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Stop Recruiting [Volunteers], Start Retaining [Volunteers]

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

stop recruiting start retaining

Last month at Group’s KidMin Conference, I shared a ministry challenge and a ministry joy at the opening General Session.  This is what I said:

“I’ve been chosen by God to not recruit volunteers to ‘fill holes’ (which is a pet peeve phrase of mine).  I’ve been chosen by God to recruit volunteers to a vision, shepherd them, train them, equip them to serve, connect them with other volunteers and place them in their volunteer sweet spot so that they serve with us for the long haul.”

Recruiting volunteers ranks near the top of the list of challenges for ministry leaders.  It really doesn’t matter whether your church is large or small; no church is immune.  You rarely hear someone say, “I don’t need anymore volunteers.”

Yesterday I attended a local networking event here in Baltimore for kidmin leaders.  The topic: Stop Recruiting, Start Retaining.  The speaker was Christine Kreisher, who serves as the Family and Connections Pastor at Glad Tidings Church in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Here are the notes, 4 things to give volunteers so that they stay around for the long haul:

SIGNIFICANCE

“People don’t need another job; they need, and crave, purpose and meaning.” – CK

Leaders:  Create a FUN and meaningful experience where volunteers feel that what they do matters.

Volunteers will say:  “I love this!” or “I’m making a difference.”

Best Practices:

  • Connect the vision
  • Find the fit
  • Improve the process
  • Fill their bucket

SUPPORT

“It’s the lack of communication and preparation that kills volunteerism.” – Dr. Darren Kizer

“People matter to God, so they matter to us.” – Nelson Searcy

Leaders:  Ensure that every volunteer has the necessary information, resources, & encouragement to fulfill their role in ministry.

Volunteers will say:  “I have what I need.” or “I feel valued.”

Best Practices:

  • Communicate early and often
  • Huddle up
  • Train for success
  • Organize volunteer teams

COMMUNITY

“God created us with a hunger for relationship – for relationship with Him and with our fellow people.  At our very core, we are relational beings…The soul cannot prosper without being connected to others..” – Henry Cloud

Leaders:  Establish a culture where volunteers feel connected and new friendships can be developed.

Volunteers will say:  “I belong here.” or “I’ve got friends here.”

Best Practices:

  • Friendship-friendly programming
  • Make it fun
  • Plan connections
  • Get it on the calendar
  • Embrace the mess!

EMPOWERMENT

“The local church should be one of the greatest leadership development agencies on the planet because Jesus was a great leader and developer of leaders.  The church does not have a leadership problem…there are plenty of leaders…the church has a leadership development problem.” – Mac Lake

Leaders:  Invest your time and resources to empower people to develop as a leader.

Volunteers will say:  “I’m trusted and have opportunities to develop into a better leader.”

Best Practices:

  • Replace yourself
  • Set them free
  • Delegate vs dump
  • Make it helpful

Keep the conversation going!  What strategies have you seen that work in retaining volunteers?  Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Two New & Exciting Projects!

Kathie Phillips 10 Comments

I am really bad at keeping a secret!  Really!  When I receive good news, I want to share it with EVERYONE!  For the past several months, I have had two big secrets that I wanted to desperately share with all of you but couldn’t until now.  Let me fill you in:

PROJECT #1

Earlier this year, I was asked to be part of Kidology‘s new e-book resource for Children’s Ministry leaders and volunteers.  Bright Ideas for Children’s Ministry – Volume 1 is a collection of highly practical “bright ideas” that you can immediately implement in your ministry.  Who doesn’t love practical, easily implemented ideas from fellow Children’s Ministry leaders?!  You’ll find ideas for object lessons, games, crafts, leadership, technology, missions and so much more – it’ll become a trusted go-to resource.

Bright Ideas for Children’s Ministry – Volume 1 is regularly priced at $16.99.  If you are a Kidology Premium Member, the regular price is $14.99.  But I have more good news – my friends at Kidology have allowed me to offer a special deal for my blog readers.  Simply click here to order and enter promo code “SAVE5KP” when you check out – you’ll save $5!  Check it out and let me know what you think!

PROJECT #2

childrensminmag2

I am also excited to share that I will be Children’s Ministry Magazine’s newest columnist, beginning with the January/February 2015 issue!  In each issue, I will share ideas specifically for younger elementary children (ages 6-9).  This is new territory for me but I am excited to venture into this project.  The folks at Group (who publishes the magazine) have been so kind to me – I’m really looking forward to working with them. 🙂

Whew–I feel so much better now that the secrets are out of the bag!  God is doing some pretty amazing things in my life and I’m sure you have some awesome things going on with you too!

Keep the conversation going!  Tell me what’s going new in your neck of the woods.  What are you working on?

KidMin Conference – General Session Takeaways

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Yesterday I posted a few ideas for next steps following this year’s KidMin Conference (you can read that here).  Today, I thought I’d share some of my general session takeaways.  Be warned…my notes are not lengthy.  (1) It was a little dark in the general session room for me to take many notes and (2) I was really taking everything in and tried to just be present, especially after the phenomenal worship times.

FRIDAY EVENING GENERAL SESSION

I was not familiar with Roddy Chong prior to the conference but boy did his story resonate with me.  He spoke about being chosen by God and the many doors that God opened for him that he never imagined being opened.  He shared about traveling with well-known singers (Shania Twain & Celine Dion).  His story resonated with me because I, too, have seen God open many doors for me that I NEVER thought would happen for me.  It is really humbling to see God work in unimaginable ways.  Roddy also spoke about the need to not be defined by your mistakes.  That’s a good lesson for everyone!

The Skit Guys are a KidMin Conference favorite!  I always enjoy them!  They do a beautiful job of blending comedy and thought-provoking challenges.  One question they tossed out was, What are you afraid of?  They challenged us with this:  God chose you before it all began.  If he did that, He has a plan for you.  You have nothing to be afraid of.

SATURDAY MORNING GENERAL SESSION

Greg Baird spoke on Saturday morning and he did not disappoint.  I follow Greg on social media and also enjoy his blog posts, so I knew I’d enjoy hearing from him.  He referenced Ephesians 6:12, which says:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

  • We are not superheroes.  We are in a battle.  When we are in ministry, the target on us becomes bolder to the enemy.
  • We cannot surge [SURGE was this year’s theme] ahead if we cannot stay on the battlefield.
  • What keeps us from surging ahead?
    • We simply try to survive (Acts 20:24).  It’s not about me – it’s about Jesus.
    • We get distracted.  Our ministries need to be about Jesus.
    • We focus on the wrong danger (things like numbers vs life transformation, families falling apart, etc.).
    • When we do these things, we do ministry in our power.
  • What do we do to combat these things? (Zech. 4:6)
    • Instead of trying to survive, trust God.
    • Instead of being distracted, immerse yourself in God’s Word.
    • Instead of focusing on the wrong danger, focus on your relationship with God.

Greg closed with a quote from Phil Vischer:  “Impact does not come when we are pursuing impact – impact comes when we are pursuing God.”

SATURDAY EVENING GENERAL SESSION

Jon Acuff spoke on passages from Isaiah 30.

  • Give God our expectations.  God will never be handcuffed by your failures or unleashed by your successes.
  • We need to learn how to be present.  Sometimes our lives are so loud we miss God’s whispers.

I didn’t attend Sunday morning’s session (I was having breakfast with a friend) or Monday morning’s session (I was headed home).  I did attend Sunday evening’s session with DeVon Franklin but I was too busy agreeing with him to write stuff down!  Sorry!

Were you at the conference?  What were some of your takeaways? Let me know by commenting below!

 

What a Home Improvement Project Reminded Me About Leaders

Kathie Phillips

I pray often that God will equip me to be the best leader I can be.  I take my role as a leader very seriously and want to honor God through my service.  I would say that, as the oldest child in my family, leadership comes fairly natural to me.  I often quote, “Well, somebody has to be in charge!”

Sometimes, however, I like to take a seat on the ‘back row’ and observe.  I don’t always like to be in charge, especially in casual, non-ministry-related environments.

Case in point…last month, we painted my daughter’s bedroom.  My sweet girl waited so patiently for many months’ worth of filled calendars and family obligations for her bedroom makeover.  We set the date; she selected her color scheme; she purchased accessories with her own money; she and my husband prepped the walls and purchased supplies.

One of the finished walls - she loves her teal and purple color scheme!
One of the finished walls – she loves her teal and purple color scheme!

But we were missing something: a project manager.  No one was in charge of the project!  This became frightfully clear after I watched my husband make three additional trips to the home improvement store when we ran out of supplies.

That recent home improvement experience brought to mind 5 reminders about leaders:

1. Someone has to be in charge.  Why?  Because:

  • It minimizes confusion.  Knowing who is in charge helps keep everyone focused and on task.
  • It saves time and money.  Because no one was in charge, we wasted time going back and forth to the store and spent hundreds of dollars more than we planned.  Some lessons you only learn once!
  • A leader will think through a plan – what needs to be done, who needs to do what, what supplies are needed, etc.

2. A leader is responsible for having a vision and keeping that vision in front of the team.  Remind people what you’re working toward and what it will take to get there.

3. A leader does not need to have all of the answers.  It is not a sin to say, “I don’t know.”  Not only does this keep you human and relatable but it also keeps you learning.  Leaders are learners.

4. A leader does not need to have all of the ideas – or the best ideas.  During our home improvement project, all of us had great ideas to make the project more enjoyable – and most of them did not come from me.  Very refreshing!

5. A leader needs to be their team’s biggest advocate.  As the hours went on and our bodies grew tired, I reminded everyone of how good a job they were doing.  I even sang to my family to keep the mood light!  (I know they appreciated that.)

As a kidmin leader:

  • Do you embrace and own your leadership role?  Do you accept your role as a gift from God?
  • Have you asked God for wisdom and discernment for your ministry?  Do you pray and spend time in His Word regularly? Are you in a position to hear what He’s telling you?
  • Do you have a teachable spirit?  What are you learning?
  • Are you humble?  Do you consider the ideas of others?
  • Are you your ministry’s biggest advocate?  Do those under you feel you fight for them?  Do you share all of the great things happening in your ministry?  Do you ask people to pray for your ministry on a regular basis?

Keep the conversation going!  Which of these points resonated with you the most?  What would you add to the list?

 

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