Q&A: How Can I Add Diversity to My Volunteer Team?
Q:
We struggle with diversity. How can I get a more diverse group of people (by gender, ethnicity, and age) to serve? Should certain genders be greeting / parking / seating?
[Question submitted in a recent One-Day Workshop]
A:
Representation matters. In a post from some years back, I wrote that “the guest services team on the outside should serve as a precursor to who is inside.”
It could be that your congregation is multi-generational, but your volunteer team is made up of mostly senior adults. Or your pews are multi-cultural, but your volunteers trend towards a majority culture. My argument is not that you assemble an aspirational or falsified Benneton ad (who’s with me, 80s kids), but that your volunteer leaders accurately represent your congregation.
But I don’t think that you take on the important task of diversity without careful consideration of a few key factors. Here’s what I’ve learned as we’ve walked down this representation rabbit hole:
1. Make an honest comparison of your congregation vs. your volunteers.
Don’t make the error of forcing representation where it’s not necessary. If your congregation truly is all 60+, you shouldn’t head to the local community college to recruit a 19-year-old parking volunteer. The point here is an accurate balance of volunteers that matches the congregation.
2. Seek to fill in the gaps where they exist.
If you do discover that your student ministry volunteers are made up mostly of twenty-somethings named Tanner or Maddisyn whose ministry experience consists of calling people “bro” or telling them “I see you,” then maybe it’s time to introduce some gray-hairs or no-hairs into the mix.
One of the greatest volunteers I’ve ever known was decades older than our average team member. The wisdom and depth she brought to our group was incalculable, and would’ve been lost had we just been looking for someone who simply matched what we already had.
3. Revisit the gender / age roles assumption.
I have convictional beliefs when it comes to the roles of pastor and elder, but I’m also convinced that the vast majority of volunteer roles don’t fall into that category. If your church believes that only men can serve as ushers or only ladies can rock babies, check that.
On our Guest Services teams, a mom or grandma seater is best-equipped to bring comfort to a frazzled fellow mom. I encourage kids to serve alongside their parents when it’s appropriate, because it encourages other kids that they have gifts that can be used for the kingdom.
4. Don’t forsake your old in pursuit of your new.
If there is one cardinal error that we make in pursuing diversity, it’s this one. Sure, you may decide it’s time to add to your team in terms of ethnicity, age, or gender. But you dare not trample on those who are already faithfully serving in that role. Adding new faces to the team will require a lot of conversations. A lot of listening. And maybe a lot of getting it wrong before we get it right.
What we don’t do is wipe out one generation to pave the way for another. We don’t lob a bomb in our all-dudes usher team just to introduce some female faces. No, we pursue those avenues with much wisdom, grace, and careful pursuit of building up the entire body…not just one teeny slice of the demographic. In our quest for representation, let’s not destroy the very thing we’re trying to create.
Representation matters. It matters to your congregation, to your guests, and to your surrounding community. How will you pursue that in your own volunteer team?
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photo credit: Peter Van Dyck
