I recently served as a worker in a local election — a new experience for me, and one I hope to repeat. My main take-away, detailed in Part 1, was how much it taught me about my community. But IRead more…
A Question: Is a Retreat Worthwhile?
I am thinking about hosting a winter retreat for my church’s volunteers. Do you think it’s worth it? — a reader Response: Is a retreat worthwhile? Jesus certainly thought so! “Then, because so many people were coming and going thatRead more…
Sample slides: “Job Descriptions” and “Training Volunteers” toolkits
Here are some sample slides from the presentations in the Toolkits available in The Equipper store. The toolkit contains two presentations, with supporting materials. Both toolkits together are $12.00. From the “Why Write Job Descriptions?” presentation in the Job DescriptionRead more…
Good stuff – volunteerism resources
The Energize, Inc. website is full of volunteerism resources. I especially like A to Z library and Susan Ellis’s hot topics.
Going to the Dogs?
I’m not a dog person. Due to family allergies, we never owned a dog, much to my sons’ disappointment and my relief. But now my church owns a dog. Last November, in a “passing of the leash” ceremony, we receivedRead more…
Video Clip Resources
A picture really is worth a thousand words. We are visual learners, naturally, and more so as the internet and the hundreds of cable TV channels multiply what we can view on a screen. Good communicators are always on theRead more…
Remember Middle Management
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…
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…
Hungry for Relationships
It’s no secret. People need people. They crave relationships. Sociologists, psychologists and theologians agree that they always have and always will. The need has become acute as hectic schedules, geographic mobility, consumerism and affluence pull us apart from others. Ironically,Read more…
Parents as Volunteers
Parents make great volunteers. Most scouting groups and kids’ sports teams are run entirely by parents. Parents are willing to invest time and energy to give their children enriching experiences. So encourage parents to volunteer in your children’s ministries, althoughRead more…
St. Peter Lutheran, Arlington Hts, IL: Beginnings
Background: I began working 2 days/week at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois, in October 2007, 9 months ago as of this writing. St. Peter had been without a long-term senior pastor for almost a decade until the arrivalRead 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…
What is Equipping?
Want to understand the basics of equipping? Want an easy way to share those basics with others? These materials introduce the idea of equipping people to serve, and on the difference between a focus on recruiting volunteers and focus onRead more…
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