Three Things Every Volunteer in Your Church Needs
We often think of what volunteers can do for the church, but there are things your volunteers need from you. In fact, without these three things, volunteers will not feel successful. Failure to do these three things will result in volunteer burnout.
Here are three things every volunteer in your church needs.
1. They need someone to communicate the why behind the what.
Volunteers might step up to meet a need, but it’s vision that will keep them engaged. Every volunteer in your church needs to hear the vision over and over again. They need someone to connect what they do to the mission of the entire church. This doesn’t happen naturally. It requires intentionality and leadership.
You can communicate vision from the pulpit, in pre-service huddles, in email newsletters and in hallway conversations. Never stop connecting what people do to why they do it.
How well do you communicate vision to your volunteers?
2. They need someone to tell them thanks.
It’s not enough to FEEL grateful for all of your volunteers. You need to TELL them thank you. Being thankful and saying thanks are two different things. Volunteers should be thanked in person, from the stage, via email and with hand-written notes.
Don’t be afraid to recognize a volunteer in your worship service. Not only will it mean a lot to that person, it will let all of your volunteers know you care. A well timed compliment or a personal note of gratitude fuels the heart of volunteers in your church.
How many hand-written thank you notes have your volunteers received in the last year?
3. They need to know what to do.
Most volunteers really do want to do a good job. But they can’t hit a target if it’s constantly moving. That’s why every volunteer in your church should have a simple, one-page job description. It should tell them what they do, when they do it, and who to talk to if they have a question.
Does every volunteer in your church have a written job description?
Download this free ebook entitled The Seven Deadly Sins of Volunteer Ministry. Make sure you’re not unknowingly hurting your volunteers.