Creating a “Volunteers Welcome” Culture  - Part 2

This month we will continue focusing on what it takes to create an environment and culture where volunteers will want to serve.

Let us again return to our Disney World analogy. One thing is for sure, Disney World is fair – everyone must stand in line. If you are the president of a large Fortune 500 company or a cleaning person who works there it does not matter. Everyone waits in line for tickets, for the concession stands and yes even the rest room.

When you have a culture that is fair it creates a level playing field. When we all follow the same rules, everyone knows what to expect, what is expected of them and there is no favoritism. Most successful businesses today follow this model. Unfortunately this is not always the case with churches.

This is a shocking and surprising statement but is sadly true in more instances than not. There is no more perfect model for us to follow than the kingdom of God. Jesus came to earth and died for everyone. We are all sinners. There is only one game plan and one way to get to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. The playing field is completely level at the foot of the cross.

Unfortunately in churches we sometimes play favorites. Special privileges may be given to some volunteers. That is no good. As in any area of life this creates resentment and hurt and you will lose good people. This is not to say that there will not be differences in the way each volunteer is treated but if we follow the example of Jesus we cannot go wrong. His followers were not all treated exactly the same – all were equally loved, all were used and all were called but he did have an inner circle, His disciples. It was to this group of ‘volunteers’ that he imparted the inside scoop so to speak of his parables.  They in turn spread the knowledge outward.

This same model can be used in your ministry program. You may have a core team of volunteers that you impart knowledge to and they in turn share that knowledge with their team and so on. Think of it like a chain. All the links are connected but not directly connected to the same link. All volunteers are trained, discipled and evaluated but you do not do it all. That is both fair and smart. Here are three key things to make sure you have in place to ensure a fair culture.

1.       Set clear guidelines and expectations

Make sure to remind folks of these and if someone falls short, call them on it. There will always be exceptions but make sure it is just that, an exception. Be fair.

2.       Set standards

I am sure we have all experienced the situation where someone got their job because they ‘knew’ someone or were related to the boss. If the person is genuinely qualified this is not an issue. Unfortunately in some instances this is not the case. Do not let this happen in your ministry. It is not fair and will keep a qualified volunteer from landing the position. Set standards and hold on to them.

3.       Avoid competition

What is your ministry plan to promote volunteers? Competition can bring out the best and worst in all of us. It is unlikely that someone would purposely trip the Nursery Director as she started down the stairs to move her out of the position but someone may be willing to gossip or bad mouth her. Later this year we will discuss how to address your policies and procedures to ensure fairness and a ‘promotion path’.

Until next month,

CJ Schindler

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