Every church in the world is always looking for new volunteers. And God didn’t create any of us and then try and figure out what we’re supposed to do. That means if we are all doing what God created us to do in the church then our lack of volunteers would go down drastically. That is why we should take our job seriously as leaders trying to get people plugged in and serving. When we do that we’re helping others discover the way that God made them and helping them fulfill their purpose here on Earth.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.”

God made us and said we should spend our lives helping others. God has given each one of us a unique gift and we should use that gift to help others. We don’t produce for ourselves, we produce for others.

Part of our job as leaders is to also help people find the right job for them. It’s our job to help them find the right ministry to serve in.

If someone begins serving and they realize they’re not good at it then it doesn’t mean they’re the wrong person, it just means it’s the wrong job.

I wrote out 5 ideas to help you recruit more volunteers to serve at your church. I hope this helps you think about new ways to recruit volunteers in your context and get them serving. I know this is a lot easier said than done. There are challenges and obstacles that each of us face in our unique church setting. Try to begin to look at those obstacles as opportunities and believe God to bring the right people!

1. Strike while the iron is hot- People are more willing to sign up to start volunteering after a big event where God showed up and did something in their life. This could be anything from Easter services to a Men’s Conference or Youth Retreat. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Always use events as a funnel to recruit volunteers. Have clear action steps ready at the close of a big event and don’t let people leave without signing up to start volunteering. Even if you can convince them just to sign up to say they’re interested that is a great next step to get them committed. Interest leads to commitment.

2. Lower the bar of entry- No one should have to sit through a class for six weeks (much less longer) to learn the history of your church and who your elders are to begin serving. People want to get connected and start serving immediately. Let them. There’s a time and a place to teach the history, mission, vision, values, etc. but don’t let that become an obstacle for someone who is willing and ready to step in and start serving immediately. Jesus told His disciples to “come and follow him.” There were no prerequisites required. We can’t make serving at our churches harder than becoming a disciple of Jesus.

3. Challenge people- There are high capacity people in your church who want to contribute. It’s our job to create unique opportunities for them to be a part of something bigger than themselves. If you have a CEO of a Fortune 500 company attending your church don’t have them passing out bulletins every week. High capacity people want to solve problems. And if you’re church is like most churches then you have problems so let these high level people help you solve them. Your job as the leader is to make sure you’re creating the right opportunities so they can help you solve the right problems.

4. Shoot your shot- No one ever said yes to the date you didn’t ask them on. Don’t be afraid to ask people to fill a need. Most of us are walking around life looking to make a difference. Often times we just need someone to give us a chance to do that. Don’t ever feel guilty for asking someone to serve. We all want to be invited to the dance. Don’t say no for people. Every single conversation that you have with people from your church should include where are you serving? And if they say nowhere have a spot ready for them to jump in immediately. Give people a chance to make a difference and in the process discover their purpose.

5. Recruit Young People-- Raid the youth and young adult ministry for volunteers for production, creative, worship and other technology and creative departments. Gen-Zers are digital natives and can pretty much figure out anything on You Tube. They’re doing it for school and for their jobs so we should give them a chance to use their skills in church as well. And on the flip side of that don’t people people who don’t know how to turn on a computer serving on the production team running lyrics.