Volunteers

Small groups are great. And then the people show up. It might not become apparent on that first, exciting night. But at some point, you will hit a wall of tensions and challenges that no amount of prayer, training, or biblical study can prepare you for. 

In churches, volunteers are the lifeblood of any ministry. We literally can’t do without them. So it’s pretty important that we take good care of them. We want both them and the people they serve to have lots of wins. 

Thankfully, I learned from the situation, and became a vision-casting cheerleader—sharing the vision that God continued to lay on my heart so that the people inside our church could be just as excited about how we were going to reach families outside our church.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: How do our volunteers know we care? Your volunteers are your ministry gold. They are who makes your ministry happen.

There are not enough thank-you cards to say how grateful we are. Week by week, you plant and share God’s Truth in a relational way kids can put into practice. You prepare before you arrive on Sunday. You meet kids in their world to help them talk through and embrace faith. Thank you for choosing to develop relationships with kids to have influence in their lives.

You've just spent the summer recruiting and training new small group leaders for the fall. As we interviewed and talked to these leaders there are always a few things that we’re looking for. Here are five qualities I think are most important.

Names are important. It’s typically the first thing you learn about someone, the first connecting point you share over a nametag or a handshake. But if we’re “bad” at remembering names, we make excuses.

By embracing the power of curiosity, we can create an environment where self-growth not only happens naturally, but is welcomed at every opportunity. This is the kind of environment where we as leaders will thrive, and bring out the best in those around us.