Summary: Everybody wants someone to listen to their story. Your volunteers are longing to have somebody take an interest in them. Every volunteer has a unique story.
Every one of your volunteers has a story. It is to a leader's glory to find out that story. Everybody's got a story. My encouragement to you is to get to know people. Now, one thing it's kind of a silly phrase, but it really did crack the ice, so to speak. This phrase sought to find out the unique story of another person.
I would walk up to people and say, “Is there anything new or special in your life right now?” It was amazing to me how that simple phrase, “Is there anything new in your life right now,” could spark real conversation. Here was another variation of that original phrase: “Is there anything special or out of the ordinary that's happening in your life?”
Sometimes it would be a challenge that they were experiencing. Sometimes it would be a new thing at their work. I don't care what it is. I want to get them talking and I want to listen. Therefore, as a leader, I would move my way around and just engage people in this type of conversation.
I think everybody wants to tell their story. I think everybody wants someone to listen to their story. And if I could, I would want to hear your story. How did you get into ministry? What, what's the hardship that has shaped you? How are you super unique in the kingdom? And guess what? Your volunteers are longing to have somebody take an interest in them. Every volunteer has a story. It's a unique story. It's our job to pull that out and to exegete, so to speak, or draw that story out of them. I want you to find somebody this week and get them to tell you their story.