by Eddie Pipkin
I was checking out National Public Radio’s excellent resource, “Life Kit,” and the featured broadcast article was all about techniques for finding missing things. It focused on strategies for how to find personal items we’ve misplaced, but I was struck by how useful versions of those same strategies could be for finding our ministry “missing in action,” those volunteers we can never seem to identify enough of. What if we rethought the ways we were looking for them? Might we get some different results? Maybe it’s a weird approach, but it’s the oldest of age-old problems, so you might find that a fresh take is worth a shot. Read on!
All credit to reporter Malaka Gharib for her deep dive into retrieving that which is temporarily unaccounted for in her expert-informed feature, “How to find lost objects: 6 techniques that really work.” You can read a print version or listen to an audio rendition, but if you’re like me and forever misplacing car keys, Kindles, and glasses, there is hope in application of these principles. (By the way, if you are not familiar with “Life Kit,” I totally recommend it as a fun and informative addition to your podcast library.)
But these techniques are not only handy for tracking down the vanished TV remote, the same principles can be creatively adapted to bring some fresh perspective into how we go looking for those ever-elusive ministry volunteers. Kudos to Gharib and the various psychologists, hobbyists, and search and rescue professionals who shared their expertise.
Strategy 1
What makes the missing thing stand out from the background?
We have a habit of looking for the same type of volunteer characteristics every time we recruit new people. We look for more of the same. But what if we looked for people who are different? We tend to have a fixed template for who makes a good Sunday School teacher, for instance, but thinking outside the box can expand the pool of candidates. What is that makes a personality stand out as memorable as we encounter people in our ministry travels? Some core traits are essential for certain jobs, but if a person has a distinct skill set or style, we can teach other ministry management essentials. What makes you notice a person to begin with? How can we match that special quality with ministry needs?
Strategy 2
Give some thought to how the thing got lost in the first place. Why is it lost to begin with?
There are talented people out there who have not found a way to get connected and get involved. It’s not that they’re not interested. It’s that they haven’t found the right fit. What are the road blocks in the process of moving them to saying yes to getting more fully engaged. Sometimes it’s a lack of understanding, a misconception about what’s involved . Sometimes it’s a lack of vision or a gap in understanding their own value. Sometimes it’s a series of near-misses in which they are seriously considering saying yes, but they don’t feel that the fit is quite right — maybe there’s one thing holding them back — and they don’t understand that we have the power to tweak the job description in a way that more fully aligns with their gifts and quirks. At other times, our leadership is doing something that we don’t realize that turns people off. Most often, this is when ‘outsiders’ see ministry regulars as forming an unwelcoming clique. We might say we welcome all to participate, but our subconcious signals are sending a different message.
Strategy 3
Think through the physics of the thing’s engagement with the environment.
In the news account on missing things, the example provided is a lost ring, and the seeker is encouraged to physically recreate the moment of loss in order to see the missing ring’s possible trajectory. But for our creative twist, think about the “physics” of how an interested volunteer would get involved. What are the “mechanics” of volunteering? What steps must be taken? What hoops must be jumped through? This is an even more intense version of Strategy 2: have leaders and ministry participants write out the process for getting involved and regularly participating in a program or ministry. You might be shocked to see the ways in which the leaders’ description and the participants’ description don’t align! Is the sign-up process broken? Is the communication about how to get involved unclear or confusing? Are promises made about training that are not delivered?
Strategy 4
Look at things from a different angle.
If you’re searching for a misplaced item, literally standing in a different place can be the difference in spotting it. If you’re searching for volunteers, viewing the world from different angles can help us see people and possibilities we may have been missing. If you’re searching for volunteers for children’s ministry, we all start with parents (who have a vested interest in making the ministry happen), but what if we also paid a visit to the men’s group breakfast or to the senior study circle. What if instead of just talking to the same regular participants we spent some time talking to some people who are ‘outsiders,’ obvious non-participants? We might even talk with minsitry beneficiaries about what they would be looking for in volunteer leaders (like youth group members who might have insights on what makes a good youth group counselor or food pantry clients who might have ideas on how they can give back to a program that serves their needs).
Strategy 5
Check out odd and even counter-intuitive locations.
We tend to look in the same old spots for our volunteers. And let’s face it, most of the time that really means people are looking at us as we stand on stage in the front of a room making our “please help” plea. Or we’re publishing the same tired announcements in the same old spots. One of the natural defenses that people who come to our churches have developed is the ability to tune out announcements and pleas for service. This ability is enhanced by the clockwork timing in many local churches of when and how such appeals are made. Our brains do this naturally; it’s an automated reaction. If we integrate such appeals into other elements of the worship service, small group time, social media posts, etc., people will consider them in a different way. Ultimately, our charge is to help people understand how service and engagement are not a bonus, add-on element in discipleship, but a core value. Also, we can, as noted earlier, physically place ourselves in unfamiliar territory to talk to people about opportunities to serve. How many of us have dropped in on 12-step meetings or grief share gatherings to let people know that there are ways they would be welcome to build new community through service and this can be a valuable part of their recovery and journey forward?
Strategy 6
Take the slow, methodical approach.
When it comes to volunteer recruitment, we tend to do the same thing year after year, desperately pleading until someone steps up (frequently out of guilt). We barely fill the requirements, too often with people who don’t really want to be there.
Maybe, instead, we should do the slow, hard work of explaining the mission and the vision, why volunteering is good for the institution AND the individual volunteer. Maybe we should take a regular deep dive into the biblical mandate for ministry engagement and explore some great Gospel examples. It is playing the long game to integrate a sense of service into every aspect of who we are as a community of faith. We must move past the philosophy of “filling cubby-holes” of greatest needs with whatever warm body is available and instead helping people learn to leverage their God-given unique gifts to build a community in which everyone has found their way to be useful. Such a community is strong and fruitful and built to last.
How are you and your team doing at the perpetual challenge of recruiting, equipping, and inspiring ministry volunteers? Share your success stories about finding fantastic volunteers in unexpected places. And share your challenges along the way. That’s what the comments section is for. And good luck finding those missing keys!
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