Are volunteers “free labor”? Of course they are. By definition, volunteers perform a task without receiving payment for it. So we find it easy to think of volunteers as free labor, the opposite of staff who are paid to work. If a volunteer updates addresses in the computer, it’s free; if the paid secretary does it, it’s not free.

But costs come in other forms than dollars and cents, even for paid workers. Smart employers, realizing business success is directly related to retaining good employees, make sure workers have a desirable benefit package, a good working environment, the right tools for the job, initial and ongoing training, opportunity for advancement, some flexibility to deal with personal and family crises and so on. Employees often rate some of these items higher than salary in job satisfaction surveys.

But church volunteers serve primarily for love of their Savior and their church. They are not seeking payment, benefits, freebies, or other compensation. Most would say they don’t want acknowledgement or even a thank you!

But when any of us—salaried or volunteer; at church, work or home--perform a task for someone else, we do have certain requirements, which cost that person or organization something. If a church ignores these costs when it comes to their volunteers, in the long run they hamper the volunteer (often losing them as a volunteer in the process) and diminish the return received by the church, hindering their mission. What are these needs and what do they cost?

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