When we talk about serving, it’s almost always about “more” serving — its quantity. As volunteers retire, leaders need to replace them with more volunteers. When new ministry opportunities arise, leaders need more volunteers to make them happen. People inRead more…
Spiritual Gifts? People Eager for More
Younger respondents have bigger and more emphatic responses to . . . gifting. “Gifted for More” is a new resource on spiritual gifts with convincing evidence that the time is right for churches to help people identify, develop and shareRead more…
You Can Be/Grow a Volunteer Champion
Imagine a world in which every Christian church, no matter its size or budget, had an acknowledged volunteer champion in their midst, a leader who helped people use their God-given gifts in their Lord’s service within and beyond the church;Read more…
It’s About Time: Everyday Serving
After nearly 30 years of leading church volunteerism, it’s about time I started leading healthy serving in everyday life. For perhaps 100 years, churches have focused on people serving at church. Isn’t it about time we all focused on servingRead more…
Church Volunteerism in a Changed World
Twenty-one months after the covid pandemic first threw us for a loop, we’re still in upheaval. Vaccines are prevalent, but many still suffer and many more are fearful. When it comes to church volunteerism, ‘normal’ is a distant memory andRead more…
If Every Church had a Volunteer Champion…
Odds are good your church does not have a staff person who focuses on healthy volunteerism. Few churches do, and the numbers are decreasing. But I’m willing to bet your church does have a person or two or ten whoRead more…
Where in the World is The Equipper?
Susan, a colleague from 10+ years ago, emailed me earlier this year and noted, “I see your website hasn’t been updated in a while. I hope all is well with you.” All is well with me, Susan, but you’re right.Read more…
Were We Ready? Covid’s Impact on Church Volunteerism
Were we ready? Of course not. We had no time. In early January 2020, most of us hadn’t heard of covid. Less than 3 months later, it had disrupted our lives and our churches. But we adapted. By Easter, mostRead more…
Review: All the Places to Go: How will you know?
When it comes to choices, there can be too much of a good thing. From toothpaste to careers, the choices seen endless and often overwhelming. As followers of Jesus, we often add another layer of complexity (and guilt?) by tryingRead more…
Why Look at Serving?
“How’s your serving going lately?” No one has ever asked me this question, and I imagine you’ve never been asked it either. But if asked, we’d likely figure they’re talking about what we’re doing at church. “Serving” is commonly usedRead more…
Tool: A Look at My Serving
What would my life look like if I saw everything I do as serving Jesus? What if I could serve more intentionally, joyfully, impactfully and faith-fully? What if my church family were to do this? What if Jesus’ followers throughoutRead more…
The Covid Pivot
Covid has brought change — tragic changes in health and employment, and inconvenient change, like mask-wearing and limits on eating out. At church we’ve dealt with change in how we worship, share communion, celebrate marriages and bury loved ones. FewRead more…
Could Less be More?
Is your church staff shrinking? Mine is. Long term trends in school enrollment, followed by covid’s financial impact, forced our church leaders to implement two reductions in force in 2020, including a 50% reduction in my hours. It’s not justRead more…
A New Normal
Here in Illinois, the coronavirus has me in my eighth week of working from home and we’re all in our seventh week of sheltering-in-place orders. We’re worshipping at home via screens and all the familiar church activities are cancelled. We’reRead more…
Blessings, Memories and Truth
For 9 years, my husband’s mother lived with us and we were her caregivers. Three months ago, in December 2019, God called her home. Blessings She was relatively healthy, physically and mentally; she was appreciative and cooperative. We shared faithRead more…