Volunteers play an integral and essential role in the church. They are the hands, feet, and heart that make ministry happen. So it is vital that as leaders we stay connected with our volunteers and maintain good communication.
When you are managing many different responsibilities, keeping up with all of your volunteers can become overwhelming, and it is easy for someone to be overlooked or for miscommunication to happen. This is why it is imperative to have a support and plan in place to make volunteers a priority.
Putting 4 processes in place can help volunteers feel like the priority they are.
- Cast vision often – Volunteers are more likely to stay committed and invested when they understand the “why” behind what they are doing. Most churches focus on the vision behind the role of their volunteers when initial training takes place, but it is important to continue reminding your volunteers of this “why” and its importance. Have a quarterly meeting where you continually cast vision.
- Delegate – It is very difficult for a leader to communicate well with each volunteer. This is why it’s so important to delegate to your volunteer leaders this responsibility. If each lay leader is in charge of a specific group of volunteers, they will have and make the time to invest in those volunteers. This spreads the responsibility out and also strengthens the relationships among your volunteers.
- Celebrate – You may not know what is going on in each volunteers life, but once you delegate, your lay leaders can let you know when a volunteer has a reason to celebrate. Make sure to find a way to highlight when positive things happen in their lives. A great way to do this is using Realm® to communicate reasons for your volunteers to celebrate with one another. Your lay leaders can also use Realm to identify when a volunteer has been absent and then reach out to them to make sure things are okay and check in on them. Realm makes communication and connection easier to maintain among your volunteers.
- Encourage – Your volunteers do a tremendous job each week, and they need to hear that. When you take the time to thank and encourage your lay leaders, you then commission them to do the same for the group of volunteers they are responsible for. A written note, a phone call midweek, or an encouraging text can boost their morale and help them feel appreciated and part of a bigger team.
Making sure your volunteers know they are appreciated and important not only to you, but also to the entire church is powerful. The key though is making sure you have plans and processes like these in place. It shouldn’t be just your responsibility. Sharing that responsibility helps you and strengthens your congregation.
What can you begin this month to strengthen your communication and connection with your volunteers?
