are feeling a little bit uncertain about the next steps. You are not alone. We are all trying to navigate next.
I would love to help.
Perhaps you are multisite and wondering about the next campus, potential for merger, microsites or online campuses. If so, I would love to speak with you about my Multisite Reimagined process that guides you in the conversations that lead from diagnosis to delivery.
Or maybe you sense that God is beginning to write a new chapter for your church. Our Storytelling for Church Strategy helps you discovery the intersection of God’s story, your story, the church’s story and the communities story. As we help churches and teams discover this unique spot, amazing new vision surfaces. And then we help you walk from vision to plan to impact.
To schedule a call to talk about it, just go here. Or email me directly at greg.ligon@generis.com.
And now … the rest of the conversation
Utilize the data:
Get to know your database and what it has to tell you about your people. Who is regular in worship? Who has recently joined a small group? The information tells a story. Make sure that you are listening. There are great cues about who is ready to serve if invited.
Create a Contagious Volunteer Experience
As important as it is to recruit volunteers, it’s equally important to retain them. In order to retain volunteers you have to make it difficult for them to walk away. When fulfillment surpasses sacrifice, volunteers find it difficult to “wave the white flag.” Building a healthy ministry environment. I like to think of it in terms of this formula:
Clarity + Empowerment+ Appreciation = Longevity
Greg: Say more about these three words - Clarity, Empowerment and Longevity
Jessica: Sure.
Clarity:
Your team needs to know the “why” behind the “how.” They need to see the big picture and understand the next step. Define the win leaving no room for confusion or misalignment.
Empowerment:
This is really about relational equity. Empowering a person means you grant the authority to make key decisions at critical moments. It distributes responsibility and helps your ministry go further, faster.
Appreciation:
Appreciation is the “secret weapon.” When you start from a position of gratitude and honor, you instill confidence and make team members feel valued.
Greg: Super helpful. You also said that both recruiting and onboarding were important and that churches usually lumped them together, or even worse, don’t really have a clear onboarding process. What are the keys to making this happen?
Jess: Most important thing to know is - be completely systematic. I’ll be writing more about this in my next E-book coming in the next few months where I will be sharing overcoming your volunteer deficit.
If you’ve found these insights helpful and would like to learn more about Jess and her ministry, you can connect here. Be sure to check out her eBook, Recruiting and Retaining High Level Volunteers for additional detail on this topic.
Email me your innovation experiments and stories at greg.ligon@generis.com.