Every leader will eventually have a moment when they become desperate for volunteers. The challenge of filling all the holes can provoke anxiety and panic in even the most seasoned leaders. Your perspective, at that moment, will either propel you forward or paralyze your ability to effectively recruit.
Here’s the problem: ministries throughout your organization are all looking for quality and dependable volunteers. Sometimes, it even feels like departments are battling one another for volunteer staff. Crazy…I know – it’s like this huge game of Tug-O-War, where the under-involved-members become the rope. And filling all the holes becomes ever elusive.
If you’re good at math and org charts, you may realize that your organization would need to double in size in order to meet the current volunteer staffing demands. Someone might even say, “There is no way that we can fill all of the holes.”
Here’s my response to that statement: PRAISE GOD!
There is a subtle shift in perspective when you stopping thinking about filling holes.
Imagine being a visitor in a church where all the holes are filled. There’s no place for you to be involved – the holes are filled. No opportunities to connect – the schedule’s full. No space for you to contribute – we’ve got it covered. You might as well put a no vacancy sign out front, because the church who has filled all the holes has also failed to create space.
Instead of seeing holes, see spaces.
When we create space for people to serve, we create opportunities for them to involve, engage and build community. When there is space, there are ministry team leaders motivated to engage the uninvolved and invite them to participate. When there is space, there is room.
This season invite someone to engage in volunteer ministry. Maybe God’s saved a place just for them.
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