Volunteers have a lot to do and little time to do it – prepare the way for them

As a staff member, you have a lot of time to think about things. You may be busy with a variety of tasks, but your day is spent thinking about church projects and needs. You can consider what is working and what isn’t; what needs to be done today and what can wait until next week.

You may not realize that your volunteers have a lot going on outside of church. That new stage design you want to build? While you were considering it, volunteers are working, caring for their family, and paying bills. Same goes for the new website, the changes to the children’s ministry, or anything else. Volunteers really want to help. But they have a lot going on in their lives outside of the church building.

Give them the big picture of what you are doing, so that they can work toward the same goal. Outline important milestones. Gather up your items and research. You may even want to make some decisions ahead of time if you need the work done quickly. Just keep in mind that micro-managing isn’t fun for anyone, so prepare the way and then give them the freedom to succeed.

Spend a little time preparing the way for what you need your volunteers to do and they’ll get it done. They’ll have fun doing it. And they’ll reach the same goals together with you.

This is part 2 in a 5 part series called “5 Things Volunteers Wish Their Staff Knew”

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