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Finally, I know we have discussed this as some point but I cannot find the data, how long do your volunteers serve in your church: Number of times per week (i.e. our teacher serve one service per week): Number of services per week (i.e. we have 3 weekly service, 2 on Sunday, 1 on Wednesday): Length of commitment (i.e. we have a 3 month rotation): How do you keep your volunteers “plugged in” to what is going on in church?
Lisa B from NC
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Our teachers commit for one year, and they serve each time that particular program meets (every Wed/Sun). This breeds consistency in ministry and gives identity to the small group/class. We have 2 Sunday School hours running concurrent with 2 worship services on Sunday AM, and a Wed. PM service at the same time as Children’s Programs and Adult Discipleship cl. We keep our adults in touch with their peers rather poorly. However, many have found community among fellow teachers, and when an adult leaves their SS class they are kept on the roll and classified as “In-Service.” This makes them a de facto missionary sent out from their class of origin, and the adult class is to keep them in prayer and connected socially. Shelby allows this designation, but it’s up to each department director to highlight their “missionary” servants. It is a risky proposition for our adult cl as most of them have to shift from trying to “grow big cl” to “growing people up and sending them out.” It is exciting when it happens. James Barnes FBC Atlanta
Lisa B from NC
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We ask volunteers to serve year round, finding that it provides continuity of care and a reciprocity of relational value for both the adult/teen leader and children. It minimizes separation anxiety, and is just easier to manage all the way around. We encourage folks to be away as needed, but it is much easier to find subs for short-term periods than to constantly be recruiting throughout the year. We also encourage people to serve one hour and worship one hour, so that they are getting fed in order to be able to share effectively with the kids. We do have folks who serve on Sunday and mid-week, such as MOPS, or in other ministries. We try to keep people connected through e-mail, weekly newsletter and our website. I also encourage my staff and leaders to stay use the personal touch as much as schedules allow through phone calls and getting together for coffee. I hope that helps somewhat, Mike. Let me know if you have any other questions. Blessings, Danise
Lisa B from NC
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Number of times per week: for the majority of volunteers it is once/week. We only offer Sunday morning programming for kids, however some volunteers come during the week for rehearsals, room set up, office volunteers, etc.
Number of services per week: it depends. Our large group leaders serve both morning services once a month. This includes worship leaders, storytellers, actors, etc. and allows for consistency in the large group experience. Small group leaders serve one service a weekend.
Length of commitment (i.e. we have a 3 month rotation): we ask for a school year commitment (August - May).
How do you keep your volunteers "plugged in" to what is going on in church? Having multiple worship services is key for us. Volunteers can attend one and serve one. If volunteers are not consistently attending one of our adult worship service it means one of two things...they are volunteering too much or they are disconnecting from the church (and both of these things requires that one of our staff step in and help them sort through what's going on).
eric
Lisa B from NC
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Our volunteers generally serve for one celebration every week or every other week. Some do more like once a month. We encourage serving for 9 or 12 months in the elementary area, and 6 or 12 in the early childhood area, but all are invited to choose 3, 6 or 12 month commitments to serve. Our celebrations are online and we also provide a free audio CD of the message for volunteers.
Bless you!
Karen
Lisa B from NC
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Number of times per week (i.e. our teacher serve one service per week): Once/week
Number of services per week (i.e. we have 3 weekly service, 2 on Sunday, 1 on Wednesday): 1 service per week, typically; but church has soon to be 12 services across 3 campuses. We also welcome once/month volunteers. In our economy and current culture we have found that this can be just as transformational for the volunteer as any other serving frequency. PLUS, we have come to sense that if the program and worship service for our Kid-Os is consistently excellent than the one who is teaching/leading them consistently isn’t as important as we once thought (not meaning that it isn’t significant).
Length of commitment (i.e. we have a 3 month rotation): Not typically defined
How do you keep your volunteers “plugged in” to what is going on in church? Each week we have a 10 minute “team huddle” with the volunteers 30 minutes before each service where we share announcements and participate in prayer time.
Kristine
Lisa B from NC
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