Recruiting Volunteers

I read an article by Nelson Searcy and the following is a mix of that article and my own comments...As you dream big dreams, cast big visions and strive for big goals, it becomes necessary to have others join you. Smart leaders invite others to join them by following these five steps: invest, engage, invite, empower, and insure.

The consequences of not asking for help, far outweigh the risk of rejection. Your rejection rate can be reduced by following this process of invitation:

1. Invest: those you have invested in are the ones most likely to join you in achieving your goals.

• Many people have faced rejection because they invited before they invested.
• If you are not consciously investing in people around you today, you will have difficulty finding people to join you tomorrow.
• Make sure you invest in someone relationally (i.e. take them out to eat or have them over, spend six weeks building relationship) before you ask them to join your cause

2. Engage: when looking for someone to join you in a project, ask "Does what I'm doing engage this person on an emotional level?"

• An invitation that ignites the passions of the other person is sure to be accepted.
• Regardless of what we’re asking a person to help with specifically, we are ultimately asking them to help us fulfill our mission of leading people to become mature followers of Jesus. Not everyone will get excited over being asked to help with set up, tear down, nursery, etc. but everyone should be able to get excited that ultimately they are helping others come to faith in Jesus. And THAT is what we need to sell people on.

3. Invite: share your vision, explain what part the person will play in that vision, and ask for a specific commitment for a specific period of time

• General invitations give mediocre results
• You must know what you want, believe it is worthy, believe you can get it, be passionate about it, and be perceived as determined to get it
• After doing the first two steps, don’t fail to actually ASK

4. Empower: once an invitation has been accepted you must empower the person to do his/her part

• You must clearly define what a “win” is for the new recruit and then let them run with it
• The “win” should be written out and clearly explained

5. Insure: do not relinquish the right to follow up with your new recruit

• Remember, that which gets measured gets done
• Remember, people do what you inspect, not what you expect
• You must follow up to insure that the desired results are being achieved
• You must give feedback and instruction when desired results are not being achieved

Your ability to successfully invite others to join you may be the biggest measure of your leadership potential. Choosing to go it alone is a certain formula for failure, but partnering together with like-minded people brings success.

Re-Program Daily

As Christians we do not naturally head in the direction, think the right thoughts or choose the wisest course of action. On the contrary, we naturally drift in the wrong direction, think the wrong thoughts and choose the foolish course of action. That's partly because of the ungodly influence of the world we live in. The world's values are taught to us at every corner (i.e. on tv, on radio, at the movies, in the music we hear, from the ungoldy people we work with, etc.).

So what's the answer? The answer is a daily reprogramming of our minds through reading the Scriptures. As we fill our minds with the truth of God's word, with the principles of God's word, with the wisdom of God's word, etc. we learn to head in the right direction, think the right thoughts and choose the wise course of action. Our brains need a daily re-programming so they work in a godly way, instead of an ungodly way.

Let's pray for a hunger and thirst for God's Word on a daily basis.

What Your Church Volunteers Need

1. They need to know they are making a difference in peoples lives.

Your volunteers aren't just doing a task you've asked them to...They are helping lead people to Jesus and ultimately making the world a better place! The last time you asked someone to volunteer/serve at your church, did they get the impression that if they said yes they'd be helping lead people to Jesus and change their world for the good? If not, you're not doing your job as a leader.

2. They need to know they are a part of something bigger than themselves.

When someone says yes to serving they are agreeing to partner with God in impacting the world for the kingdom of God. That's BIG! And people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

3. They need to see in their mind's eye what the future COULD be if they get involved.

We've got to cast vision to our volunteers. Vision is a picture of what the future could be and should be. You've got to paint a picture of what the future COULD look like if the person steps up to the plate and uses their time and energy for the purposes of God.

4. They need to be asked by a leader that's excited about what he/she is doing.

No one wants to say yes to a passion-less request. If you aren't 100% sold on what you're doing and what you're inviting others to get involved with, they are NOT going to respond positively. On the other hand - if YOU are passionate about it, the chances are much higher that potential volunteers will get sucked into and share your excitement.

What Every Church Attender Needs

There are two things that every church attender needs if they are going to stay at your church and you have approximately anywhere from 3-7 months to give it to them or they will leave.

Every person needs 1) Relationship and every person needs 2) Responsibility.

Relationship

At New Day we provide the weekend service, small groups (coming first week of October '09), and occasional church events (i.e. potluck bbq) as opportunities for relationships to be built.

Responsibility

At New Day we have a wide variety of serving opportunities such as setting up sound equipment, setting up kids church, info table, signage, bulletin assembly, worship team, people counters, camera person, sound person, computer person, emcee, ushers, money counters, greeters, check in & check out people for kids church, teachers for kids church, volunteers for kids church, tear down crew, van drivers, etc. You won't be at New Day too long before you're asked to use your gifts in the context of the local church through serving.

If people are going to stay they have to have both relationship and responsibility. May God help us to think of creative ways to provide His people with what they need.