Going one step further…

Many of our leaders in ministry today are forced to wear many hats. I have found that great communicators are probably not the most gifted administrators. Even though our leadership needs help, most don’t know how to go about hiring the right person or recruiting volunteers. There was a phrase I heard used in ministry several years ago that said, “You have to get the right people on the right bus.” True enough. I would like to suggest that everyone on the bus has their own individual seat. If only there was only a way to direct the “willing” to the “right seat.”

Using PLACE as a resource…

Whether you are involved in leadership training, volunteer training, ministry placement, or recruiting volunteers, you need to know about PLACE. PLACE uses the DISC assessment to assess participants personalities. This is a great starting place for hiring the right person. I can tell you that if you hire a very social, inspiring person and place them where they have little or no contact with people you have set them up for failure. This personality assessment is as important as any skill assessment. Many people that I have introduced to PLACE now say they will not make another hire until that prospect has been through the PLACE assessments. If you are struggling getting the right person in the right seat give PLACE a try. I believe it is just the ticket.

I recently read where someone said they learned more from failures than from successes. This made me realize I’d been strategically placed, sadly, to … shall we say … “learn a lot” from my old home church about church ministries and recruiting volunteers. A gathering with such potential for life eventually reached a morbid state.

The “face and feel” of this church seemed welcoming and ministry-oriented, and it appeared to be significantly involved in the local community. The worship bulletin noted their 20/80 statistic: Paid staff did only 20% of the church’s work and volunteers did 80%. But, a vastly different story was playing out behind the scenes. The way leaders structured ministries dictated a line of dominoes leading to disaster.

Yes, there were opportunities to serve. Yes, volunteers contributed hours of activity at this church and through it. But most were in ministry “slots” set by the staff. These roles merely required someone – anyone – to fill them. Result: Volunteer turnover rate was high. Some stayed long-term, despite it not being their real ministry niche, but often burned out altogether on serving and dropped out.

So, church staff spent a huge amount of time racing around, hunting down fill-in volunteers. Result: Staff had to pick up the slack and fill in the gaps. So, they, too, were burning out, trying to be eye-foot-hand-ears in the Body. Actually, by the time I relocated, staff at this church probably did 80% of the work.

Though it’d been suggested multiple times over many years, their senior leaders still refused to use volunteer assessment tools. They still haven’t put in place leadership training on how to help form ministries based on spiritual gifts, how to recruit volunteers and supervise them, or how to equip and encourage God’s people for meaningful service.

And the ultimate results there of having no realistic ministry strategy? Stress – and ministry meltdown. Volunteers are still treated like notches on the ministry belt of senior leaders, and no effort is given to helping them find their best God-given niche. Reportedly, many leave, frustrated by feeling blocked from doing anything relevant to their personality or passion. The congregation size is half what it used to be. Staff burnout and turnover has increased.

Here’s the take-away: To restore hope, we need to stop the line of dominoes leading to disaster. And that means leaders need to equip people for the work of ministry. Otherwise, we quench the Holy Spirit’s work in our midst (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and block the growth of our gatherings.