By Pastor Jeff Knight on Volunteers
Ministry at The Rock Church cannot exist without volunteers. Every week I observe volunteers graciously giving their best. I’ve asked myself often, “What makes a great volunteer?” I mean, if we can’t do church without them, then how do we build them?
I think building a culture around volunteers is the first priority. When there is an atmosphere conducive to strong volunteers that is exactly what the organization will have: Strong Volunteers.
Ask, WHAT is CENTRAL?
Then share it with everyone. Volunteers need to know what is important. There is nothing worse than serving in an organization doing menial tasks that do not seem to be linked to the bigger picture. Leaders must spend time with their volunteers to communicate what is important. It might be easy to accidentally neglect a volunteer custodian because the facility is always clean, but recognizing how every effort links to the big picture is crucial for a successful volunteer organization.
If you find yourself leading in a volunteer driven organization take the time to communicate what is important to every volunteer. NO task is menial; there are only menial leaders who don’t recognize the importance of every task.
Ask, WHAT needs to be Consistently Executed?
Sometimes we can communicate what is important, but we neglect to enforce the objectives. What begins as a really good plan can end with something completely different because there were no expectation, procedure or process. If a leader wants consistency from volunteers, procedures must be defined.
I’ve discovered in my years of working with volunteers that clarifying the objective in writing is the only way to achieve consistent execution. For instance, years ago I was a Team Leader with Teen Mania. We were given a manual to read, books to reinforce what was in the manual and then trained for 2 solid days on what was expected of us. At the end of that experience I felt like I was ready to consistently execute the expectations.
If you find yourself leading in a volunteer organization do what is absolutely necessary to develop consistency. Write the manual, host training weekends; most of all, make sure your volunteers know what is expected of them so they can consistently perform to the highest level. The return they receive will be worth your time times infinity.
