Volunteers: Recruiting, Creating, Retaining

How to help volunteers to 

accomplish major projects

1. Recruiting your team 

Step 1 Don't "use" volunteers. 

Make the mental shift from "How can I use volunteers effectively?" to "How can I assist and encourage their service and spiritual growth?" 

Step 2 Get out from behind your desk.

Great leaders won't come to you; you have to find them. Get out and talk to people. It doesn't take long for people to reveal what gets them excited...if you are paying attention.

Step 3 Everybody needs coffee!

Seek people out during non-service times; get to know them and their life outside the church. Relationship, relationship, relationship!

Step 4 Identify and request specific personal strengths. 

Never throw out a blanket statement like "We need help." Instead, identify something in a person and make your request personal, like "We always need people with your sense of _______________."

Step 5 Model your expectations.

Whatever you expect from your volunteers, you must be willing to do it first. Then, create a step-by-step process for training them so they have everything they need to succeed. 

2. Create Leaders

Step 1 Give away responsibility.

The success or failure of a project doesn't live and die with you alone, but leaders don't come ready-made either. Split your volunteers into teams so you can appoint a team leader and start delegating. 

Step 2 creat mentors and teaching environments.

Be strategic about creating your teams. For example, pair a skilled craftsman with the volunteer who wants to learn. Encourage the teacher to teach and encourage the volunteer to try, then allow them to fail. Some may not do a job "as good as you," but some may exceed it. A finished project with some minor flaws created by a volunteer who just gained pride and confidence is a win. 

Step 3 Leave.

Specifically schedule a work day in which you know you will need to leave for an hour for a meeting. Assign a leader in charge and see how they do on their own. 

Step 4 Let them do the problem-solving. 

Show up with the project, but not the plan of attack. For example, bring the sketch of the set piece to be built, but no blueprints and them brainstorm how to build it. And believe they can do it. 

3. Retaining your team

Step 1 Appreciation is the key.

Always write hand written thank you notes after a project, or just because. Plan appreciation events, remember birthdays, take them to lunch(leader pays) or have them over to your house for dinner. Remember them in prayer and follow up.

Step 2 Avoid burnout.

Resist the "urge" to call your best volunteers first for every project. Be diligent in watching for signs of burnout like keeping an unsustainable pace, no ownership, no goals, vision, or ability to dream and be challenged, no support, feeling that no one cares about you just your talent, if the volunteer is very combative or negative about everything, or having an unattainable view of excellence. No one can be successful if perfection is the sole goal. Lack of attendance in Main Sanctuary services where they actually receive, engage personally and do not give is also vitally imperative.

Step 3 Like a marriage, the way you got them is the way you keep them. 

The way you recruited your volunteers is the same way to get them to hang around. Get personal, show them you care about them and not just what they can do for you. And mean it. Give them ownership and responsibility, encourage their gifts and service and believe in them. And always, always,  show how much you appreciate them.