Have you ever wondered where you are going to get all of
the volunteers you need in your ministry? If you are leading a volunteer
workforce, you are in good company. The US Department of
Labor reported that this past year (ending September) that there were 62.8
million people that were actively volunteering in some organization. These
people came from all walks of life, all economic classes, some college, some
not, all races, both genders, young and old. On average they spent about 52 hours in the past year
volunteering, or about one hour a week.
While you may not remember all these numbers, remember
the “one-hour a week.” Many churches have embraced “Worship one; Serve one” as
a challenge to all of their members, engaging each one of them in a worship
service and a serving opportunity, both likely about one hour a week.
We know that people volunteer for a variety of
reasons. These range from identification with the values and mission of the
organization and wanting to help, to a desire to get to know other people, make
friends and find common interests. Regardless of the reasons given, our
churches advance their mission when people identify with our mission and our
calling. Identifying the Great Commandment (to love one another) and the Great
Commission (to make disciples of all nations) as our mission creates great
opportunities for people to serve, make a difference and grow in their faith.
Remember, people have opportunities to serve in all kinds of organizations but
only the church can give them the opportunity to fulfill the mission Jesus gave
His followers.
What is interesting also about one hour is that studies
have shown that in about an hour, the average volunteer can be fully trained to
perform the job for which they are assigned. The church jobs
that volunteers fill range from some simple jobs like handing out the
weekly bulletin or folding chairs to more complex tasks like making hospital
rounds, supervising a nursery or mentoring inner-city youths.
What is unfortunate is that all too often, we
don’t give these volunteers the one-hour of training that they need. This is
unfortunate because the church is one big volunteer-run organization. Since the
day of Pentecost, the vast majority of the leaders in the Church have been volunteers.
Volunteers provide the invitation, the hospitality, the teaching, the training,
the development and also the governance of most churches.
When training is inadequate, volunteers don’t get the
opportunity to fully understand the importance of their role. Without proper
training they can’t lead and without leadership the mission suffers.
Fortunately the best people to do the training are
volunteers. We just need to give them the opportunity and let them know it is a
priority; let them find the one-hour to train. Let them lead….62.8 million
can’t be wrong.
