5 Practices That Help Newcomers Get Involved
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says churches often operate in ways that make it hard for new people to get involved, even if…
Browsing: Volunteers
Articles
Should Time and Talents be Part of Your Stewardship Campaign?
Ann Michel, who teaches stewardship at Wesley Theological Seminary, says encouraging people to pledge their time and talents reinforces a holistic understanding of stewardship. But…
4 Strategies for Reversing the 80/20 Rule
How can a congregation move beyond having a small percentage of congregants doing the lion’s share of the work? Lewis Center Director Doug Powe outlines…
Quit Making Assumptions
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says incoming leaders are often frustrated when others assume that they already know the ins and outs of the job.…
50 Ways to Multiply Your Church’s Leadership Capacity
This free 50 Ways resource provides strategies to identify and support new leaders and build and maintain effective ministry teams. Make it easy for new…
Affirming the Ministry of Lay Readers
Theodore May says reading scripture in worship is a profound and meaningful way to connect people with the Bible, worship, and the church. Congregations need…
8 Things Your Christian Educator Wants You to Know
The work of faith formation leaders in a congregation is expansive and vital, yet often undervalued and misunderstood. Virginia Callegary lifts up the need to…
People Too Busy to Serve? Teach Them to Steward Their Time
Lewis Center Staffer Ann A. Michel says people who think they are too busy to serve at church should be challenged to reexamine their priorities…
Setting the Right Expectations for Volunteers
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. says it can be difficult to hold volunteers to high standards of job performance, but clear position descriptions,…
Is Your Parking Lot Helping or Hurting Your Church?
Believe it or not, your parking lot could be the thing that is holding back the potential of your church, according to church growth expert…
4 Ways to Engage Busy People
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe suggests strategies that can make it possible for those with significant time constraints to serve as church leaders —…
Why Don’t People Volunteer at Church?
Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard say the key to getting a higher percentage of people involved is understanding the difference between volunteering and Christian service…
An Annual Meeting as a Celebration of Faithfulness
How can you turn a routine, boring business meeting into something more celebratory and faith-filled? Tom Tumblin describes how the awarding of an annual servant…
Simple Strategies for Raising Up New Leaders
The need to develop new leaders is vital to the future of individual congregations and the church as a whole. Church consultant and author Kay…
Reluctant Leadership
Congregations often struggle to fill vital ministry roles because new leaders are reluctant to step forward. Lewis Center director Doug Powe names three critical factors…
10 Ways to Master the Art of Asking
Learning how to be effective in asking others to support your ministry is a key to fruitful leadership, says Ann Michel of the Lewis Center…
When Volunteers Aren’t Working Out
Churches often put up with ineffective volunteers because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, says Lory Beth Huffman, a pastor in Western North Carolina.…
Volunteer-Savvy Leadership
Jake McGlothin, a staff member at Floris United Methodist Church in Virginia, shares perspectives on recruiting volunteers and keeping them happily engaged in ministry leadership.…
Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach
John Wimberly reports how creating a team of four teachers for each children’s Sunday school classroom had the paradoxical effect of easing the burden of…
Ten Hints for Leading Volunteers
Jill Fox lists ten things to keep in mind to develop a ministry team with healthy and happy volunteers, and one that is also attractive…
The Power of Stories
Jill Fox, an expert on church volunteer systems, reminds us how powerful stories can be in teaching and motivating people and keeping them aligned with…
Freeing Laity for Ministry
How many members does your church have? Do you tend to think first of what those members need (hospital visits, sermons, childcare, parking, Bible studies,…
Next Generation Leaders
At an event I was approached by a well-dressed older woman who said, “We are willing to do whatever it takes to get the next…
50 Ways to Increase Active Engagement
Strong and growing congregations typically have a very high percentage of people who are actively involved in learning, serving, and leading. These 50 tips will…
The Emergence of “Dones”
A friend alerted me to a blog by Thom Schultz, founder of Group Publishing, on “The Rise of the Dones.” At first I thought there…
Christmas Eve Opportunities for Newcomers
I have discovered over the last several years a surprising source of energy in the preparations for our church’s Christmas Eve worship service. Relative newcomers…
A Choir Director Shares Recruiting Tips that Any Ministry Group Can Use
Some people like to recite a phrase “it’s not the size of the choir, but the heart of the people participating” that matters. This sounds…
Reach More Volunteers
If the idea of recruiting volunteers has been a challenge in the past, you are not alone. But getting rid of the mind-set of recruiting…
Picking People — Lessons from Peter Drucker
Selecting or helping to select personnel, paid staff, and volunteers is a prime task of leaders. Below are suggestions that come from the legendary management…
Volunteer Expiration Dates
Expiration dates are on all sorts of things and for good reasons. We can find them on loaves of bread, gallons of milk, and egg…
