Video Transcript: Mobilizing Volunteer Leaders

So we're going to talk about the several things, the many things needed to energize volunteers. Let's start, first of all, with this bottom line reality as a leader or pastor, you share the stage. If the whole ministry is about you, your gifts, your idea, you are the star of every show, you are the person involved in every decision. If that's the case, not many people will join that stage with you. You share that stage, you give other people the opportunity to shine, and get off the stage and let them on the stage. what energizes them is when they know that their pastor will allow them to use their gifts, and they can have authority and responsibility delegated to them, and they can go forward with it. Now I understand that you have to trust the people. And you need to get those relationships of trust together so that you can share the stage. But sharing the stage energizes volunteers. While you share the stage, you're an encourager. Be a Barnabas, Act 3:36, Joseph A Levite from Cyprus, who's the Apostle called Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. You know, one of the things that I do is, is use Facebook as a way to encourage you know, we have a Facebook group at church and I have my little, you know, iPhone, again, not everyone has smartphones. And then depending on where you are in the world, different technology is differently. Now you hear my phone, talking like this, and, you know, so I have it with me. And so as I have with me, and if I notice that there's a really cool shot of somebody using their gifts or somebody, you know, a nice shot of someone maybe singing, I will take a picture and I'll upload it right away on to Facebook. Now that's a form of being an encourager, because you're noticing somebody, and you're putting up for other people to notice it. Now I understand that, that it's not just about being noticed, but it says in Proverbs let someone else say something good about you. Well, Pastor, you'll be the one that says good about your people in share. That's a culture of encouragement. And the more you're encouraging others, the more the whole church is a church of encouragement, if you want to have a church of encouragement, you be an encourager. 

What else energizes volunteered number three. You notice the different giftedness and connect that giftedness into ministry and all of it. 1 Corinthians 12:30 says, do all have gifts of healing to all speak in tongues to all interpret. Now, there's a whole list there. And the whole point that the Apostle Paul is making is there are all different gifts in a church. And who's the one, that's the noticer. It's you, the leaders notice, the more you notice and listen to people and notice their giftedness. And then mobilize them, the more they thrive in ministry in the whole organization has helped. So notice the different giftedness and connect that giftedness to ministry involvement. 

Fourth, as a pastor, keep your people out of the political battles that can range in any organization. That's true. In a church, there can be political battles, people can get their nose, burna shape, and, and so forth. And your goal is to the do the best you can to keep people out of those positions. Now, I'll give you some examples. You could set up an organization where, where there are several bosses for one person, okay. There's the boss who looks over the building ground, there's the boss who looks over the spending, there's the boss who looks over that area of the church's ministry, there's the person who looks over the children's ministry, but somehow, you know, they sort of have a controlling attitude. Okay, so now this one person has four, pull four centers of power, that are off to be addressed for that person to use their gift somehow or other, make it so that the person can do their work without having to like have head butting with other people within an organization. And we see that set the organization so that the person can have their stage do their work, and they are responsible for what they do, and they are accountable, and they are given the stage to end the authority to actually accomplish it. So in try to keep your people out of that political frame. If you notice that people, you know, get burned out really quickly. Ask yourself first do have I set this up by our organization? Or is our church through the history of our church set this up, that basically it burns up volunteers because volunteers don't really have the stage to do what they need to do.

Number five, keep you keep people from the over volunteer syndrome. Don't let people over volunteer. You know, Matthew 11:29, Take my yoke apart, you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. Jesus says Take my yoke, my ministry, my mission and learn from me. You know, to me that is the most powerful volunteer in a church passage. It's like the yoke of Christ, His ministry. And while someone is doing ministry for Christ, they are learning the whole time they are growing there. In fact, their ministry, I'd help them be better in their marriage, better parents, all of these things. Now, when someone over volunteers, the yoke becomes heavy. Watch for that. Now, there are some people who just seem to want to volunteer and sometimes it's because their personal life and home is not so good. So volunteering is the escape. Other times they were raised to volunteer out of balance. Other times, they just have helpful people other times zeal. They love the Lord so much and they want everything they do to help the church all the time. Here's the trouble with it. When someone over volunteers, other people are not using their gifts. When someone or volunteers, they tend to start wanting to control aspects of other people's lives when those aspects connect with them. For instance, if you get someone who's there clean the church for free five days a week and they're working well pretty soon, they start almost like becoming micromanagers of the building and grounds so someone else use their gifts and if something is not perfectly put back, they will get all upset and then they'll be saying things like I work so hard around this church only the people you know mess it up again, you get the point. But that can be done in You're not just saying that one area but it can be done in children's Minister any ministry anytime you have the over volunteer syndrome. What really happens is people get burned out and they ultimately get frustrated.

Number six, give people needed training. And there's many passages about training you know, first time The four seven have nothing to do with godless myths old wives tales where the train yourself to be godly, that one is helping people to themselves grow in if someone wants to get a book, for instance, and buy them the book, if you have the budget in the church to do it and you can, if they want to read a book to train themselves to be even better in their, their walk, or better in their work with the church, help them do that. Or the other thing is you as a church, training young women to love their husbands and children actually think about how to help volunteers, better in life better with their spouses better and who they are before God, and they're walking their proficiencies. And when you train, there'll be better at their jobs, all these things, to mobilize and energize volunteers are very important. 

Number seven, do not show favoritism. My brothers as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism and you know, in a church, you will connect with certain people and not other people just because you know, certain people connect more with you for a lot of reasons. You know, you could be an extrovert and you connect in ministry more with the extroverts Do you understand them, or maybe you connect more with the introverts because you know how to complete the introvert world by your extroversion, whatever could go on in your ministry, be very careful that you treat everyone the same, every gift is important, every contribution matters. Number eight, keep the big picture in mind. Your volunteers, they have a dream, to grow spiritually.  Jude 1:20 says this, But you dear friends, build yourself up in the most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. You know, no matter how much volunteerism goes on, understand that if someone is in your church, they're there to support their walk with God, and that their volunteerism is not there, walk with God always keep that big picture in mind. For instance, if somebody is voluntary and voluntary, they have no time to open the Word of God with their family, no time to practice or home discipleship. We're losing the big picture. I've seen it where I've consulted at churches I've had times when my own ministries, I've noticed something goes out of balance, where things are so busy, that even the very home discipleship that I have wanted to proclaim, and still proclaim and tried to proclaim was not happening because I lost the big picture. 

Number nine, if you yourself are in the paid position, so you're getting paid here is some do not do never complain about your salary to the members of the Church. Your salary is set by the elders and deacons and our elders or whoever the leaders are on a yearly basis. And that's the way it is. And that's your situation. After that discussion, and how it usually happens, and probably should happen is that yearly basis, the leader should evaluate you their positives, thoughts, even some of the things they think you should grow in your salary on set, increased or decreased all of those things. That's God's way in which there's accountability for you, when you leave that room. Understand that that's what it is. 1 Timothy 5:18, for scripture says do not muzzle the ox while he's trading on grain. And the worker deserves his wages, meaning that if you're in a paid position, great receive as a blessing. But I just want to reiterate, don't complain to volunteers. That in you know, in some pastors I've seen too, if there in a Bible occasional situation or times are tough, and they make little, like slight, little passive aggressive statements. It's been a real bad year around here, you know, I had to take the pay cut, but you know, I do it for the Lord. You know, there's a sort of like, underlying message there that that sort of puts a damper on volunteer the volunteers because you know, they're doing things for free and they're often paying their own mileage and all these things like that. I'm just saying what energizes volunteers is that you respect them and their volunteer work, but you also respect them and doing your work with winsome joy and productivity and doing the best you can and your salaries your salary and move on. 

Lastly, what energizes volunteers is to make sure that you have doable projects and that the projects are respectfully and sustainably considered. You know, and I know for me, that that can be challenging because I am exceptionally creative. I really am and I can think of new hills to take. And I believe I see the new hills, you know, I might see 100 New hills in a week. And I part of me just wants to go and mobilize another volunteer mobilize another ministry. You know, when that could even be like a Christian leaders institute here with my staff here or, or at you know in our Community Church, and but just trying to ask yourself always, is this do able? and what are the priorities? Is this something can we take this hill without burning anybody out? You know, if you have to guilt people to do things, it's usually not a sustainable project. 

So in general, as a leader in a local church, always think about what is in your question best interest as you mobilize volunteers. Just to have that verse 11, of 1 Thessalonians 4, you know, we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, that tenderness, that looking at the trust between pastor and volunteer as something very important together, the kingdom of God is built. So I want to encourage you, as leaders in a local church to mobilize volunteers, but in love and respect in prayer, pray for your volunteers. Be thankful that they're helping you they don't have to help you. They don't have to show up on Sunday. They don't have to come on Wednesday night. They don't have to clean the bathrooms. They don't have to do the any children's ministry or, or anything, but they do it as unto the Lord and never forget that