LEADING VOLUNTEERS, PART 1: WHY AND WHO

Brandon Andersen » Scripture Church Leadership Wisdom Coaching

Why are we recruiting volunteers in the first place? Who are these people we’re recruiting? In this first of a two-part series, Mars Hill Deacon Brandon Andersen will cover some of practical tools to help organize and lead volunteers with a mind toward ministering to the volunteers themselves.

The most common mistake in leading volunteers is over-prioritizing a ministry objective and under-prioritizing the development of the volunteers themselves. A volunteer ministry is just as much about ministering to the actual volunteers as it is being in what they are doing. Balancing the two is the key to a healthy, fruitful volunteer ministry. I have been leading and utilizing hundreds of volunteers for many years and learned a lot of tough lessons along the way.

THE WHY

“Why are we doing this in the first place?”

Before you and your ministry team set out to do something, it’s a good rule of thumb to pin down why you’re doing it in the first place.

IT HAS TO BE FOR JESUS

Jesus needs to be the motivation for your team, and vision is the instrument to lead them there. A lot of what volunteers do is not glamorous, so if they don’t understand the importance and impact, their motivation will drift. Always begin with vision that what they are doing is to serve God out of gratitude and to serve his people. This needs to be established before you move to expectation and imperative.

IT’S ALSO FOR THE VOLUNTEERS

When recruiting, if you feel like you are twisting someone’s arm into volunteering, then you have the wrong view of serving. You are inviting them to be sanctified as they learn to serve like Jesus and participate in the work he is doing (Rom. 12:1–2). If you truly believe that it is for their good, your “recruiting” will turn into “inviting” and you will yield a better response.

THE WHO

Who will lead and who is being impacted?

GET THE RIGHT LEADER

You could have the best system in the world and the wrong leader and it will fail. Or you could have a horrible system and the right leader, and it will succeed. I am in no way advocating bad systems. I would however advocate for simple systems that allow right leader to get in place quickly, and enough flexibility to utilize their unique gifts.

MAKE GOOD, STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS

Invest in a few key people well, rather than many people poorly. In my experience, you can only invest well into about a half a dozen people at a time before you efforts become diluted. If you try to be everything to everyone, you will exhaust yourself and/or no one will be led well. Focus on the development of a few key leaders and teach them how to lead well through your example, so they can turn around and the same.

DON’T FORCE IT

Don’t try to make the wrong leader into the right leader by doubling your effort.

If you have leaders on your team who are OK with being unreliable, mediocre, and passing the blame, address this immediately and make adjustments as necessary. You will exhaust yourself trying to be someone else’s motivation. If they are not motivated enough by Jesus, then you probably need to remove them from leadership (Col. 3:23–24). I have spent months trying to make the wrong leader work, and when I replaced the leader, things turned around almost overnight.

This said, don’t give up on the removed leader: either place them under an inspired leader, or find a different role that more adequately suits their gifts.

DON’T RUN FROM PEOPLE’S LIVES

People are messy and amazing—usually at the same time. Don’t be afraid to get in the trenches and walk with them through their struggles (Prov. 27:23). It is ministry, after all. Remember, part of your ministry is to the volunteers themselves (Rom. 12:9–15).

DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOUR TEAM

If a volunteer skips a week of volunteering, don’t just assume it’s because they are lazy, but make sure you know the whole story (Prov. 25:8). It is more about their hearts than your objective. I would suggest the following dialogue:

Leader: “Hey, I noticed you missed last week, is everything alright?”

Volunteer: “Yeah, why?”

Leader: “Oh, since you missed last week, I figured something was wrong.”

It is kind of sneaky, but it also shows you care and communicates importance.

LEAD WITH STORIES OF WHO IS BEING CHANGED

The church has a lot of moving parts, all serving different purposes that impact countless lives. Not everyone gets to see the harvest, and some roles are simply farming. Volunteers need to hear stories about the fruits of their labor to reinforce importance of their role.

In the next post, Brandon will address the methods of what and how.

Convicted Anti-Christian Domestic Terrorist Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Convicted Anti-Christian Domestic Terrorist Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Recovering From Church Burns: Advice for the Wounded

Recovering From Church Burns: Advice for the Wounded

If you've been burned by a pastor, you need a pastor. 

 

"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'” (1 Pet. 5:1-5, ESV).

Different Kingdom: Dealing with Disconnection

Different Kingdom: Dealing with Disconnection: I have said that I think God is doing something in terms of realigning parts of his Body in the UK for his purposes in our generation. I don...

Christian Piatt: Five Things that are Holding Christianity Back | Red Letter Christians

Christian Piatt: Five Things that are Holding Christianity Back | Red Letter Christians

I’m often asked about what trends I see within Christianity, both good and bad. So in my ongoing effort to help name trends and offer an alternative way of thinking about our faith, here are the five biggest things I’ve seen that tend to keep us from doing our best work as the living, breathing body of Christ in the world today.

Church Buildings - Many of our church buildings were established in a time when Christianity was booming numerically in the United States. We could hardly keep up with the growth, happening all around us. Understandably, churches popped up where the people were too, drawing many away from their old downtown churches to a more convenient suburban community. But as our numbers have dwindled – combined with the fact the we’re a much more mobile society now that ever before – many churches are becoming monuments to what has long since passed. They have become an albatross rather than an asset.

In some cases, these financial burdens are being turned back into the soil as they are sold off, repurposed or given away to those who can do something relevant and exciting with them. For example, our new church start in southern Colorado benefitted from the gift of an old church building that hadn’t been occupied by one of our denomination’s congregations in more than fifteen years. In Amarillo, a church finally closed its doors and sold off their property, only to have it reinvested by their region into what is now called Chalice Abbey. With it, they are doing all kinds of nontraditional – and yet creatively sustainable – kinds of work within the community.

- See more at: http://www.redletterchristians.org/five-things-holding-christianity-back/#sthash.naqfqIJf.dpuf

Female teachers at Islamic school 'made to sign contract agreeing to wear headscarf even if they're NOT Muslim', Daily Mail

• Female staff at Al-Madinah School, Derby, claim they have been asked to wear hijabs and make females sit at the back of classes
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• Non-Halal food and unacceptable jewellery also banned, it is claimed
• 
  
• Muslim faith free school was established in 2012 and caters for 200 students aged four to 16
• National Union of Teachers have said they are 'worried over practices concerning discrimination at the school'
• 
  

By LIZZIE EDMONDS

PUBLISHED: 12:57, 20 September 2013 | UPDATED: 17:40, 20 September 2013

Claims: A member of staff from Al-Madinah School, some of whom are claiming they have been asked to wear headscarves

Female teachers at a Muslim school have been told to cover their heads with Islamic scarves during school hours - even if they are not Muslim.

Staff at Al-Madinah School, Derby, claim they have been told to sign new contracts agreeing to wear hijabs and even make girls sit at the back of classes.

The Muslim faith school, which caters for 200 students aged four to 16, is also thought to have forbidden teachers from bringing in non-Halal food or wearing unacceptable jewellery.

Non-Asian staff have been spotted removing the headwear immediately after stepping outside the school building during lunch hour, but today refused to reveal the extent of the school’s demands.

It is thought that at least five teachers at the school have complained to union bosses about the dress code change - which was introduced over the summer.

Stunned staff at the free school - who faced losing their jobs if they did not agree - are now working with the National Union of Teachers to seek legal advice.

Sue Arguile, branch secretary of Derby National Union of Teachers (NUT), insists that the possible breach of employment law is a result of the Al-Madinah's status as a free school.

She said: 'We have always had a number of concerns about this school ever since it was first set up as essentially they can do what they like.

'There is no buffer between them and the state and no protection for staff and pupils.

'Our understanding is that the teaching staff were told about the contractual changes over the summer in time for the new academic year.

'But at least five teachers - both male and female - have made complaints to the union of concerns about the school breaching employment law.

'We will now be seeking legal advice in order to determine what action to take - but it may very well be that teachers have to bite the bullet and agree.

'Free schools set their own rules, curriculum and dress codes and so long as pupils and staff are aware of them before joining then there is no upset.

'But forcing people to agree to contractual changes or face being out-of-work could breach employment law.'

Nick Raine, regional NUT officer, said: 'We are very worried about the school and the education of the 200 children there.

Banned: Non-Halal food is thought to have also been banned at the school, some of which is based in Norman House in Derby, pictured.

'It’s one thing to have a dress code which we can challenge and quite another to build it into a contract.

'The school is publicly accountable so there needs to be greater transparency.'

However, acting Principal, Stuart Wilson, says he has not received any complaints from staff.

He said: 'I've been told not to speak about the school's policy. I haven't received any complaints from members of staff.'

The school, which caters for primary-age children and secondary children, was set up in September 2012.

 

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• Front-line staff in 17 NHS hospitals have been secretly banned from wearing veils
• Islamic schools in Britain forcing girls as young as 11 to wear full-face veils

It is based in two different locations in Derby - one in Midland House, Nelson Street and the other in Norman House, Friar Gate.

The then head teacher Andrew Cutts-Mckay, who has left after less than a year in post, said at the time that the school was being set up so that ‘the timetable will be flexible with time for Islamic teaching but pupils will be able to opt out of this and there will be a chance to learn about other faiths’.

He said the school would ‘honour all faiths’ and that he envisaged a school where 50 percent of pupils are Islamic and the other half were not.

Allegations: The National Union of Teachers have said they are concerned about the school, the Midland House campus of which is shown above

The free school was initially scheduled to admit 120 reception and year-one children, together with 180 pupils into years seven and eight. Eventually, the all-groups school will have up to 1,100 pupils.

Al-Madinah is a new type of free school, which the government is allowing groups of parents, or interested parties, to set up.

THE HIJAB: 'A SYMBOL OF MODESTY'

A hijab is typically worn by a Muslim female beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males - it covers the head and chest, but not the face.

It not only refers to the physical body covering, but also a state of mind, where al-hijab refers to ‘the veil which separates man or the world from God’.

Hijab can also be used to refer to the seclusion of women from men in public.

Most often, it is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy and morality. If differs from a burqa, a veil that covers the entire body head and face, and the niqab which covers the entire head and face except for the eyes.

These operate in much the same way as private schools, outside local authority control but qualifying for government funding.

Sue Arguile, the branch secretary of Derby National Union of Teachers, added: 'There are worries over practices concerning the discrimination between male and female pupils in the school, with the girls being told to sit at the back of the class regardless of whether they can see the board properly.

'This school was first launched as based on Muslim principles and not as a Muslim school.

'If the school is not sticking to the original reasons behind why it was set up, then it does call into question whether public money is being used properly and for its intended purpose.'

The school has yet to receive an inspection by the Office for Standards in Education, but is due one this academic year.

However, the inspection could be brought forward in view of representations from the teaching unions and the city council.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: 'As schools are only notified the afternoon before inspections begin, we would not be able to let anyone know when the school is being inspected.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2426626/Female-teachers-Islamic-school-sign-contract-agreeing-wear-headscarf-theyre-NOT-Muslim.html#ixzz2fSHeus9E
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Some Thoughts for Today, Hold Fast

2 Thessalonians 2

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Man of Lawlessness

2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the [a]coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your [b]composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a [c]message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the [d]apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

 4 who opposes and exalts himself above [e]every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His [f]coming; 9 that is, the one whose [g]coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and [h]signs and false wonders, 10 and with [i]all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

 11 For this reason God [j]will send upon them [k]a deluding influence so that they will believe [l]what is false, 12 in order that they all may be [m]judged who did not believe the truth, but [n]took pleasure in wickedness.

13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you [o]from the beginning for salvation [p]through sanctification [q]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, [r]that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter [s]from us.16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

The Bible Panorama

2 Thessalonians 2

V 1–4: DON’T BE DECEIVED Continuing teaching on the second coming of Christ, Paul deals with those who have been deceived into thinking that ‘the day of Christ’ has already come, because of the tribulations they are facing. He tells them to stay firm: that day will not come without a falling away, and the revelation of the man of sin  who will oppose everything to do with God, and exalt himself. He will even sit in the temple of God claiming to be God.

 V 5–12: REMEMBER MY REMINDERS Paul reminds them that he had often told them what would happen before the second coming of Christ. (The verb for ‘told’ is in the imperfect tense, indicating he kept on doing it.) As God withdraws His restraining influence (thought by some to mean that the Holy Spirit will withdraw), the lawless one (the man of sin) will be revealed. God the Son will consume him with the breath of His mouth and ‘destroy him with the brightness of His coming’. The lawless one will perform satanic works and lying wonders with great powers and signs. Those who are perishing will be deceived. Having rejected God’s truth, He will send them a delusion that they will believe. Condemnation awaits them.

 V 13–15: SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION Paul thanks God that the Thessalonian Christians have been chosen for salvation to be sanctified through God’s Holy Spirit and a belief in the truth of His word and His gospel. This glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and he urges them to stand fast in these godly traditions.

 V 16–17: GRACE OF GOD Grace from the Father and Son will give those Christians consolation and comfort, establishing them in ‘every good work and word’. Paul prays for this for them.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.