Laborers, Ladder-Climbers, and Lifers
For those of us who lead volunteer teams within the church, I think it’s important to get inside the head of our vols: what motivates them? What demotivates them? What makes them feel appreciated? What...
Category: Volunteer Culture
“This is Too Corporate.”
I heard those four words again not long ago. I was with a group of church leaders in another state, and the topic of training guest services volunteers came up. One of the staff repeated...
4 Reasons Volunteering Within the Church is Crucial
This is an article I recently published with Lifeway Research. You can see the original post here. All of us love a good “count me in” story: those accounts—either wholly historical or mostly anecdotal—that capture...
Should You Serve On a Team That You Lead?
Leaders of volunteers are a hardy bunch: they have to possess the perfect mix of visionary, recruiter, trainer, coach, administrator, encourager…sometimes it feels like we hold every role from chief cook to bottle washer. And...
Building Fast vs. Building Well
There’s a tension between building a healthy volunteer culture and the breakneck urgency of filling critical spots. Maybe you’ve experienced that if you’ve recently experienced high turnover on a team or been asked to create...
“Just Tell Me What To Do.”
In many years of leadership, I’ve learned that volunteers are not fans of micromanagement. They like to have the freedom to be creative, to use their God-given common sense, to add a bit of panache...
How Young is Too Young to Serve in Guest Services?
Recently I received an email from a long-time friend in our congregation. She was reaching out on behalf of her ten year old daughter, who wanted to be a part of the Set Up Team...
Dance With the One Who Brung Ya
Imagine for a moment a man who has been the recipient of great grace at the hands of his church’s volunteer teams: every Sunday, he’s directed to a parking spot close to the building. A...
Broad Expectations vs. Narrow Conversations
From time to time (and by time to time I mean maybe 42 individual instances before this day is out), you’re going to run across team behavior that you’re not necessarily a fan of: a...
6 Best Practices for Your Skeleton Crew
We’ve talked before about the importance of a skeleton crew: a small team of volunteers who are fully present for the full service, caring for guests who show up late. Your skeleton crew is a...
