Recruiting Volunteers

Recently we looked at customer service in ministry.  Some of the companies that have great customer service have great staff or good staff to customer ratios. In a ministry setting the presentation of your ministry may be as good or great as your leaders and volunteers.  So how do you recruit more volunteers to improve your leadership ratio?  Recruiting volunteers and building a volunteer team are as important to your ministry as the content of your ministry.

So here are four things to remember about volunteers in your ministry setting:

1. People do care and want to help – Australians are generous people, it is just that sometimes you just have to ask for support before you can see this generosity.  People have so many things to think about that they may not put their hand up to volunteer unless they are asked directly.  When people do care about your ministry, you need to invite those people into your ministry as volunteers.  Perhaps people start in a supportive role by helping behind the scene, leaving you to tackle the up front leadership role.

How can you move people from caring about your ministry to helping in your ministry?

2. People do have time, although limited – People are always busy and sometimes they look at how many hours you do as a ministry leader and think they could never give that much time to the Church.  So how can you break down volunteer positions to manageable amounts of time.  Perhaps you can ask people to volunteer for one session per month, or volunteer to setup the session then go home.  People do have spare time but as a ministry leader you need to understand their other time commitments.

How can you break down the volunteer jobs into manageable portions of time?

3. People are capable of a great deal – there are many talented people in your parish with skills that you need.  Perhaps they have never run a ministry before but they could do great things for your ministry.  Volunteers will give everything to a ministry if they are treated with respect.  As a ministry leader look to use people’s gifts and empower them to be the best they can be.  Don’t just delegate a task to a volunteer; empower them to use their initiative to complete a task.

How can you show more belief and trust in your volunteers?

4. People need to be thanked – we can’t pay volunteers with money but we can thank them at every opportunity.  People can tell if you are genuine in your appreciation or are just thanking them to get more out of them.  When you are sincere in your appreciate of your current volunteers and they will appreciate an future volunteers they recruit.

How can you show appreciation to your volunteers?

We can all do with more volunteers in our ministry because people move on to other things.  You can never have too many volunteers so never knock back someone who wants to help.  If you do recruit more volunteers than you need, use your experienced volunteers in leadership and training roles, again volunteers are capable of a great deal.

Please leave a comment on how you recruit volunteers.

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Customer Service tips for your ministry

In all my years of ministry service I have never had any formal customer service training.  It wasn’t until I served as a volunteer parking attendant at a Funeral that I saw the value of customer service.  On a day of sorrow and loss, people were leaving the car park after the funeral thanking the volunteers for their wonderful help and service.  It seems that the little things like saying hello to people as they drove into the car park made a difference.

I don’t know a lot about customer service, perhaps if I had more jobs in the retail sector I would have received better training in customer service.  I do know that when it comes to the church, we don’t think of people as customers or consumers.  We aim to treat people as members of a community or a family.  Whilst this is how we should treat members of the Church, some ministries have high number of visitors or new members, so how can we include them. 

Here are a few customer service practices that every Church or Ministry could learn:

1. First Impressions – if people are visiting you for the first time what do they see?  Try to think and see as they would, not what you want them to see or think.  Whenever you visit a shop or retail store for the first time, you get an impression of the company behind the shop front.  The same is true of your ministry, the first time someone visits you they get an impression of your ministry and the parish. 

How can you improve people’s first impression of your ministry?

2. Visitor Friendly – do people feel that they can visit your ministry?  Does your ministry feel like a club for a select group of people?  When I enter a retail store I know if they want my service by how the staff treat me.  So how can you make sure that visitors feel welcome, do you have a person who greats visitors and answer their questions?

How can you make your ministry more welcoming to visitors?

3. Building your Brand – have you noticed that Apple products have a similar look or style?  They have one of the most respected “brands” of any company.  The golden arches is recognised anywhere as McDonalds have built their brand.  Whilst you don’t have the same marketing budget, does your ministry have a “brand” or style?  If you want people to start to recognise your ministry then they have to identify the brand.  The brand can be a name or style or a logo but it is more than that.  For example Soul at Pittwater parish have brand that goes deeper than their logo.

How can you build the brand of your ministry or group?

4. Repeat business – why do you return to your favourite restaurant?  Many people return to their favourite café because they know the coffee is good or the staff are friendly.  How can you get visitors to come back to your ministry?  Perhaps you need to develop some flexible predictability in your ministry.  Your ministry has to be predictably good so that if people turn up again they know what they are getting.  Yet you should be flexible enough that you change things before it becomes stale.  This is a hard balance to achieve but many aspects of ministry are hard to balance.

How can you generate repeat business in your ministry?

Maybe your ministry looks a little different that this; please adapt it to your situation.  Whilst we can’t start treating members of our church purely as consumers of our ministries, it is important to learn from the customer service principles that our church members have come to expect from their shopping experience.

Getting service hours in Winter

I noticed that the winter time mid year sales are starting in the shopping centres and it is time for the Ski season to begin.  Winter time has interesting implications for ministry in a parish context.  Some experienced ministry follow the rule “never start a new initiative in winter”.  The unwritten rule developed because people are more uncertain about coming out for a meeting at night when it is cold.  Others find it difficult to drive at night time or public transport isn’t as appealing in the rain.  Perhaps people in your parish are in a bit of a mid year slump; there isn’t the energy of the new year to drive fresh starts.

So as an intern how do you get your hours in?  There are still four hours of service that you need to get in each week so where can you serve?  Here are a few thoughts about getting service hours in winter time:

1. Administration work – if people aren’t coming out for meetings, perhaps the parish has more material going out to the people.  Perhaps you might help in the parish office with mail outs or newsletters.  Maybe you could prepare a special “winter warmers” newsletter just for the winter months.
2. Sacramental programs – the sacraments still happen even if it is cold or raining.  Maybe there are events that you could assist at.  Some interns have been helping at Confirmations to help organise the children while the Sacramental Coordinator assists the liturgy.  Perhaps you could assist with Baptism preparation nights by providing a cup of warm soup as people arrive.  Even being available to open and close doors at church can make people feel welcome while keeping the cold wind out of the church or hall.
3. Research team – perhaps you spend hours on the internet, reading this blog, but others don’t have time for searching for new material.  Perhaps you could start a research team that helps ministry leaders find new material on the web.  Interns seem to know where to find things online that older ministry leaders just don’t know where to look.  Remember to log your hours and commit to a set period of research.  You can stay on task by trying to find three articles or resources each research session and report each week to the ministry leader on what you found.
4. Winter afternoon sessions – if people won’t come out at night time maybe Sunday afternoon activities are more appealing?  There is something about the afternoon sun in winter that makes everything feel better.  Perhaps use the afternoon time to run a prayer group in the church.  Move the bible study to after lunch and bring soup or nice coffee.  If people won’t come out at night, shift your events to times when they will venture out.
5. Planning for spring – just like a garden, good winter planning can lead to a fruitful spring.  It is the pastoral planning during winter that captures the spring time enthusiasm.  If your Junior High youth group plan to invite students finishing year 6 at the end of the year, then plan out each session now.  Planning meetings held with the committed leaders in winter will deliver well planned events to a fresh crop of participants in spring.

Perhaps this winter won’t be that cold and maybe your ministry participants are committed enough to come out rain, hail, snow or shine.  But if you find things slow down as it gets colder try these tips.  If you have your own tips for winter time ministry then leave a comment, we would love to get your advice, besides it is to cold to go outside, we can stay here a bit longer.

Content matters - Part IV

In a previous post I wrote how “content matters” in your ministry.  This week I would like to expand our thinking to how mission matters.

How are you going in your ministry at the moment?  Do feel tired and worn out?  Do you feel full of energy and passion?  Do the ideas flow naturally or are you just doing the same old thing?  The answers to these questions get to the heart of the Mission vs Maintenance spectrum.

Redemptoris missio says that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians.  Some of us grew up with the impression that missionary work is what goes on overseas.  Perhaps others grew up with the impression that mission is another word for social justice.  Mission is more that overseas work or social justice, it the transformative work of the Church in our world. 

Here are three thoughts about the content of your missionary activity:

1. Mission is about Jesus – when we become more like Christ we feel drawn to the work of Jesus.  The content of any missionary activity is becoming more like Christ and making more disciples.  Sometimes people get involved in good works because it makes them feel better or because it makes others feel better.  When we see people as Jesus sees them we have no option but to act as Jesus would act.  Good works that do not come out of a relationship with Jesus is not mission but humanitarian work.

2. Mission is a witness – many times people focus the content of mission on the work.  The focus becomes teaching scripture or handing out food or campaigning for a good cause.  The second focus in mission should be our witness.  People can see when you are just going through the routine; people are inspired by those who have a passion for the area they minister in.  What ever mission activity you get involved in it should come out of the passion that God has given you.  Your involvement in mission is not about doing good works but being a witness to how God sees you and sees the people you are ministering to.

3. Mission is a journey – sometime we can feel good if we are able to give $50 dollars to a charity.  But mission is a long term journey rather than the short term efforts of a charity campaign.  We can buy the badges and drop coins in the bucket but can we journey with people in a long term mission.  The mission of the Church happens when a Catholic commits to their mission over the long term.  Here are a few example:
• A Catechist with 15 years of service
• A parent who helps the youth ministry long after their own children move on.
• A musician who mentors young musicians into liturgical music
• A team who establish a long term partnership with another parish.

What areas Mission excite you?  What passions do you apply to your missionary activity?  Please post a comment or share your thoughts.

Content matters - Part III

In a previous post I wrote how “content matters” in your ministry.  This week I would like to expand our thinking to how catechesis matters.

Recently I had to take my eight year old son to Church for a catechesis session for his Confirmation.  He wondered what this “Cat of Chesis” was all about so we had a little joke that he was going to see a “cat from Chesis”.  After attending the catechesis session he said to me “it is just like a lesson at school”.  I think my son suffers a similar misconception to other Catholics who attend Catholic school; that is they believe that Catechesis is another name for religious education.  Catechesis and religious education are similar but different.  So what is Catechesis and why does content matter?

1.      Catechesis is about Jesus – “The name of catechesis is given to the whole of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing they might have life in His name, and to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ.” (Catechesi Tradendae, n 1)

Whilst there is a temptation for ministers to use a Catechesis session to teach people information, the focus of catechesis should be content that draws the learner into a deeper relationship with Jesus.  The content needs to be chosen carefully so that it helps the people to explore and believe, not just be informed.

2.      Catechesis is a witness – “Catechesis is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life which promotes an authentic following of Christ” (General Directory of Catechesis n 67).  The key to catechesis should be the interaction between the minster and the participant.  In your parish or ministry there should be some “apprenticeship” as the participant is witness to the life of the Leader.  The content of catechesis should not be driven by a curriculum (which is religious education) but by the questions the participant has.  For example at WYD the best part of the morning catechesis is the Q&A with the Bishop as it is about the questions the young people have.  When a participant wants to draw closer to Christ, they have questions that need answers yet the leader should be more of a witness than a teacher.  In catechesis the style should be “do as I do, not just what I say”.

3.      Catechesis is ongoing – can we ever profess to know everything about God?  Is there ever a time when we can say we understand the fullness of God and the Church?  It is natural for us to grow in our understanding of God but there is always more to know.  As ministry coordinators, interns, volunteers or leaders we need catechesis too.  To be involved in on going catechesis is to be continuously pursuing a deeper relationship with God.  The best witness to this is our own Bishop David who says that he still gets new insights into the scriptures every time he is involved in Lectio Divina.

What areas do you need more catechesis in?  What areas of your walk with Jesus could grow deeper by finding a suitable witness who can spend some time with you engaging in catechesis?  Please write a list of what you would like to know more about and ask for the help of someone who can “disciple” you in this process of Catechesis.

Stay tuned, next week we will look at Mission.

Content matters – Part II

In a previous post I wrote how “content matters” in your ministry.  This week I would like to expand our thinking to how evangelism matters.  Evangelisation is something that all Christians are called to do, yet how often do we associate evangelism with the “Evangelical Churches”?

Evangelisation is a role for every Christian, not a select group.  Sometimes we have an image in our head that evangelisation is for a select group in our ministry, a bit like a Special Forces Unit.  Just like the Special Forces we allocate evangelisation to this group within our ministry and hope they do a good job, but we don’t want to get involved in the dirty work ourselves.

So how can you help everyone in your ministry to see that “evangelisation matters”?  Here are three tips for developing evangelisation in your ministry

1. Evangelisation is about Jesus – “There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed.” (yes it’s Catholic, its from Evangelii Nuntiandi 22)

Evangelisation is not a form of recruiting or marketing.  When we want to grow the size of our ministry we have to ask people to join us, this is recruiting.  Evangelisation is about sharing Jesus with others so that they can enter into a deeper relationship with God.  We need to equip the people in our ministry to recruit new members but also teach them that evangelisation matters even if people never join the ministry.

2. Evangelisation is a witness – “The fruits of evangelization are changed lives and a changed world—holiness and justice, spirituality and peace. The validity of our having accepted the Gospel does not only come from what we feel or what we know; it comes also from the way we serve others.” (Go and Make Disciples, n18) Young people are very good a spotting the difference between what you say and what you do.  When we evangelise we share God’s love with people and others need to see that our love is genuine.  Many people these days are looking for a belief system that works, something that real people are actually living.  We are to share the Good News of Jesus by the way we live our lives more than by the words we speak.

3. Evangelisation is not optional – “An evangelization that stays inside ourselves is not an evangelisation into the Good News of Jesus Christ.” (Go and Make Disciples, n18) Evangelisation is core to who we are as Christians, if we don’t evangelise we are not being disciples.  Evangelisation is not a phase or a program; you can never predict when someone will ask you about God or why you go to church.  When people ask you about your involvement the church, rather than trying to recruit them, how about sharing a thought about Jesus with them.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15

As a practical step after reading this blog, could you prepare your testimony to help you when you evangelise?  It is helpful to know why you believe in God and why you are involved in church so that when people ask you can tell them.  Reflect on these simple questions:

1. How did you come to know God in a deeper way?
2. What was you life like before you got involved in ministry?
3. How is your life better because you know God?
4. Share something that will encourage the person you are talking to.

Next week we will look at why Catechesis matters.

Intern Island

Sometimes you have a thought stuck in your head and you just can’t get it out in a way that makes sense.  Then someone comes along with a song or an article that sums up your thoughts perfectly.  Well I been thinking and reflecting on our Internship this past week when I had this article emailed to me:

True Conversations from Intern Island: Love Your Pastor as Yourself by Darren Sutton

Whilst this article doesn’t sum up my thoughts perfectly, I thought it was so good I would link to it rather than restate the same thing.  There are two points that I would like to make before you read the article:

1. The Senior Pastor is your Priest – the article is written by a leader in a Christian church that refers to the Senior Minister as the Senior Pastor.  In the Catholic Church the senior pastor is the Parish Priest.  Basically in our Church the Parish Priest is the boss for anyone in an employed position or Internship position.
2. Some Interns work full time – some interns in America work daily with a senior leader as an intern for 12 months.  Their work load is greater than you would have being an Intern for 4 hours per week.  You may not have as much access to your Parish Priest as a full time intern, but the same issues apply, love your Parish Priest as you would love yourself.

I hope that you enjoy the article and find it worth while, click below to go to the article by Darren Sutton.

True Conversations from Intern Island: Love Your Pastor as Yourself by Darren Sutton

Content driven ministry

Duffy Robins is a Youth Ministry veteran from the United States. When asked the question “What's your biggest mistake when training leaders?” this was his reply:

“I was so busy teaching technique and how that I assumed people knew the why and what. So people became very good communicators of stuff that was nonsense” Watch the video

In another video he says that Theology and content matters. Even after working for years in youth ministry I was struck by that statement, content matters. It got me thinking, and I hope you as well, about the content of the material I teach to others. Is what we teach in our ministries driven by the question “how do we get our group to work?” or is it driven by the question “how can people love Jesus more?”

Whilst many interns and ministry volunteers what to know how to grow their ministry, the real focus should be on why and what.

• Why? – Why does your ministry exist? Why is your parish better off because your ministry is there? Why are the participants getting involved?
• What? – What is the focus of your ministry? What is the content that your ministry teaching? What are the participants in your ministry doing to grow close to God?

Here are three areas where content really matters:

1. Evangelisation – when we invite people into a ministry we are not marketing a product (technique) we are being a witness to our faith (content). We are all called to evangelise not just invite people to church. Evangelisation brings a person into contact with a God that loves them and desire a relationship. A good indicator for technique vs content in evangelisation is this:

If someone has said no to an invitation to your ministry, do they walk away knowing more about Jesus? Don’t just work on your ministry sales pitch, work on being a witness to the living relationship you have with God.

2. Catechesis: sometimes when we are teaching the faith we water it down to make it more appealing. We sometime believe that people will be turned off by the “God stuff”. We can focus so much on technique that we let the style determine the content. In ministry we need to teach the basics or foundations of faith. A good indicator for technique vs content in catechesis is this:

Are the people in your ministry searching for more? When Catechesis is focused on God rather than style, people are want to know more about how they can deepen their relationship with God.

3. Mission: mission is not about feel good activity or doing nice things, it is a call from God to make a difference. Mission that focuses on technique can try to shock people into activity or guilt people into activity. Mission focused on content will focus on the desire that comes from within a person. A good indicator for technique vs content in mission is this:

Will participants engage in missional activity even if nobody else does? For some there is no other alternative.

Over the coming weeks we will take each one of these three areas to unpack a little more. Check in each Friday for more thoughts on content driven ministry.