What It Takes To Delegate Your Ministry
Ordering pizza brings me anxiety. I know that’s something you don’t expect to hear from a seasoned youth minister but it’s the truth. For some reason...
Recruiting volunteers has to be a priority. And, if you expect emails, bulletin and pulpit announcements are going to do the job you’ll only find disappointment.
Too often we expect people to accept our invitation to serve simply by asking them. The problem is it’s not that easy. While the concept is simple there are at least 3 realities we need to embrace in order to ask people effectively. They are:
REALITY #1: TIME IS PRICELESS
Unlike money, when you lose time it’s gone forever. People never feel like they have enough time so when you ask them to give it up you are asking them to do something big.
To convince people that serving in your ministry is worth the time you have to give them a better reason than, “I need help!” You need to invite them into something bigger.
Check out this post on casting vision: Is Your Vision Big Enough?
REALITY #2: PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THEY ARE WORTHY
Your church is filled with qualified individuals, they just don’t believe it. Simply asking them is only going to fill their minds with pushback and self doubt. They need someone to say:
“Hey I think you would be good for this?”
Serving in ministry is intimidating because they think they need to be holier than others. They are afraid of not relating to teenagers and they don’t want their flaws exposed.
Show them that they are worthy by explaining them that ministry is about loving God and loving others. Remind them that everyone is learning, so if they don’t know the answers or what to do that’s okay because you’ll figure it out together.
REALITY #3: CONFUSION IS YOUR ENEMY
People aren’t going to say, “YES!” to something without having some clue as to what it is. Youth ministry can seem intimidating and mysterious. They want to know:
- What’s expected of me?
- How do I interact with the teenagers?
- What do I do if I don’t know what to do?
As leaders it’s our job to make sure people are given a clear idea of what they are volunteering to do.
Embracing these realities won’t expedite the speed to recruit volunteers. That takes time and you need to build a culture (To learn more about building a volunteer culture read: Create A Culture Of Recruiting Volunteers)
But, by embracing these realities you can change the effectiveness of each invitation. And that’s because people will know that you:
- Care about their time
- Will walk with them through fears and doubts
- Want them to be confident with what they are doing
And when you have volunteers who are confident and excited you’ll have the team you need to reach the teens in your community.
What are some of the other realities holding men and women back from serving in ministry?