How to Write Great Recruitment Copy

Feb 17, 2026By 0 Comments Posted in: ArticlesTagged in: , , ,
image of typewriter and 'words have power'

Words have power. Words can stir our emotions and those emotions drive our actions. But if this is true, why don’t the words in our newsletter announcements bring us the volunteers we want and need?

Compare the time, money and effort invested in the ads that persuade us to buy the newest gadget, to the 5 minutes or less we typically spend composing a recruitment message, and we begin to understand. But the good news is that you don’t need a monstrous budget or a video studio to compose an effective recruitment message. A few simple guidelines can convert your message from something people ignore to something they seriously consider

Think about your audience

But before we get to the guidelines, think a moment about your audience. Likely, your people are busy; even the retired folk have schedules as full as parents with young children and jobs. They are bombarded with messages of all kinds every day, so have learned to quickly sort through the onslaught. But they do care. They wouldn’t be reading your message if they didn’t care about their church family. They also know and care about the larger needs in their community and world. However busy they are, they distribute their time and energy according to what’s important to them. 

Guidelines

Don’t fall prey to sugar-coating

A recruitment message is an invitation to consider an opportunity to serve. Effective messages:  

  • Are concise. The more wordy and detailed, the less likely they are to start reading, let alone finish.
  • Are engaging. Something attracts their attention and keep them reading. It could be an image, a question (“How many high school youth would say they are open to a conversation about spiritual matters?”), humor (“you’ll get first dibs on the donuts”), or a statistic (“20% of families in our community are facing food insecurity”); anything that catches their interest. 
  • Focus on clear and compelling purpose, need, and impact. “Introducing children to Jesus,” “being a friend to youth looking for answers,” “sharing a meal with our neighbors,” are all a lot more compelling than “we need volunteers.”
  • Make a personal connection, perhaps with a one-sentence story or a quote from a current volunteer or a person impacted by the ministry opportunity. 
  • Are honest. If we’re ever less than honest with people, we lose their trust. Someone familiar with the volunteer position needs to write the copy or to be consulted by the one writing it. Don’t fall prey to sugar-coating. 
  • Don’t rely on desperation. Would you be drawn to eat at a restaurant whose advertisement reads, “Eat at Joe’s Pancake House so we can pay off our debts!”
  • Include a call to action, a simple next step to get more information or express interest, such as someone’s contact info, or a link to a simple interest form. (Of course if there isn’t a prompt response when someone takes that next step, we’ve again lost their trust.)  

Examples

Rather than: “We need SS teachers, especially for 5th and 6th grade, starting Sept. 10.”
Better: “Do you enjoy being with kids? Join us in helping our kids get to know how much Jesus loves them. One volunteer said, ‘It grows my faith, too!’ Serve biweekly as a teacher or once a month as a helper. Check out full details at this link before Sept 5”.

Rather than: “We need lots of workers for the community supper on Friday.”
Better: “Want to help us build relationships with people in our community, especially families who are struggling? Spend one hour on Friday setting up tables or serving food as you make new friends. Use this QR code to get more info and to express interest or sign up by Wednesday. ”

Keep in mind

The same guidelines apply to our personal messsages

If writing doesn’t come easy to you (or even if it does), consider that there may well be people in your church family who write advertising copy for a living, or who simply are good writers. Ask around. Perhaps they might enjoy working with you on making your messages more compelling, or might offer to write them for you.  

Whether it’s electronic or paper, messages in church communication tools are the backbone of volunteer recruitment. But they’re certainly not the whole story and not the decisive factor. Personal invitations to serve are much more effective (How to Recruit Volunteers). The same guidelines apply to the content of our personal messages as well as our mass messages. 

When making a personal recruitment by phone or email, include personal connections like these: 

  • “Adrian said you’re great with teens.” 
  • “Your cookies at the Christmas party were great. Would you be able to make some for the community dinner?”
  • “When I asked Marie if she knew any good writers, she said that’s one of your strengths.”

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul reminds us that “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Effective messaging helps people notice, consider and connect to the particular good works God has prepared for them. 

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