Serving…Or Simply Surviving?
What kind of mindset are you building into the volunteer culture of your church? Is your church a place where volunteers are healthy, excited, and reproducing? Or do you find that every weekend is an adventure...
Category: Staff Stuff
Stop The Assembly Line
In his best-selling Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, takes us through the incredible journey of building the world’s most loved (and most powerful) films. But it wasn’t the “story behind...
The One Question That Will Help Your Church Get Going
“Where are we now?” It’s a simple question. A difficult question. Easy to ask. Painful to answer. It’s a question that helps to ground you. It acknowledges what is true. It gives you a starting point. The question doesn’t...
Five Reasons Nobody Comes To Your Training
We’ve all been there: we have a volunteer training scheduled. We arrive early. Set up the room. Straighten the chairs. Run over our notes one more time. And then…we wait. And wait. And wait a little...
An Offer You Can’t Refuse (But Seriously…)
We are just a few days shy of the registration deadline for our One-Day Workshop on Volunteer Culture. Regardless of the area you oversee (Kids ministry? Yep. Worship? Uh-huh. Community outreach? Okee-dokee.), regardless of the area where you’re currently...
Five Reasons Your New Volunteers Don’t Come Back
Imagine the scenario: you’ve made a big push to invite new people to serve on your volunteer team. You spent weeks designing the publicity, made dozens of phone calls, sent hundreds of emails, had countless...
Flashback Friday: Think Through It Before They Think Through It
Every Friday I dig into the archives and dust off an old post. If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you! We’ve talked before about the importance of absorbing the awkwardness for your guests....
Don’t Fix It On Sunday
We’ve all been there. You’re heading through the normal routine of the weekend life of a ministry leader: arrive early. Double-check your checklist. Turn on the lights. Fire up the sound system. Get some coffee...
The Two Words That Will Kill Your Volunteer Ministry
Churches and non-profits are built on the backs of volunteers. When babies are rocked, small groups are led, or coffee is poured, those things are more often than not a result of a process that...
10 Mistakes You’re Making When Recruiting Volunteers
If you’re in ministry, you live in the world of volunteers. The weekend (and the week) doesn’t happen without the people who work hard with no pay. But free labor doesn’t pop up easy. Here are...
