I was surprised by large numbers of people who thanked me for letting them be part of this. People want to serve. We [in the church] don’t always describe a clear connection for volunteers between their task and serving God and carrying out their part of the Great Commission. But that’s what the Book Bee was. It gave people an opportunity to make a literal connection. They knew what they had done, and what it was a part of.”

Nancy Kuhlman, a volunteer leading other volunteers, is speaking of a Book Bee she organized at her home congregation, Christ Lutheran in Costa Mesa, California, and the truths she’s learned about church volunteerism through her experiences. Read more.

Growing old. It isn’t for wimps. In my middle-age years, I experience the indignities of my body changing without my permission. . . . As we age, dealing with change and loss is a near universal physical and emotional challenge.

Volunteering is one thing people often give up as they age. Their inability to drive, or to go out at night, or to manage stairs, means they can no longer . . . serve on that committee, or work on a Habitat for Humanity home. These are especially painful losses because helping others gives us significance.

We can do little or nothing about many of the losses and changes of aging, but volunteering is different. Although volunteering will change as we age, it can still be an important part of life. Read more.