I know a thing or two about databases. I love how they organize information and the flexibility they offer over a spreadsheet; I can build a basic Access database. When I was hired as Director of Equipping People to ServeRead more…
A Question: Finding Co-leaders
I’ve Got a Question. I am passionate about what I do and I always find volunteers. However, I feel at a loss because I haven’t found anyone to be “passionate” with me in a vision or direction. They all seemRead 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…
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…
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…
How to Discourage your Church’s Volunteers
(From the Lutheran Witness, March 1998. Reprinted with permission. Print version. Imagine your church with no volunteers for one week. The organist may play the organ, but there are no choir members or other instrumentalists. Everyone eventually finds a worshipRead more…
Volunteer Ministry Entrepreneurship
Rich Kirkpatrick related (in an article no longer on the internet as of 2014) an incident that occurred when he attended a conference at Saddleback, Pastor Rick Warren’s mega-church in southern California. At a nearby coffee shop he met anRead more…
Lessons of a Book Bee
“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 GodRead more…
How to Be the Boss
Recently I asked a group of people to consider whether they prefer to be leaders or followers. I had them demonstrate the degree of their preference for one or the other by choosing a place to stand along an imaginaryRead more…
The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership
Can the right hand learn from the left hand how to use one of its greatest resources? God’s right-hand kingdom, Martin Luther said, is the kingdom of grace and the Gospel, in which we are given his undeserved love andRead more…
Train Every Volunteer
At a job interview, or on a first date, you know the first impression is important. It’s just as important if you want to retain that new volunteer you just recruited. What will their first impression be of the taskRead more…
How to Improve Volunteerism
Do you agree? Virtually all church leaders want to improve volunteerism at their church. Virtually all church leaders do little or nothing to improve volunteerism at their church. Perhaps those statements are a bit strong, but they are true inRead more…
How to Assess Church Volunteerism
When you want to improve, you measure. You see where you’re at, decide where you want to be, take steps to get there, and track your results. You use the bathroom scale to see if the diet is working, theRead more…
How to Delegate
Are you good at delegating? Most of us aren’t. We didn’t go into church work, or become a church volunteer, because we love to delegate. We serve in order to get things done. Delegating tasks may feel like cheating. We,Read more…
Go for the Gold
The Olympics are taking place: the stirring Olympic trumpet fanfare is heard, the five interlocking circles are displayed, and athletes are in the spotlight. Hence, today’s Equipper offers random thoughts regarding Olympic athletes and Christians serving together in the church.Read more…