08Jul 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 7 – Accountability and Feedback

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteer
Last time we saw the importance of having clear definition of a role or task with agreed expectations. How do we ensure that these expectations are being met? Accountability A vital part of managing staff, whether paid or unpaid, is communication and support. There can be a tendency to ‘cast off’ a volunteer and let them ‘get on with it’, particularly in the midst of a busy schedule. But accountability is very important both for checking that progress is being made and to assure the individual of your commitment and interest. It also encourages reliability if someone knows that they are being monitored in a constructive way. I once led a Stewarding Team in our church, many years before I served on the welcome team mentioned in part 3. I…
Read More
01Jul 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 6 – Mutual expectations

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteer
So far in this series we have seen how fulfilment, satisfaction and motivation are key aspects of serving, particularly in a ‘volunteer’ (unpaid) capacity. But, just as in a paid job, management and accountability are essential for achieving satisfactory outcomes these are also true for the ‘volunteer’. So what are some of the key management or leadership features that will produce good results and a happy team? Job descriptions Although a job description sounds a bit formal for a volunteer position its purpose is the same as for a paid role – a clarity of expectation. As leaders it can be very frustrating if we delegate a job and then find that it has not been completed to a satisfactory standard or in the way we had intended. Whose fault…
Read More
25Jun 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 5 – Motivation 2

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteers
Some key aspects to motivating people are Cause and Community Encouragement Affirmation Satisfaction Support Resources Last time we looked at the first two. Now let’s consider the others. 3. Affirmation Affirmation is first cousin to encouragement; as we affirm people we are saying ‘I believe in you’. A little affirmation and encouragement goes a long way. By bringing affirmation you are demonstrating that the person’s effort has been noticed and appreciated, and appreciation is a key part of the motivation recipe. People rarely look for any other reward if appreciation has been expressed for who they are and what they have done. 4. Satisfaction How often do you reach the end of the day feeling ‘what was that all about?’ Or conversely, how often feeling ‘that was a really good…
Read More
10Jun 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 4 – Motivation 1

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteers
In the world people are paid for their work. The higher the pay the greater the motivation. Wrong! Although people should be paid a fair wage for a fair day's work a wage increase is, for most people, only a short term reward and recognition of effort and responsibility. It does not motivate in a healthy way, though it might motivate towards greater materialism as witnessed in recent years with the banking scandals. Motivation comes from an internal drive, the feeling that what we are doing is worthwhile and has value, often in benefitting others. For this to happen the fruit of our labours should be seen and affirmed. Few things are less motivating than when our hard work goes un-noticed. Volunteers are not paid so this fact is particularly…
Read More
27May 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 3 – Where to serve?

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteer
Last year I wrote at length in this blog about serving in the church and gave guidance about the course Discover and Serve. There is also a book of the same name. Please read that for more detail about how to help someone develop a Serving Profile. In this series I am addressing the issue of volunteering from the perspective of a leader – how to mobilise volunteers. So far we have looked at what ‘volunteer’ means. Now we shall consider some of the practical day-to-day matters about identifying and managing a volunteer team within the church. Vision In Prov 29:18 we read ‘Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law’ (ESV). Written in the context of the fruit…
Read More
20May 2015 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising Volunteers pt 2 – What does the Bible say?

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Volunteer, Volunteers
Last time we saw how the word ‘volunteer’ often has the associations of ‘charity’, such as helping those who are in need, or of ‘essential service’, such as the volunteer reserves in the armed forces. Both these aspects can be found in the Bible. Old Testament In the Old Testament translations there are several occasions where ‘volunteer’ is used (more in the NASB than in the ESV, which I normally quote from). Ps 110: 3 ‘Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power…’ (ESV), '…volunteer freely…’ (NASB) Judges 5:2 (Song of Deborah and Barak) 'That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly…’ (ESV), ‘…the people volunteered…’ (NASB). Judges 5:9 'My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered…
Read More