Category Archives: Uncategorized

When is a fabulous event a bad thing?

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by Carol

When is a fabulous event a — well, maybe not bad, but — less than 100% good thing?

History

I knew a church that had an annual outreach event every year.  All of the children’s games, signs, food-prep stuff, etc., etc., were brought out of storage when the time rolled around.  Every church member (it seemed) had a favorite place to serve.  Even the families in the neighborhood knew when to expect the flyers and when to show up in droves.

Now, you are probably thinking that it had turned into a bad thing because everyone was in a rut.  And to be fair, it was not working as a true outreach event anymore.  But that wasn’t what turned it into a problem.

The New Kid

The problem started when someone new in the church — who had no awareness of the previous history — was asked to do something very different with the event.  Result?  A fairly successful event because the members tried their best to stay in their rut.

The Staff Kid

The next year, a staff member headed up a moderately successful event.

The Newest New Kid

And then came the “fabulous” year.

A new person in the church — who had no awareness of the previous history — was asked to lead.  She poured her every waking moment and her extended family into the event.  I repeat: It was fabulous.

But…

The next year, she didn’t want to lead it again.  (Can you blame her?)  And the staff member didn’t want to lead it again.  And the earlier recruit didn’t want to get burned again.  And the original games and signs and food-prep stuff had long since gone in a dumpster.  And the church members no longer had their favorite places to serve.  And….

And Finally

No one wanted to try to follow last year’s “fabulous” act.

Lessons to Learn

There are quite a few lessons here:

  • It’s hard to change a well-entrenched ministry.  It has to be done with careful planning.
  • It’s not fair to throw a change like that into the lap of a new volunteer.
  • The dance between volunteer leaders and paid staff can be tricky enough.  Switching roles back and forth creates even more problems.
  • Annual events build over time, so the leadership needs to be recruited and supported over the long haul. A flash in the pan burns out everyone.

What happens when volunteers are too busy?

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by Carol

What happens when volunteers are too busy?

This is Therapy Journal 101. When I’m too busy:

  1. I don’t get blog posts written/proofread/posted.
  2. I snap at people.
  3. I have no patience.
  4. I make mountains into mole hills. No — the other way around.
  5. I make mistakes.
  6. I can’t think creatively.
  7. I give up before the job is finished.
  8. I drop things (like paint brushes, soft drinks, trays of cupcakes — icing side down).
  9. I snap at people.
  10. I get sick.
  11. I fail to ask others for their help, their understanding, or their prayers.
  12. I say things that shouldn’t be said out loud (like letting other people know how frustrated I am with someone/something).
  13. I snap at people.
  14. I think about quitting.
  15. I forget to give God the credit He deserves.
  16. I think about kicking the cat (which I wouldn’t do — and, besides, God’s word says a lot about people who mistreat animals).
  17. I don’t smile or laugh.
  18. I snap at people — and don’t tell me that I already said that!

People have limits.  When they are stressed, tired, and pressured, even the best of us run out of energy and let our filters slip.

There may not be anything you can do when one of your volunteers has had a storage unit flooded, had cats start the volunteer’s work day at 4:45 a.m., is about to be laid off, and has a VBS to-do list that is a mile long of things past their deadlines.  (Welcome to my world!)

What do I appreciate when I’m too busy?

  • Help with cleaning up or getting things finished.
  • A creative perspective.
  • A minimum of questions and advice.
  • A short memory for some of the things I say.
  • A long memory for expressing appreciation for good things I do.
  • Sometimes — but not always — a hug.

Thanks for listening.

Too busy – puppets, scripts and props

When Volunteers Bail Out (quit, move, retire, leave, or whatever)

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by Carol

[We’ll return to our series on volunteers in churches of different sizes after this brief non-commercial break.]

Many of our programs work on a school-year calendar, so we’re coming up on that season for volunteers to tell you that they won’t be back in the fall.  How do you respond?

I take it personally.  Bad form, I know.  Not everything is about me.  Sometimes God calls people to new ministries, new homes, and new challenges.

But after I have a personal panic party, what do I do next?

1.  I do, actually, question whether I ought to take it personally. 
Did I do something (big or small) that drove off the volunteer? Or, did I fail to do something that would have encouraged the volunteer to stay?  It happens — but I will never know unless I ask myself the question.

2.  I encourage a candid discussion. 
I ask the volunteer why they are leaving the position, and I make sure that I am listening carefully.  I take their reason at face value, of course, but I don’t assume that volunteers can always articulate the reasons that they don’t feel that this is the right fit anymore.  Even when they are moving across the country, I can still learn something through an exit interview.

3.  I help the volunteer to leave gracefully. 
Sendoffs should be proportional to the years they have served.  Goodbyes can be as warm as possible.  Leave the light on, in case they want to come home later.  And if the relationship is strained or broken, study the Bible for every bit of wisdom on love and reconciliation that you can find — and then USE it.  When all is said and done, pray for your volunteers who are leaving.

4.  I think about changing the time or the program. 
We’ll dig deeper into this in the next post, but sometimes your best volunteers are not available during the time slot that used to work.  And sometimes you need to rethink the program — is it requiring too many volunteers, or too much from the volunteers you have?

5.  I reconsider the role. 
You’re not going to get a clone of the volunteer who is leaving, so what do you really want?  Is it time to change the job description?  Is it time to find a different personality type?  Does a new volunteer need to fit into an existing team?  Think before you run out and grab the first person who looks something like the one who is leaving.

6. I ask for help in recruiting. 
Help comes in various forms — a referral from the outgoing volunteer, a suggestion from a current volunteer, an idea from someone who says no to serving right now.

You also may need help on a grander scale.  This year, we are losing some key workers at a time that we are hoping to expand some of our children’s ministries.  Because I am recruiting for the whole ministry, I will ask for help from the pastor (to address the importance from the pulpit), from the keepers of the screen (rolling announcements, verbal announcements, and video clips), and from the gatekeepers of our direct publicity (outgoing emails, print media, etc.).

Bottom line:  Volunteer turnover is normal.  When volunteers leave, take a breath and then turn it into a good thing.

Next time — As volunteers come and go, we’ll take a look at the kind of volunteers you need and the type of positions you have open.

3 Reasons for a Happy Dance

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Happy Danceby Carol

Between Medium and Mega lies the land of the Large Church and the Very Large Church.  For many church volunteers, this is the Land of the Happy Dance for at least three reasons:

1.  Volunteers leaders are needed and supported.  By the time you get to the mega church, many volunteer leadership positions have been taken over by pastoral staff, support staff, and even interns.  But the large church still relies on volunteers to lead volunteers.  These leaders often work closely with the support staff (ministry assistants and shared secretaries).  In fact, it is not unusual to see volunteer leaders hired onto the staff as the church grows to the next level.

2.  Volunteers can develop an area of interest.  Unlike the small church, where the jack-of-all-trades is crucial, the large and very large churches have room for specialists.  Musicians who aren’t professionals, for example, can shine in a variety of roles without feeling guilty that some other ministry of the church is struggling.  Volunteers gain experience and expertise, but they don’t have to be exclusively dedicated to a niche.

3.  Volunteers appreciate participating in programs that are done well.  Benefits come from having more people, the leadership of well-trained staff, and more resources (financial and otherwise).  The church doesn’t hesitate to foot the bill for training and workshops.  And the volunteers get positive feedback from church members who appreciate the quality of the music, children’s activities, teaching, interior décor, etc., etc.

Right Fit
Volunteers don’t always know what they are looking for, but they feel the difference when they find the right place to serve. Large and very large churches aren’t right for everyone, of course.  I always think about the question of whether you want to be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond — assuming that being a big fish in a big pond isn’t one of your options.

So a few questions are in order:

Are you a jack-of-all-trades?
Are you a professional in some field and do you want to use that expertise in a volunteer capacity at church?
Do you like feeling that you have made a difference in whether a ministry will continue to function?
Do you put a high value on excellence above other things?
Are you more concerned with finding a place for everyone, even those with limited skills?

These are the trade-offs that volunteers consider, whether they think about them consciously or not.  It helps when the volunteers and their leaders are aware of what the trade-offs are.  In fact, they may even launch their happy dance!

Helping Church Volunteers to Thrive

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by Carol

Volunteers and church staff need to remind each other of the deep truths they believe and how that fuels their mission.  Simple enough.

But when holidays, special events, and the week-to-week routine roll around (= 24 / 7 / 365), that’s not as easy as it sounds.

Take Easter, for example.  (Side note:  If you let your events get hijacked by the so-called “Easter” bunny, you’re on your own, folks.)  Your church probably has extra services, more music, more sprucing up, more decorations (though not nearly what we do at Christmas), and more printed/electronic communication to the community.  All of these take a lot of additional time and creative effort.  And all of them can siphon off volunteer hours galore.

You would think that the extra emphasis on the Easter message would help volunteers and staff to appreciate Jesus’ suffering for our sin and His resurrection even more.  Many times, though, the appreciation stays on the surface.  Volunteers get tired and staff get burned out.  I’ve seen exhausted music directors turn cranky and crazy.

A quick prayer at the beginning or end of a rehearsal just doesn’t cut it.  A brief reminder doesn’t penetrate the veneer.  You have to be intentional about focusing minds and hearts on your purpose and where it fits within the overall mission.

It’s never too late to help church volunteers thrive, whether you are a leader or a co-worker.

Try these steps:

1.  Keep it healthy. 
Even Leonardo da Vinci had assistants.  No one needs to work around the clock. No one needs to lift and tote and build until they drop over.  No one even needs to shop ‘til they drop!  Provide healthy snacks, plenty of H2O, and adequate rest.  Recruit a big enough team — and let others help.  Pay attention to the health and safety of the people around you.  Worn out people can’t appreciate the meaning of ministry.

2.  Keep it happy. 
Laugh a lot and have fun.   Even the most serious projects and events should have moments when you enjoy each other’s company.  Yes, our efforts have eternal ramifications, but not every step has life-or-death consequences.  Tempers tend to flare when people get too tired or excessively serious.  Find ways to put a smile on your own face and the face of those around you.  Take your mission seriously, take yourself seriously, and take your joy seriously!

3.  Keep it holy. 
This may seem counter to #2, but it shouldn’t be.  Remember that you are with people who believe in the God who does not tolerate sin.  This is where you set limits on the things you do to provoke laugher or light heartedness.  This is where you take time to remind each other of the profound reasons that you are doing what you do.  This is where you remind yourself that members of God’s family are still growing — they need your patience, your example, and your wise counsel.  You shouldn’t have to think hard about how your activity ties to the reason you are doing it, but you may need to think ahead to communicate the reason.  Take more than a “moment” to think deeply and connect sincerely.  You will find that it is well worth the effort.

Volunteers? Gotta love em’!

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by Carol

Back in college, my favorite Peanuts poster was the one that quotes Lucy:  “I love mankind.  It’s people I can’t stand.”

Sometimes it is easier to love volunteers in general than to love individual volunteers.  There must have been days when it was easier for Jesus to think of giving His life for all of humanity than to be nose to nose with smelly, obstinate fishermen and tax collectors.

But what if you really do love them?  Do they know it?

Two types
Experts in organizational leadership identify leaders in two different camps:  task-oriented and relationship-oriented.  I should be the poster child for the task-oriented types.  I’m not that way all the time — and no one is 100% either one anyway.  Still, I need to take time more often to stop and enjoy the volunteers for the roses they are.  (Do not insert the mental note of “thorns and all” here!)

More than thoughts
I think that the volunteers in our ministry are a GREAT group of people who inspire me by their time commitment and love for the Lord.  But if it doesn’t get beyond my thoughts, it doesn’t help.  Volunteers are not mind readers.  They are behavior readers.

At one point, I thought that I was helping our people to become more effective.  I was working with people, though, who were wise enough (and loving enough) to tell me that I was coming across as critical and disapproving.

I’ll bet that we can all reach back in our memory to examples of leaders who have created negative vibes when they first came to a church.  Leaders may have a lot of experience, be highly trained, and know a lot about their field.  They may be able to quote 1 Corinthians 13 in their sleep.  And yet, we can still fail to let church volunteers know that they are loved.

Something changed
Lately, I have been having a lot of fun enjoying our volunteers.  How did that happen?  I didn’t have to cook up ways to make them feel special.  I’m not flattering them with untrue praise.  I’m not overlooking their flaws.

I probably changed several things, but I know I made these changes:

1. I quit thinking, “They are doing a great job, except…..”  I dropped the “except” and enjoyed the great job for a while!

2. I quit dwelling on the things we needed to change.  Yes, we can improve, but the negatives tended to spill out in my facial expressions and tone of voice before I could catch them.  I have to think about changes at a separate time.

3. I talked with my team about what motivated them.  Literally, we had an evening when I asked them about what church was like (or not like) when they were kids.  I was amazed!  I have a whole new appreciation for these people.

New attitude
It’s easy for Christians to say that we love one another.  We are supposed to.  (And we know that we have to work hard to love people that we don’t even like.)  I’m giving and getting a lot more smiles, though, since I refocused on Philippians 4:8:

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (NLT).

In fact, I am finding that I don’t just love our volunteers — I am delighted with them.

7 Underestimated Words for Leading Volunteers

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by Carol

In Matthew 5, Jesus repeated the phrases, “You have heard it said that ……, but I tell you……”

You have probably heard that the “seven last words of the church” are, “We’ve never done it that way before.”  But I tell you, maybe the seven most underestimated words for leading volunteers are, “We have always done it that way.”

Neither statement is necessarily true, thank goodness.  Still, they seem contradictory, so let’s take a look.

Some congregations fight against change with every ounce of their strength.  Staff members come and go, but the nucleus of the church holds fast to an old mindset that will not budge.  And yes, in that case, the congregation that refuses to entertain any new thoughts or different ways of doing things will die.  It may be a slow, lingering decline.  The church might even look like it is thriving, but only because it is a sealed-off pocket of ancient rituals in the midst of a landscape of change.

But we have a saying about not throwing the baby out with the bath water.  Think about that picture for a moment.  Who came up with that one?!  I’m trying to picture my grandmother or great grandmother heaving a washtub of soapy water from the back porch — along with the little, pink bundle of joy.

There are things in church that are precious to us.  They tug at our heart strings and define the roles we play and carry the faith to the next generation.

Take Christmas traditions, for example.  Candlelight services probably mean more to those of us that have always lived with electric lights.  We have a core group of Christmas carols that have been carried on for decades (some for centuries).  And most Americans could stage a Christmas pageant, even if they have no personal relationship with the central character.

Traditions, rituals, and things we “have always done” give us a head start with volunteers in the church.  People can imagine where you are going with a concept.  They can see themselves as a part of it.  They can build on last year’s event.  Youngsters can look forward to the day that they will join (or grow into a new role).  Newcomers can get a sense of what holds this group together at the heart level.

Change can be good.  Don’t underestimate tradition and repetition, though.  And don’t be surprised if, when you try to repeat something, you find that it turns out different.  Remember, we serve a God who makes snowflakes.

How many volunteers?

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How many volunteers does it take to change a light bulb?

Okay, seriously. This is not a joke. When you are trying to fill volunteer positions in your Sunday School or recruit volunteers for your Fall Festival, how many volunteers do you need?

You can probably come up with a pretty good estimate. As the deadlines draw near, it is easy to see how many positions are unfilled. At that point, you start to scramble for space in the bulletin (if your church still has one) or make phone calls or call in personal favors. As things get desperate (from your point of view — Ever wonder about God’s sense of humor as He watches this play out?), I have a better question for you:

How many volunteers do you actually have in your church?

I had an epiphany the day the pastor sent me into all of the Sunday morning Bible study classes to recruit volunteers for a Fall Festival. I looked at folks with walkers, young parents lugging diaper bags, people I knew were taking trips, etc., etc. After adjusting for all of the limitations, we didn’t have enough actual human beings to fill all of the volunteer positions we had created!

I’m not saying that people were unwilling. I’m saying that I did not see enough adults (youth included) to fill the slots — people who could be there to lift and tote, or watch kids carefully, or walk at a brisk pace (or toss balls back) for an hour or two, or cook at a grill for three hours.

If I had been looking for Bible study leaders, I would have run into a different set of limitations. Not everyone can be there 50 weeks out of the year or read well enough to plan a lesson or speak in front of even a small audience. For example, teenagers can do a lot of things, but they rarely lead a home group for couples. All of that shrinks your pool of potential volunteers before you ever consider their spiritual maturity or the personality fit.

In community theater groups, we knew that 10% of the tickets that people reserved for our programs would end up not being used. Life happens.  I haven’t seen numbers that involve church volunteers, though.

For every 100 people in your church, how many of them are actually available in your volunteer pool? There may be some guidelines that tell us how to calculate the number.

It’s time to go looking for them — or figure them out. If you know of any, leave us a comment!

Spread the Load! Part 2 of 2

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by Kristi and Carol

What if …. Your usual volunteer pool is shrinking and your responsibilities are growing.

In part 1, we looked at the steps to evaluate your current situation:

TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND THINK: What is stressful to you or other leaders in your organization?

STOP FOR A SECOND AND LOOK CLOSELY: Are the job descriptions in your existing organizational structure up-to-date?

COMPARE REALITY TO WHAT IS ON PAPER: Although capable people are working hard, do their jobs match reality?

Now that you have identified the stress points and have a firm grasp on what your volunteers are actually trying to do, it is time to take action. Read on to see what “Org-C” did.

1. WE ADDED NEW FACES.

It looked like stay-at-home moms re-entering the workforce were depleting the pool of easily accessible volunteers. Older adult volunteers, though, had never previously been asked to take on this volunteer role. They were available to work on these tasks during the week and it gave them an excuse to get together with friends. Even better, they were excited to do something that they were good at.

2. WE ADDED NEW PLACES.

Although many moms couldn’t come during weekdays to do prep-work, some could work from home.

3. WE ADDED NEW POSITIONS.

It may seem counter-intuitive to increase the number of volunteer positions. To keep the supervisors focused on people (the volunteers they supervised), we created new job descriptions related to the computer work. These “extra” volunteers were designated to handle issues at the command center desk while the supervisors were in hallways and classrooms. They cross-trained in many areas and were able to help with tasks beyond the computers.

4. WE ADDED A NEW STATION.

A gathering point a few feet down the hallway became a new check-in station for supervision and dispatching of rotating substitutes. This took the congestion away from the main command center. Handling substitutes seemed to get in the way of the supervisors’ core job, and it could easily be done by volunteers with administrative talents. We sliced off those responsibilities and created a whole new volunteer position. Several volunteers were passionate to fill this role, as it was scheduled just for the first portion of the program day, and if they wanted to, they could finish and leave. In many instances, these volunteers stayed to pitch in and help with other needs that arose.

Spreading the load may seem like a lot more work at the beginning, but purposeful adjustments in this area will have multiple benefits. After new positions were created and the load was more evenly shared at Org-C, the supervisors were more successful in supervising volunteers. Prospective volunteers began observing an organization that was no longer frenetically out of control. Instead, they saw an organization they could successfully join. In case after case, the volunteers who came into the new positions eventually spread their efforts beyond their initial job descriptions. Because they felt fulfilled in the role that fit their key passions, many had enough energy to help in other areas — and had the motivation to do so because they had become loyal to the supervisors and to the program.

BOTTOM LINE: If you can’t recruit more of the volunteers you are looking for, start looking for different volunteers for different positions!

 

Spread the Load! Part 1 of 2

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by Kristi and Carol

What if …

Let’s say that you’re currently looking for a certain type of volunteer. What if you were never able to recruit more of that type? What if — despite your best efforts and most eloquent pleas — prospective volunteers stopped saying “yes” when you asked them to take a role in your organization?

IMG_5211 - cropped

 

 

 

 

 

A few years ago, I (Kristi) consulted with an organization we’ll call “Org-C” — “C” for chaos!!! Their leadership admitted that, to the general public, they appeared to be “running around with our heads cut off” or operating under “controlled chaos.” The challenge was to recruit more volunteers into an existing structure.

We evaluated the system and determined areas of high stress. By expanding the organizational structure, we took pressure off of them. As a result, they gradually came to a place of projecting a calm and efficient leadership presence, and new volunteers joined the team.

How can you do that?

TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND THINK: What is stressful to you or other leaders in your organization?

In Org-C, it was easy to see the stress points. Three supervisors planned ahead. But on the program day, chaos ensued: regularly scheduled volunteers did not show up; last minute rotating subs did show up, but they hovered around the main command center desk, clogging up an already congested thoroughfare until they were sent to the right location; visitors showed up and needed to be assigned to classrooms; and invariably, some missing supplies would be needed from the back room.

STOP FOR A SECOND, AND LOOK CLOSELY: Are the job descriptions in your existing organizational structure up to date?

In Org-C’s past, when the 3 supervisors started serving, the organization was staffed with many stay-at-home moms. The moms volunteered during the week so that everything was ready. But like many organizations, Org-C felt the changes in society as women went back to work. Often “supplies” were one of the tasks that slipped through the cracks in preparation. The supervisors tried to pick up the slack on program day, in addition to data-entry in the new digital age, and making last-minute assignments for more substitutes in a growing ministry. None of these new responsibilities were in the job description.

COMPARE REALITY TO WHAT IS ON PAPER: Although capable people are working hard, do their jobs match reality?

Once everything was on paper, it didn’t take long to see that the 3 supervisors in Org-C were being stretched beyond their limits. Their main role was to supervise volunteers. With a smaller pool of volunteers, more technology, and an expanding organization, no one had quite understood how the work load of the 3 supervisors had become unmanageable.

The next step? Do something about it.

Come back for Part 2 to see what we tried.