“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…
A Caregiver’s Education for Life-Long Serving
Sunday, June 29, 2010, at age 89, my mother-in-law moved in with my husband and I, at our invitation. Monday, Dec. 2, 2019, at age 99, God called her to the home she longed for. In the intervening 9 years,Read more…
Ten Years of Conversations
Barb Vossel has many stories to tell. She loves talking to people. Not only is she naturally outgoing, she’s been talking to our church’s new members for the past ten years in her role as one of our Ministry Guides.Read more…
God’s Timing at Work
If you’ve taken St. Peter’s new member class in the past 10 years, you remember meeting with one of our volunteer ministry guides for a friendly conversation about your gifts and interests and ways they might be used at St.Read more…
Add a Little More Joy to Your Serving
If we’re driving, we need to know how much gas is in the tank. When we’re serving, it can be equally helpful to look at how much joy is in our tank! Let’s do a self-check. Do you look forwardRead more…
Good Stuff: Retention or Sustainability?
Words reflect attitudes. This thoughtful by Meridan Swift, a volunteer manager and blogger, explores the difference between volunteer retention and volunteer sustainability. In the church, it’s simply good stewardship of our people’s time and talents. “Sustainability and Volunteerism”
A Question: What will a Volunteer Coordinator Do for Me?
The budget of our church’s volunteer program got a substantial bump this year. Thankfully, we are now able to hire a full-time coordinator. What are the most important parts of a volunteer program that we should shift to her, theRead more…
A Question: Recruiting Millennials
In the past year, we’ve had a huge influx of millennials into our church. What’s the best way to recruit these individuals for service? — a reader Response: It’s a great blessing when the family of God includes people ofRead more…
Good Stuff: Everyone Worships
A mother’s musings on graduations, Everyone Worships Something, leads to thoughts on how we all worship something. Those conclusions lead me to wonder about when we serve: are we serving our God or our idols? Usually some of both. ButRead more…
A Question: Is a Retreat Worthwhile?
I am thinking about hosting a winter retreat for my church’s volunteers. Do you think it’s worth it? — a reader Response: Is a retreat worthwhile? Jesus certainly thought so! “Then, because so many people were coming and going thatRead more…
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