How to Turn Pew Dwellers into Engaged Volunteers

We see them every Sunday: those church folks (God love ’em) who are content to slip in late, slip out early, and serve nary a moment.

They can bewilder us, they can frustrate us, they can anger us. Or they can challenge us, inadvertently shining a spotlight on our own leadership foibles and organizational flaws.

I believe that we’re best when we assume the best: about those in the pews, those on the sidelines, and those not yet engaged in service. I believe people are not as resistant as we think, and given the right environmental tweaks, we might find they’re more primed to serve.

Here are six ways to rethink new volunteer engagement:

1. Speak into before you get out of.

Too often, we have a list of slots to fill and faces in the crowd who would help us meet the quota. People become numbers and opportunities become transactions. Here’s a thought: what if we saw people as a soul to be equipped rather than a warm body to fill a roster? Getting to know people…their natural skills, affinities, desires, and dreams…will often help us see what makes them thrive rather than what meets our volunteer needs.

And by the way, that “speaking into” really matters. All of us have those people who have called out gifts in us that we couldn’t see in ourselves, and it changed the trajectory of our lives. Why shouldn’t we be that person for someone else?

[Related post: What’s Your Passion?]

2. Give them a “one-off” opportunity.

Not many people are looking to sign on for a lifetime sentence. Not many sideline sitters are willing to join your volunteer team that has no finish line in sight.

So instead of inviting them to a team, invite them to a limited time opportunity: serve on the parking team at the Women’s Conference. Help assemble Operation Christmas Child boxes. Work the rec field at the middle school retreat.

And then, once they’ve dipped their toes in the water and discovered it wasn’t as cold as they thought, invite them to wade in a little deeper…to explore that passion a little more…to commit to a longer time frame.

[Related post: Win Back Your One-Offs]

3. Beware the myth of the well-oiled machine.

If your church is even slightly organized, the average pew-dweller might believe that all spots are covered and they’ll never make the cut. Now as leaders, we know how silly that is and you likely chuckled your way through that last sentence. But for someone on the fringes, it can look like you’ve got it all together and they don’t know how to crack the code to get in.

So talk a lot about opportunities to serve. Highlight the open spots at the table. And occasionally let ’em see the slipping of the gears, so they’ll see that they might be able to make a difference.

[Related post: The Problem with a Well Oiled Machine]

4. Expand your rules of engagement.

As leaders, we often have a narrow view of what “volunteer engagement” means. While it’s true that the pew-dweller may not be serving in one of your weekend ministries (kids, worship, guest services, etc.), their week might be filled with ways they’re already using their gifts (small group leader, after-school tutor for at-risk kids, pregnancy center volunteer, taking meals to or spending time with the homebound).

So (a) don’t discount them as an uninvested pew-dweller before you know for sure, and (b) don’t just highlight weekend opportunities to serve. Get to know their schedule and skill sets, and you might get to see them plant their roots in a brand new ministry opportunity.

[Related post: How Does a Hospitable Culture Apply to Local Outreach?]

5. Provide regular rhythms of orientation.

One of the best ways to keep serving opportunities on people’s radar is to constantly have it on their horizon (did I just mix a metaphor? I did.). Do you have a newcomer’s event like Starting Point or Discover (Your Church Name)? Talk about serving opportunities there.

Have you identified those ministries with the greatest opportunities for serving (kids, students, guest services)? Provide orientations as often as you possibly can, so there’s always a time to drop in and find out more. The size of your church will determine what “regular rhythms” are, but I think quarterly is an absolute minimum and monthly is probably better.

[Related post: Don’t Drop Your Training, Drip It.]

6. Don’t be the only shoulder-tapper.

If you are the primary recruiter, inviter, beggar, and volunteer-placer for your church, you’ve lost before you started. Should staff members and leaders invite others to serve? Absolutely. Should existing volunteers invite potential volunteers to serve? Absolutely.

Your volunteers have relational influence that you’ll never have. They have congregational networks that you’ll never breach. They have small group friends and go-out-to-dinner friends and we’ve-been-in-this-church-thing-forever friends that you’ll never get a yes out of. So leverage their networks, deputize them as inviters, and see what might happen.

[Related post: Creating an Asking Culture]

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