Presidents annually give a State of the Union address, and effective leaders regularly share their view of the past and vision of the future. Perhaps similarly, my step into retirement has prompted reflection on the state of church volunteerism – its past, present and future.
My view, of course, is limited. My experience is almost entirely within Christian churches in one conservative mainline denomination. But it’s wide enough to include more than five decades volunteering in 10 home congregations in 4 states; 25 years in a church staff volunteerism role; collegial relationships with volunteer engagement professionals in the general nonprofit world; a CVA certification; and 20 years of writing and speaking on church volunteerism.
Past and Present
Volunteers are integral to faith communities. Such communities begin when people of like-minded faith voluntarily gather to worship. As paid leaders become involved, people continue to voluntarily help with the group’s activities. Serving each other and serving beyond the faith community are components of virtually all faiths.
However “we need more volunteers” has become a near-universal reality in western churches, heard as often in large, active churches, including those I’ve served, as it’s heard in small, struggling churches. “If only we had more volunteers. . . “ is as common now as it was 25 years ago. But today this refrain is voiced by people who are fewer, older and more tired. In the US today, fewer people identify as Christians; church attendance is down and many churches are closing. Everyone is busier, and our many ‘toys’ fill the hours left over from work and family. The loss of our older generations, accelerated by covid, left us without those who filled most of the ongoing, frequent volunteer roles. For most observers, the ‘state of church volunteerism’ begins and ends with these sad realities.
The future
Opportunities for healthy, exciting volunteerism
But I see opportunity, too, opportunities for healthy, exciting volunteerism. Our society respects those who volunteer/serve. People who have been blessed with time and talent often want to give back, to pay it forward, to help those less fortunate. People recognize the significant problems facing society, and know that somehow we all need to contribute to solutions. Young people especially are eager and willing to take action to make the world a better place.
So here are six thoughts on how we can tap into these positive realities, using them towards the mission Jesus has given us. Significantly, volunteer recruitment itself is only one aspect of the solution, and not the most important. God wants us to move beyond hand-wringing to action, so included are questions (the first for leaders; the second for all of us) to nudge us to next steps.
1. Leadership, Resources, Trust
The covid pandemic pushed all of us in the volunteerism world, church and non-church alike, to look at solutions for the shortage of volunteers. This 2021 article, Were We Ready? Covid’s Impact on Church Volunteerism, focuses on leadership, resources and trust as crucial in all volunteerism challenges, and these three, along with acknowledging and embracing the reality we face, is still a good place to start.
Leaders: In which of these three areas –leadership, resources and trust – are you best positioned to take a positive step forward? All: Recall or seek one resource on volunteer engagement that speaks to your situation.
2. Everyday Serving
When people become more adept at serving in everyday life, they’re more adept at serving within the church.
For a follower of Jesus, serving at church is only a piece of the much bigger picture of serving Jesus in everything we do, everywhere we live, work and play. Churches unintentionally work against that truth when they push church volunteering as more important, as more ‘godly’ than any other serving. But even when we teach and preach the importance of everyday serving, our people face challenges – the many options, the challenge of bringing faith into a secular world, and our own busy schedules and conflicting priorities. Are our churches helping us navigate these challenges? I am convinced that when people become more adept at seeing how God wants them to serve in everyday life, they’re also more adept at seeing when and how God wants them to serve within the church. Where in the world is the Equipper? shares when I began to seriously wrestle with the ‘how’ of this priority.
Leaders: When did you last promote/encourage serving in everyday life to those you lead? All: When did you last give serious thought and prayer to the specifics of how you’re serving in everyday life?
3. Thinking Outside the Box
How can we adapt volunteer roles to fit our volunteers’ realities?
Most often, the unexpressed second half of “We need more volunteers…” is “… to do things the way we’ve always done them.” God’s people recognize that God’s truths are unchanging. But cultural customs and the practicalities of working together aren’t in that category. People’s lives are changing. How can we adapt volunteer roles to fit our volunteers’ realities? What vol roles should we simply drop? Can technology tools help? Do we need so many meetings? Can we simply ask for a volunteer from those who show up rather than schedule in advance? Is there an app for that? And the rapidity of change in today’s world means that these questions and discussions are ongoing, not one-and-done. A big key here is leaders having, and communicating, a clear vision for what Jesus is calling their family of faith to do in their community at this time. A clear ‘why’ leads to continuity of the mission and creativity on the ‘how.’
Leaders: Can the people you lead state and explain the mission of your church? All: When did you last gently and winsomely suggest a different way of doing a task that would make it easier for people to volunteer for it?
4. Effective Recruitment
Personal asks are more effective than general announcements.
Yes, we still do need to recruit volunteers. But we need to do it in effective ways. The generalized ‘ask’ (“We need someone to….”) is still worthwhile; the opportunity may be just what someone is looking for. But don’t rely on general announcements for results; most people figure someone else will do it.
Personal asks are much more successful. “Joe, I hear you coach youth soccer. I wonder if you’d consider helping with a youth event coming up.” “Alice, Sandy mentioned you’re missing your grandkids who moved out of state. Would you enjoy helping out in the Nursery?” “Jose, Greg mentioned you’re retiring soon from your job as a contractor. Would you be willing to pray about joining a short term team looking at our building’s needs?” Best of all would be engaging Joe, Alice and Jose in a conversation about your mission and asking, “If you could do anything at all in the way of giving your time and abilities to our mission, what would that look like?”
Personal asks are only possible when you know something about a person’s interests, abilities and situation. If you also know that Mary’s ailing father just moved in with her, it’s less likely she’s available for that serving opportunity. In any size church, knowledge is compounded when it’s shared. Technology helps us store and access such shared knowledge about people’s gifts, interests, and preferences. But it also takes work and intentionality to figure out how that info is respectfully gathered, carefully shared and wisely used. The work and effort is worth it.
For more on recruitment basics, see the Recruitment 101 series.
Leaders: How has personal recruitment worked for you? All: What do you know about someone’s talents, interests or serving preferences that might be appropriate and useful to share with a leader?
5. Volunteer’s Voice at the Table
Every church can have an effective volunteer champion
When a church creates a volunteerism staff position, they’re affirming the value of volunteers and committing to healthy and more effective volunteer practices. (Unless they think their volunteerism person is going to magically pull volunteers out of the closet for every need. In that case, they’re simply deluded.) When that person has regular access to other top leaders, and a voice at the leadership table, they are open to substantive growth in the way leaders and volunteers work together, and that leads to real impact. Most churches cannot afford more staff. But every church can have an effective volunteer champion, as long as the volunteer in the position is granted the same respect, collaboration and voice at the table.
Leader: What about having a volunteer champion appeals to you? All: In what way, big or small, can you be a volunteer champion?
6. The Larger Body of Christ
Let’s ditch the Lone Ranger
None of this is easy. We’re all figuring it out as we go. And mostly, each church is struggling on its own. But let’s ditch the Lone Ranger model. These concerns are church-wide. Let’s learn from each other. Let’s encourage each other. Let’s even hold each other accountable to take steps that intentionally help our people serve everywhere they live, work and play, as well as where they worship.
If you’ve read this far, you obviously care about the state of church volunteerism. So let’s talk about it in our churches and in our church professional collegial groups. Let’s talk about serving our local community with other churches in our local community. Let’s learn from those who lead volunteers in other nonprofits, locally, nationally and even globally.
All: Here’s one way to start. I’m forming a round table group of people interested in helping all of us serving Jesus in our church and in everyday life. It will meet quarterly via zoom for topical discussion, for sharing our experiences and encouraging each other on the journey toward healthy serving at church and in everyday life. Express interest here.
The world seeks and respects people who serve. Being people who serve opens the door to relationships of trust and opportunities to share Jesus. Being churches known for serving the communities invites curiosity about why we do what we do. And all of this leads to Jesus, which is why we’re here. The world needs Jesus.
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