Summary: According to our own math, we will never have enough workers to harvest those fields. However, “God’s math” is not our math and He is faithful.

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I want to make a bold prediction about the future of ministry in America. I had someone recently ask me to make a prediction about how ministry will trend in the next 12 months. Here is my prediction: Volunteer Leadership Will Be Hard Next Year in Ministry.  I predict and I believe that we will continue to experience volunteer challenges for the rest of our lives, not just the next 12 months.

Jesus boldly said, “The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few”. You can take that to the bank. Listen, if Jesus said it, you can count on it. I like to call it “God’s Math”. According to our own math, we will never have enough workers to harvest those fields. However, I work from “God’s Math”, not my own math.

News flash, there is absolutely nothing that will eliminate all of your volunteer problems, ever. Period. Amen. Nothing. But Jesus does add, “The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest that He might raise up workers”.

Stop right now, pray as He has told us to do. LEADVOLUNTEERS exists to help you, equip you, and make sense of your volunteer load. You will always have volunteer problems. But we are here to make them just a little bit easier.

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Summary: Stories inspire and compel us. As a leader in ministry, you must collect and share stories of ministry success to encourage and inspire all of your volunteers.

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Stories matter. Stories inspire. Stories compel us. As leaders in ministry, we must be collectors, curators and conveyors of stories. Great things are happening all around your ministry. A kid came back to church after being gone for 7 months, a volunteer remembered their name and their face lit up. This is a winning story.

Yet the power of a story lies in that story being retold. A fellow volunteer might gain inspiration and motivation to learn the names of kids in their group because of the simple victory of another volunteer. Are you collecting stories? Are you curating stories and putting them on display? Be a megaphone for the small victories of your volunteers. Create a scalable system to gain stories and pass those stories to others. Lead Volunteers is here to help you win in ministry. We are here to help you create a repeatable system and make ministry easier for you.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: You are working for the Kingdom of God. But you don’t have to be alone in laboring for the Lord.

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Leading volunteers is filled with pressure. But the pressure is not what most people would think.  It’s not the pressure the volunteers put on you. It’s that this role requires THIS MANY volunteers. You begin to wonder “Is this even worth it?”

If you have been in this role for any length of time, you have asked that question. You have asked yourself if it is worth this cost.  It may be 11:42pm and you are the last dog standing. You are alone picking up pieces of leftover popcorn from the event you led.

Sometimes you feel alone and just are exhausted. You have that question arise again. Is this worth it?  First, let me say this directly to you.  YOU ARE NORMAL.  This is not abnormal.

I need to hear this!  I need to hear that I am normal.  For me, it is so helpful to hear I am not crazy.  My mind is not the ONLY one filled with thoughts of just quitting.

Now let me plant a different seed in your mind.  It is worth it.  This is the Kingdom of God. You will receive treasure untold for toiling for His purposes.

But what if there was a way to labor for the Lord that does not cause you to want to throw in the towel.  We all need a team. I am here to help you.  You do NOT have to lead alone.

Part of your plan for long-term health is having a healthy team. I want you to envision a group of people surrounding you, supporting you and they feel like family. You deserve a team.

I want to invite you on a path toward that healthier future.  Lead Volunteers is a powerful course that gives you a proven path toward building a healthy volunteer ministry team.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: Make it hard for your volunteers to walk away. Establish relationships and show them value so it is “worth it” for them to stay in ministry with you.

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There is a set of scales in the secret spaces of our volunteers’ minds. One side reads, “Worth It” while the other side reads, “Not Worth It”. Each week, marbles get added. As you might expect, when the scale falls hard to one side, your volunteers will approach and say, “I think God is calling me to do something different.” Game over.

The cost to their life, the time it took and more tipped the scales. Yet, there are variables we can influence. Listen, I want to make it hard for them to walk away. I want to make it hard for volunteers to leave. Great relationships with other volunteers makes people WANT to stay. A stimulating and appropriately challenging volunteer role makes people WANT to stay. Being in an area of supreme gifting makes people WANT to stay. Being appreciated for serving makes people WANT to stay.

I want to make it hard to leave. I want people to WANT to stay.

Lead Volunteers is a marble-filled resource, allowing you to creatively and continually add marbles and make the wonderful experience of serving the Lord "Worth It”. LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: According to scripture, the role of a pastor is to build up the body to do the work of the ministry - NOT to do all the work themselves.

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A recent survey blew my mind. One-fifth of volunteers said the reason they do not serve is because there is not a job for them to do. What? Did you hear that? Now, let me get something straight. The majority of pastors I meet are burned out from DOING ministry. And yet one-fifth of people NOT volunteering say they don’t serve because their isn’t something for them to do? Something is not lining up.

Hey pastors, stop robbing volunteers from an opportunity to lay up treasure in heaven. You DOING the work means they have less to do. The Body of Christ can begin to experience atrophy or the weakening of muscles due to underuse. According to scripture, the role of a pastor is to build up the body to do the work of the ministry. Here is the catch.

In order to have someone else do the work, you need to lay out HOW to do the work. And guess what? Laying out HOW to do the work IS ACTUALLY WORK ITSELF. There is good news. I have created the Easy Button. Lead Volunteers is a Master Class and Implementation strategy to easily pass work onto volunteers in a way that honors them and is doable for you. Let us help you.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: Appreciate volunteers in a way that registers to them and is directly related to what they are doing. Stop the empty “We appreciate you!” comments.

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A volunteer was recently quoted as saying, “I’m a little tired of hearing “We appreciate you.” It’s exhausting like small talk. It almost feels desperate. It is like they’re scared I’ll quit if they don’t constantly remind me how much I’m appreciated. I’d be more likely to quit to get away from that phrase. Tell me specifically what I’m doing right or wrong or what you want changed.”

Specificity matters. We must appreciate volunteers in a way that registers to them and is directly related to what they are doing. Leadership is won or lost in the details. Period. Notice the small stuff. Mention the small stuff. Do you see them come in with a 20 oz Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper each and every week? Notice that. Bring them a 6-pack of chilled 20 oz Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper next week. Be specific. So much is won or lost in the execution of personalized details.

Lead Volunteers is a downloadable resource bank of instantly implementable resources to authentically appreciate people. We provide you a Fast-track. Let us help you get up to speed and fast.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: Every ministry leader claims they need more volunteers. But do you really know what you need? Do you know when you will have reached your goal of filling volunteer spots? Know your numbers.

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I am blown away by ministry leaders who do not know the specifics of their volunteer needs. I once had a senior leader ask me how recruiting was going. I was able to answer, “We are 67% complete for Sunday morning small group leaders for 4th, 5th and 6th grades. We are 78% complete on Wednesday nights. Yet our greatest area of need is the 4 year old, 5 year old and Kindergarten classrooms on Sunday morning. We only have this area 43% covered.”

His response was encouraging, “Wow, at least you know your stuff. This allows me to pray specifically for those younger ages.” Every ministry leader I know claims they need more leaders. But do you really know what you need? Do you know when your needs will be met? Do you have a target number? If you don’t, you’ll never know when God has officially met your needs. People: Know your numbers. Lead Volunteers is a powerful system to help you know the current score of your own ministry. You need a plan. Part of your plan is knowing what you need.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout.

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Summary: Ministry leaders should see the goal as developing the future, not just dominating right now.

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I worked at a super successful high school. This school DOMINATED at nearly every sport. The Valley High School football team won 3 state championships in a row. How did they do this? One of the ways they accomplished this was through this phrase: "We play the freshmen”. Valley High School could quickly be ahead 28-0. At this point, a decision needed to be made: Do we want to be “The BEST” or be “The BUILDERS of the Future Best”?

The first team could have stayed in the game and easily racked up another 50 points. They could have. But the wiser move was to slowly integrate less experienced players alongside very experienced players. “We play the freshmen” is a ministry concept in need of full adoption. How did Valley High School have a great team THIS YEAR? Well, three years ago, when they were ahead by 24 points, the coaches made a future facing decision and played the freshmen. These freshmen were now seasoned seniors and dominating the field. In ministry, we need to see the goal as developing the future and not just dominating right now. Put in your freshmen. Put them into the game. Let the play go a little rough today for the greater kingdom good down the road. Your best move is often NOT to play your best players, but to build tomorrows players right now.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout. Why not let me do the heavy lifting for you. You need help and I’m here to help.

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Summary: Even in ministry, you need job descriptions, simple giftedness assessments, basic training and a relationship with your volunteers.

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Imagine you see a job opening that peaks your interest and you approach to learn more. You find out there is no job description. There is no specific skill-sets required for you to know if this would be in your wheelhouse. The role boldly states, “START IMMEDIATELY” but gives no clear end. You learn there is no upfront training or on boarding process. It appears that you just start. As to what you will be doing, you assume you will figure it out as you go. The interviewing manager, if you could call it an interview, is SO SCATTERED and overwhelmed that it becomes clear that you will have little to no ongoing interaction with them for support, guidance or direction. And, I forgot to mention, you are not paid.

You would NOT take this job. However, this is the offer we provide to volunteers in the local church all the time. This is OUR problem as leaders in the church and not the problem of skeptical volunteers. You need job descriptions, simple giftedness assessments, basic training and a relationship with your volunteers.

Lead Volunteers is a “Done For You” resource to fast track these items and more. Don’t be THAT leader any longer. Let us help.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout. Why not let me do the heavy lifting for you. You need help and I’m here to help.

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Summary: We were created to fight against something. When we don’t know what the mission really is, we start picking fights with each other, typically about irrelevant things.

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There was a landmark study comparing mothers who licked their child’s pacifier vs. moms who boiled their child’s pacifier. I hope I have caught your attention.

Scientists concluded that how a parent deals with a pacifier is a predictor for other areas of their life. Think about it. If a parent boils a pacifier to kill germs, they are likely to have a very sterile environment. Contrast this with parents who licks the pacifier, gets the big chunks off and puts it back in the kid’s mouth. Stick with me.

If children grew up in a super sterile home, they had a higher rate of autoimmune diseases. However, children exposed to more bacteria and environmental ills had a lower risk of autoimmune diseases.

White blood cells are exclusively tasked with fighting off bad things. Interestingly enough, when a child was in a hyper sterilized environment, there were no bacteria for white blood cells to fight. The white blood cells - being conditioned to fight – begin to fight against that child’s very own body, an autoimmune disease.

On the other hand, those who had homes with a normal amount of bacteria, their white blood cells had something legitimate to fight against. In other words, the white blood cells didn’t turn against the host because they were occupied with fighting external bacteria.

When the church doesn’t see an external thing worth fighting for or against, we will start picking battles within each other. We were created to fight against something. The trick is, when we don’t know what the mission really is, we start picking fights with each other, typically about nonsensical and irrelevant things. On the battlefield, you have bullets flying over your head and you are looking the enemy directly in the face. You don’t really have time to be concerned that your fellow soldiers have a different taste in music than you do. That’s irrelevant. One of the most demoralizing aspects of war is death by friendly fire. No wonder Jesus said,“They will know you by your love”.

It’s a leader's job to give people a vision to charge that hill, lest one another we kill.

LEADVOLUNTEERS helps you get organized, stops the revolving door of volunteers and prevents burnout. Why not let me do the heavy lifting for you. You need help and I’m here to help.

Join LEADVOLUNTEERS.com today!