Volunteers All Dried Up?

Posted: 6/25/10 by Cara Martens

During the summer, there’s a drought in churches everywhere. The volunteer pool just seems to dry up! It’s not just in your ministry. How about we share some of our more creative ideas on how to make it through the next few weeks? I know you feel like you’re in the hot seat– short on leaders and unsure how many kids will show up.

Want to get kids begging the adults in their life to serve? I once ordered a blow-up submarine ball pit and put it out in a central area with sign up sheets. The ball pit started out empty- but every time a parent signed up to sub, they wrote their child’s name on a ball and dropped it in. At the beginning of every service in front of all the kids, I drew out a ball (like a raffle) and gave away things kids value– like Chuck E Cheese coins and Sonic or McDonald’s gift cards. It was funny to see parents’ faces as their kids dragged them over and explained why they should help out. It worked! What else have you tried to get the word out and participation up?

Please keep in mind this was only ever my short-term, quick fix. I was also actively vision-casting for consistent leaders in the fall. One of the best new books on what really motivates us is “Drive” by Daniel Pink. Rewards like the ones above are limited; they won’t last. But research shows that giving people autonomy (choice), mastery (training) and purpose (bigger story) does. Here’s a great video with many of the main concepts from the book.

Share

  • Summer has become one of our best recruitment seasons. We have a "Summer Team" of children's ministry volunteers we recruit for every year. About 25-30 sign up, and about 18-24 of those end up serving. I think the big reasons it works is because:

    1. The time frame is specific - July & August, so the end is in sight :)
    2. We tell them they don't have to serve every week, they can serve twice, 4 times, 8 times, etc
    3. We talk about the Orientation Meeting with each announcement, and there's a spot on the sign up sheet to indicate if you can attend (this let's them know they'll get more information and training)
    4. Some people's schedules make it easier for them to serve in the summer (some parents and some college students who are home)

    The few years we have done it, anywhere from 30%-60% of those volunteers move into regular serving roles in the fall.
  • OrangeLeaders
    I can see why that work-- the short time frame, the options and the promise of training. I also found that some volunteers prefer summer for their schedules and become regulars that way. How do you follow up to ask summer leaders to continue-- in person, over the phone, through email? Thanks for commenting, Nick!
  • We have typically followed up using notes, email and in person conversations. I send a handwritten note and a small gift card to all the volunteers near the end of the summer, thanking them for their service and I mention they have the option of stepping into a regular serving role. Then, we mention it over email from their environment Directors and finally we follow up in person if we haven't heard from them one way or the other. We make sure they know that isn't the expectation, so they shouldn't feel bad at all if they don't continue serving.

    There was no obvious reason why one year 60% of them "stuck" and the next year 30% did, except that many of the volunteers that year were college students or people who served only on summer team the previous year. We'll see how this year goes.
  • OrangeLeaders
    That sounds like a good plan. I felt like the more personal the ask- the more I could be specific about what I'd or others had seen them do well in serving- the better the response. So they knew I wasn't just after a warm body, but that I'd noticed ways God had used them and hoped they'd want to continue. Have a great Sunday, Nick! And thanks as always for sharing--
blog comments powered by Disqus

Search

Login



Recent Posts

Authors

Recent Comments

Blog Categories

Blog Archives