Your pastor supports equipping volunteers to serve. You have a designated person and team that helps people serve. You’ve got a great start. But for real change, don’t forget the middle — the “middle management.” In From the Top Down, authorRead more…
Called to Serve
“Called to Serve” is a four-session Bible study that encourages believers to serve and provides practical help in making decisions about serving. It was written by Karen Kogler, Director of Equipping, and Rev. Micah Greiner, lead pastor, St. Peter LutheranRead more…
Inviting EVERYONE to serve
In survey after survey, the primary reason people give for volunteering is “because I was asked.” So how are we asking? How are we inviting the people in our church to serve? Our frequent “help wanted” announcements reach a fewRead more…
Lord, What are You Calling Me to Do?
Life is full of decisions, big and small. Shall I homeschool my children? Can we afford the time and cost of Jamie being on that elite sports team? Shall I look for a new job? What career is best forRead more…
Simple Volunteering
Life is complicated. Life is stressful. Your employer wants you to squeeze more work into the same hours, the kids need help with their homework, your elderly relative needs your assistance, and there are important papers somewhere in that pileRead more…
In the Store: Job Descriptions, a Presentation Toolkit
Job Descriptions A presentation tool kit for improving church volunteerism health The toolkit includes two PowerPoint presentations with supporting tools for enabling your church to create job descriptions for all volunteer positions. Job descriptions are an important part of healthyRead more…
In the Store: Putting Spiritual Gifts to Work
Putting Spiritual Gifts to Work: Equipping Saints for Service is a short book (80 pages) by Karen Kogler. It’s available in The Equipper store in two versions: Electronic version: as a download; $8.00 Print version: mailed to you, with aRead more…
In the Store: Training Volunteers, a presentation toolkit
Training Volunteers A presentation toolkit for improving church volunteerism health “Training Volunteers” includes two PowerPoint presentations with supporting tool. You can use this kit for training yourself and for training others. Every church volunteer should be trained for their service.Read more…
When Dreams Should Die
Hold fast to dreams For when dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. by Langston HughesWhen people talk to me, I listen for their dreams. I do it especially when I’m serving as one of the peopleRead more…
My Question: Giving Time Instead of Money
Questions to Talk About A reader sent me a link to a slate.com article, “Thou Shalt Be Debt Free,” in which a columnist who advises on ethical living answered a woman’s question on whether she should reduce or eliminate herRead more…
Ministry Fair: Getting Connected
A Participant’s Story In 1998, Tom Scott and his wife were looking for a church home. “We visited Immanuel Lutheran Church [in Batavia, Illinois] first,” Tom explains. “As we shook hands with Pastor Weidler after the service, he said, ‘WeRead more…
Sacred and Secular Volunteering
In the United States, 26% of the population volunteers.* More people (36%**) volunteer through faith-based organizations (churches, synagogues and mosques) than any other type of organization. The remaining 64% of volunteers work for a variety of community organizations: schools andRead more…
My Question: the Unemployed as Volunteers
I have a question. “I volunteer on my church’s committee to help the unemployed in our congregation. I want to know how we can reach out to the unemployed and ask them to help with things around the church withoutRead more…
About Time and Talent Surveys
Time and talent surveys are the first thought of many people when it comes to improving volunteerism at their church. Or when they want to find out the gifts and abilities of their members. Or when they’re talking about stewardshipRead more…
Screwtape Writes on Church Volunteers?
In his popular book The Screwtape Letters, author C.S. Lewis imagined an experienced devil named Screwtape writing letters to advise his young nephew Wormwood on how to move people toward hell and away from their enemy, God. One day IRead more…