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Responding to Volunteers: Part 3
Dealing with volunteers who aren’t open to new ideas is tough, and no church is immune to this. When volunteers only want to do things the way they’ve always been done, it often causes division, strained relationships, and missed opportunities. While a leader with a vision may find ways to push forward anyway, the newer, creative volunteers often give up trying, and might even find another place to take their passion. Learn a few ways to start helping volunteers deal with change. Keep reading to find out:
- The gift behind “We’ve always done it this way”
- How to honor those who’ve been there long enough to say it
- What to do if the ministry leader is the one who doesn’t want change
The Importance Of This Series
Each week throughout this series, I unpack one specific volunteer issue. Each of the scenarios in the series is a common issue that usually becomes a frustration for people, and is sometimes a reason why people end up feeling negatively about serving or volunteering in the church. However, I want to show you how each issue or complaint is also an incredible opportunity to show love, exude grace, and model honest relationships the way I believe God created the church to function.
The Most Dangerous Phrase in Churches
The phrase, “We’ve always done it this way” is the killer of all new ideas and the obstacle to progress. People often look up ways to deal with this phrase and find steps like making an appointment, coming prepared, being ready to be met with resistance, and staying positive. However, I’d like to suggest something different. We need to acknowledge that we are all more similar than we are different. When it comes to “We’ve always done it this way,” it can be a lot more productive to start with what we have in common rather than how different we all are.
This is a big division in the church. Some people want change and others don’t, but this is something we have in common.
How To Start Helping Volunteers Deal With Change
I love change and creating new things. If you’ve been following the Creative Little Church that turned into the Small Church Ministry, you might’ve had a hard time keeping up, I know I do. Last week I saw a post on our Facebook community announcing our new Ambassador Program. Change is constantly happening throughout Small Church Ministry, and I love it.
However, this doesn’t mean that I want everything in my life to change. There are things that I love that I don’t want to change at all. I love my bed and, honestly, I don’t like to travel that much. I order the same things whenever we go out to eat. I know what I like and I don’t want to change that.
Do you see what I mean? We all like some things to stay the same, but we also like change. This is important to understand because it builds empathy and helps us understand one another. It allows us to approach conversations with compassion instead of preparing for battle. When you approach people with compassion they feel honored instead of defensive. This is human nature. When we realize how much we have in common, we don’t seem that far apart anymore.
Respond With The Knowledge Of Your Commonalities
If you have a volunteer or even a group of them who don’t want to change and you want a change, responding can be tricky. Firstly, your response will depend on your responsibility, authority, and position in the church. If you’re the pastor or a ministry leader and want change, you have a few options. It’s essential to go slow and build great relationships with your volunteers. Honor the people around you. Honor their part in the community and their commitment. You should also ask them questions about why they love what they do. Truly listen to what they have to say. During this conversation, you could also try to vision cast or compromise.
However, if you go slow and cast a vision while building a great relationship and people still won’t budge, then you might just have to do it anyway. This is a tough option, but if you feel called to change up something, you might have to do it anyway. I would encourage you not to rush it, Jesus did not rush and neither should we. Try your best to preserve the relationships you built however you can. To help with this change, you could keep a piece of their ministry alongside a new vision.
What If You’re Not The Pastor Or Ministry Leader?
If you’re not a pastor or ministry leader and you want change, I encourage you to be amazingly respectful and build relationships. If you have no authority and no responsibility, we need to remember that the only thing we’re in control of is us. If you have a dream for a ministry or a change in a ministry and the pastor isn’t open to it, your best response is humility, gentleness, and peace. If this leaves you frustrated, it’s understandable! It is so difficult to have a dream and not be able to step forward into it. However, I want to encourage you to be careful not to start any division.
You can absolutely share your vision with gentleness and grace, and if your ministry leader or pastor doesn’t budge, then keep your humility turned up. Remain watching for God at work. God might be doing things that you’re completely unaware of. Your dream may be for later, but it is so important to keep your relationships central. The better relationships you build and maintain in the church, the more you’re honoring God. The church isn’t supposed to be a place of fighting or division.
Focus On The Commonalities
The more we start seeing how much we have in common, the more we’ll be able to offer each other more grace and less judgment. It would be beautiful if we put relationships before programs and honored each other before getting in our own way. Jesus modeled this in His life on earth. He prioritized people and grace. He served people and sat with them. He listened and there was never any forcing, only invitation. If we all focused on walking more like Jesus, I think our relationships would be so much better and our ministries would be more God-honoring too!
Read More:
How To Get Church Volunteers Back In The Door
