Church staff work hard. They often work long hours for lower-than-average pay. They don’t have time for all that’s on their plate, yet still dream of more ways to expand their ministry impact. And they frequently have church members suggesting their own ideas of what their church and  church staff should be doing! I’ve seen and experienced this in my 40+ years as a church employee. So why would I be so audacious to suggest more things church staff ought to be doing?

Why Help Others Serve

• St. Paul reminds us that in the body of Christ, each part has a role. Those other parts sometimes need a hand in finding their role.
• Involving others can give you more opportunity to implement your own dreams for ministry.
• Ministry is too important to be solely or primarily in the hands of Lone Rangers.
• As we help people serve within the church, the church’s ministry expands. As we help people serve beyond the church, in everyday life, more people are touched by the love and the good news of Jesus. 
• Our world notices when people and organizations serve in healthful, impactful ways. Their respect opens doors to relationships and conversations about Jesus.
• Our world desperately needs Jesus.

Always keep in mind

…from maintenance and support staff to program directors and pastors…

• Whether you’ve already got a healthy volunteer core, or you are desperately swamped, we all can grow in helping others serve.
• The “Top Ten” things that “anyone” can do to help others serve also applies to church staff.  But these ten are additional practical ways any and all church staff, from maintenance and support staff to program directors and pastors, can help people serve in their area of ministry.
• Neither ‘top ten’ list is meant to add to your burdens. But they are meant to get you thinking about the big picture, and to nudge you into doing something different—something that just might help someone else in their serving. 
• Always keep God’s grace in mind. It motivates us, covers our feebleness, forgives our failures and neglects; it guides us daily and drowns out fear and anxiety.  

Top ten things church staff can do to help others serve

10. Recruit a volunteer prayer partner. Give them specific prayer requests regularly, at least once or twice a month. 

9. When recruiting for ministry needs, don’t let desperation have the upper hand. Follow best practices (“How to Recruit Volunteers“) and move toward personal invitations. It does take more time. However, it is more effective and brings better results; your Father has promised to provide what you need; and each personal invitation, whether accepted or declined, encourages that individual to consider the big picture of how God is calling them to serve.

Include a simple ‘next step’

8. Do regular professional growth by setting aside 15 minutes once a month to explore volunteer engagement resources. Use this curated list or any other volunteer engagement resource. Ask your supervisor for support for purchasing a resource or attending a workshop. When something catches your interest, share it with a colleague, your supervisor or a volunteer and talk about it. Be sure your conversation includes a simple ‘next step’ as a take-away.  

7. Be on the lookout for, or ask people about, the ways those in your church family volunteer in other organizations and the community. Encourage them, support them and ask what they’re learning there. Remind them they are serving God in that way, too. And remind people of their everyday serving where they live, work and play.

6. Ask a volunteer, “What can we do to better support you?” (If you’re afraid to ask, that should tell you something right there!)

5. Bring volunteerism questions and concerns to your existing ministry networks. Or create new networks on healthy church volunteerism. Celebrate what’s going well, encourage each other, and share ideas.

It keeps you from living in a silo

4. Consider your own serving. While your church ministry is certainly a primary area of service, it isn’t and shouldn’t be the entirety. In addition to serving your family, try serving your neighborhood and community in at least one intentional way, formally or informally, even just one day a year. It keeps you from living in a silo and it broadens your knowledge and experience about volunteering. 

3. Rest. God commanded a weekly day of rest and he didn’t make an exception for church workers.

2. Intentionally ask people about their gifts and interests and share the info with fellow staff.

1. Pick one of these things to try. Tell a colleague about what you’re going to try, and ask them to ask you how it went!

St. Paul says (Eph. 4:16), “From [Christ], the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” I visualize you, church staff, as those ligaments; you are connectors. That means much, much more than simply plugging people into open volunteer slots. It means connecting people to Jesus, and connecting them to God’s call to serve where He has specifically gifted and called them to serve, just as you are serving where He has gifted and called you.  

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Related Resources:

Healthy Church Volunteerism Resources
Recruiting 101 – first in a series of four articles

Top Ten Things Anyone Can Do to Help Others Serve
Top Ten Things Pastors Can Do to Help Others Serve

More Intentional (and Less Crazy) Everyday Serving
More Joyful (and Less Dreary) Everyday Serving
More Impactful (and Less Ho-Hum) Everyday Serving
More Faith-Full (and Less Disjointed) Everyday Serving
More Serving? Or Better Serving?