Editor’s note: With this entry, we welcome a new blogger into the CTA Share family. Karen Kogler has worked in and around churches for a number of years. She brings to her work a passion for engaging and encouraging volunteers. Her website includes dozens of helpful articles focused on that topic. Take a look here!
So, what do you do at your church?
Most often, volunteers answer that qustion with answers like these:
- I usher.
- I teach Sunday school.
- I’m on the stewardship board.
- I’m a musician.
- I visit the shut-ins.
That’s the usual way we describe what we do. But what if we took it a step further? What if we re-framed our answers:
- I help provide a comfortable space to help people worship God.
- I introduce children to the one Friend who will never fail them.
- I provide people with tools to better manage God’s gifts.
- I play music to carry God’s Word to people’s hearts.
- I bring the care and love of our congregation to those who can’t get to our building.
Doing a task because it needs doing is one thing. Being one of God’s tools to make and grow disciples is something more, and much more exciting.
How all the volunteers in your church think about their volunteer tasks can make a big difference. Recruitment is easier when people get excited about the purpose behind what they do. People make time for what matters to them, and they stick with their tasks longer, too. A sense of purpose puts more energy and excitement into the air.
So when one of your workers mentions one of their tasks, surprise them with a comment like this: “You update attendance records on Monday? Really? Or do you keep records so we can better minister to every individual in the church?” They’ll give you a funny look, for sure, but it will start an interesting conversation.
Try the activity available here with any group of volunteers. Then let us know how it went by posting a comment below.
God bless you as you work for his purposes in all you do!
