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If your small church needs more volunteers, you’re not alone.
When you’ve tried the sign-up sheets, creative announcements, and personal asks – and you’re still coming up short – it’s time to step back and look at your volunteer environment.
Every church has a “volunteer vibe” – and it’s either helping to draw volunteers in or it’s repelling them from coming near.
Listen in to hear:
- 5 essential elements to create volunteer environments that draw people in
- How a limited capacity can be our superpower, not a liability
- Specific steps to healthier ministry practices, starting today
- Why required ministry breaks lead to stronger teams and more effective ministry
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Listen On
Laurie Graham 0:01
Hey, this is Laurie Graham. Welcome to the Small Church Ministry podcast.
Laurie Graham 0:14
Welcome to the Small Church Ministry Podcast. We are the only podcast dedicated to volunteers and ministry leaders all over the world in small churches. I really need to talk about this now and then because it is so important. And I think one of the things that makes our ministry so incredible, and unique, and also so impactful. Because if you would look at help out there for churches, especially for small churches, first off, there’s hardly anything for small churches.
But what is out there, by and large, is about helping the pastor, which is totally great. I’m married to a pastor, and pastors need help and support. That’s all good. But I just want you to think about your church. Maybe there are 100 people and maybe more, maybe there’s less. How many pastors do you have? Usually one, maybe there are two. So how many other people are there in the church? That’s who I want to help most of all. You are my heartbeat.
Laurie Graham 1:12
I have served in very large churches, medium-sized churches, small churches, and you know what they all have in common? There are a whole lot more volunteers who are powering the church than the people who are working full-time or part-time or on staff, or the pastors. Because you know who shows up to do yard work and teach Sunday school and sit on council and help make decisions, start ministries, work in outreaches? Most of us have full-time jobs or part-time jobs where we’re helping family members and committed to other things in our schools and in our communities. And at the same time, we are a huge part of our churches. So no matter if you’ve got one pastor or a few on staff, think of how many other people are powering the church. So I am here for you, we exist for you.
We want to help volunteers and ministry leaders find more joy and effectiveness. Realize your gifts, step into your influence to be the church, the priesthood of believers, the community that God calls us to be with each of us doing our part, and contribute like crazy and find our joy in it. Not just serving out of obligation or signing up on a sign-up sheet because we know we’re needed. But literally finding our influence and our joy in it. I really believe this is what Christ calls community to be. So if you are the volunteer, or a ministry leader, or the one who said, “I’ll try it,” or “I’ll do it,” or “I see a need,” you are totally in the right place. If you are the pastor or paid staff, you are so welcome to hang out with us, to learn with us. We love you, we want to support you and be on your team as well. But I fully believe the best training does not just belong to the pastor. Let’s get equipped, let’s grow in skill and delight in ministry so that we can experience the joy and the impact that God created us to have.
Laurie Graham 3:12
So today, we are talking about setting up the best environments for volunteers. So whether you are the volunteer or you lead a team of volunteers, or you wish you had more volunteers, this is totally for you.
Laurie Graham 3:28
Now, as soon as I say environment, what do you picture? For me, I picture our church Welcome Center. That’s the first thing I just pictured right now. I picture these two leather-ish chairs sitting over against the one wall with a little table in between. When I think of environment, I also think of my backyard, which is currently a mess. It’s not a place I want to hang out. It used to be until my dog chewed up all my irrigation. Environment could mean a landscape, like being out on a hillside, we think of that as environment, a room. Maybe it’s a room you want to be in, maybe it’s a place you don’t.
Laurie Graham 4:06
Now, why I’m talking about environments is I believe they are very important. They’re not just physical. They’re also mood. They’re also mental and emotional and social. But I am a big fan of being intentional about our environments. When I talk about connecting with Jesus, I often talk about lighting a candle, setting up a place, because I know that environment matters. It matters a lot. Environments can call us to come or actually repel us. Oh my goodness, can you imagine a house or a room or a yard that you don’t want to go into? Maybe that’s actually easier to envision. It doesn’t even matter what’s happening in that environment. We don’t want to be there because that environment alone can make us want to run and hide. And I would like to suggest that in many churches, sometimes our volunteer environment is actually making people want to run and hide and repel them.
Laurie Graham 5:04
So by the end of this episode, you’re going to hear five specific, I would say, requirements, essentials, for the best volunteer environment. All of these elements are totally within your reach. There is nothing that I will share today that requires a certain budget or expertise, or number of people. We can thank the good Lord for that, right? Especially if you’re struggling with numbers, these five doable things will make a positive impact on recruiting volunteers, finding them, keeping them, building healthy teams. And if you do them, these will make a change.
Laurie Graham 5:43
Before I jump into the five things, I want to just share a little scene. I think analogies or metaphors or pictures are really a beautiful way to learn things. Because sometimes it’s easier to confront our issues or even raise our awareness when something’s a little bit removed. So as we jump in, I just want you to picture a restaurant. If you were going to open a restaurant, how much time do you think you would spend setting it up, imagining it, putting things in place, before you actually hired your first employee? Would you pick the menu? Would you do some taste testing? Would you set the hours that your restaurant is going to be open before you found an employee? Would you make sure things are even legal and on the up and up? Would you consider responsibility yours and theirs? Would you kind of imagine the standards or the culture or what kind of vibe you want? This is one of my favorite things about restaurants is just that vibe, that feeling, that culture that’s in certain restaurants, certain places. All restaurants have different personalities.
I remember when I lived in the Twin Cities, I loved the Caribou Coffee chain. Caribou just had a really different feel. You would walk in, it felt really organic. The ones I went to had a children’s play area, right in the middle of a coffee shop. It was set up for young moms, there was this area. There’s a restaurant I used to love to go to in Tucson. It was on the east side of town, it was called Risky Business. It was kind of funky, and fun, and a little bit like an old-fashioned diner, but with really good food. I just loved that place. Another restaurant I love the food in in Tucson, one of the best Indian restaurants in town is called Spice Garden. It also has a completely different vibe. And then, of course, Chick-fil-A. I don’t know if you’ve been to Chick-fil-A lately, but they are always adding more and more customer service, even outside, right?
Laurie Graham 7:41
So think of these different vibes, different cultures that restaurants have. Do you think that was set up before they started hiring people? Because it certainly was. Think of all the we call them SOPs in our business, Standard Operating Procedures, but we write them for almost everything we do at Small Church Ministry, because we know that we’re going to bring other people in, that we kind of share jobs now and then. And so, if you were setting up a restaurant, would you have SOPs for emergencies? Or conflicts? Or sickness? If there’s an accident or a mishap? Or if the food doesn’t get delivered? Or if it does, like what are the next steps? These are all things we would do if we were going to open a restaurant.
Laurie Graham 8:27
Now, I would just like to say, if you decided to start a restaurant and didn’t do these things, and just said, “Hey, who wants to join me? I’m going to hire all you to do stuff.” Can you imagine what would happen? Now, I think this is what we do often in small churches and big churches too, but we’re talking to small churches here. “We need this, we want this, come help us.” And then we wonder why it is so hard? Or why people get frustrated? Or why volunteers quit? Or why they don’t sign up? Or why relationships are strained? Or why people don’t get along? Or why it’s not working? Or why it’s not working like we thought it would? It’s kind of like we’re trying to run an organization without setting up the organization.
Laurie Graham 9:14
And honestly, I think what most of us are actually doing is worse than starting a restaurant from scratch without organization. Because it seems like a lot of us today, at least, are instead of starting a restaurant from scratch, we’re trying to keep this restaurant afloat that has seen its day or is going under or has issues or we’re limping along with something that used to work that doesn’t anymore, but we’re trying to keep it going with the dysfunction and people running around trying to do what they used to do. And instead of stopping and figuring out what’s not working and why, or doing a rebrand or a refresh, instead of taking a break and doing some troubleshooting or problem solving, we keep inviting people to join the team that’s hobbling around and not working.
Laurie Graham 10:10
Now, if you resonate with that at all, keep listening. And you’re not alone, by the way. Or maybe you are totally blessed to be starting something new. And you’re part of a church plant. And you saw the title of this episode about best volunteer environments, and you’re like, “I want that.” That is great, keep listening.
Laurie Graham 10:30
No matter where you’re coming in from, you are not alone. And I personally think this is the opportunity, the church opportunity of our day, to grab on to new things that God is doing. Or we’re going to keep complaining about people not being committed or our culture that’s going to hell in a handbasket. And by the way, culture has always been like that. It’s not like in the day when Jesus was walking around that he didn’t have obstacles, or people surrounding him with priorities other than God. We can either focus on blaming our culture for not having volunteers and people being not as responsible or not as committed, or we can learn some new things and find some new joy in ministry. Because I know we can start fresh because we see it, we teach it, and we see it. So wherever you’re at today, in your small church, or in your ministry area, I’ve got great stuff for you that you can start putting in place even today, if you are willing to just take a breath, maybe take a break from how you’re doing things and reimagine a little bit. But specific steps that can get you going in a healthier direction that really does set up volunteers well, and an environment that draws them in instead of repelling them.
Laurie Graham 11:50
So let’s talk environment. Now, if you’re game for something new, here are my top five things I have for you today.
Laurie Graham 11:58
Number one, the first element in setting up a volunteer environment that is the best ever and draws people in: Design the ministry you’re doing to actually fit within your capacity. It might seem obvious, but I want to say most people are not doing this. Design the ministry you’re doing and maybe change the ministry you’re doing to fit within your capacity. So quit doing all the things that are leading to burnout. If you don’t have plenty of people to staff a nursery, don’t have a nursery. Come up with a creative way to meet the needs of people with little ones that fits your capacity. If you don’t have plenty of people to run the live stream, and you don’t have money to hire it out, please just stop live streaming.
We need to design ministry that fits within our capacity. This is not rocket science. This is simple math. We are not called to do things that we don’t have the capacity to do. Limits are limits, we have limits. But we’ve got to stop thinking that limits are limitations. Like our limits mean we’re doing less or being ineffective, or not doing as good of ministry. Limits are limits. Limits are also gifts. They are guidelines that keep us healthy and safe if we follow them. Instead of thinking of limits as limitations, let’s redefine this as limits are gifts. Think of the speed limit on the highway. Maybe it’s 65 by you, maybe it’s 75. Is this a limitation? Does it make life less? Or is it a gift? Now I personally would like to stay alive on the highways in Tucson. So I’m going to say that speed limit is a gift. If you have 10 people serving on Sunday mornings, that is a limit. But it doesn’t need to be a limitation. It absolutely can be a gift if you are designing your ministry around your actual capacity.
As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, what do you call a church without a nursery? A church. What do you call a church without a song leader? It’s still a church. What do you call a church without a live stream? It is a church. And when we design ministry around our capacities, God-given limits that are gifts, something changes and we will talk more and more throughout this entire episode about how much joy we can find. Because when your ministry responsibilities are actually within your capacity, it can be super joyful, really fun, and it has a feeling of freedom. When ministry responsibilities and tasks and goals are beyond our capacity, you know what we’re left with? An environment that is stressful and hard, often crabby. I judge mental, passing judgment on those who are not helping or doing their part.
We see a lot of people being passive-aggressive, like trying to suck it up and be happy serving. But they are stretched beyond capacity. We get mad when people are not serving, because please hear this, because we are doing too much. It’s not that we’re angry because they’re not serving. We’re angry because we are doing too much. And we need help. So stop doing too much. You can expand your ministry as you have the capacity to do so. I think that is very God-led and God-driven and within the laws of how he created humanity to be. Again, picture the restaurant: if you’re trying to serve 100 people and a five-course meal, when you have a diner the size of a coffee shop and a staff of two, that is just not smart.
Laurie Graham 15:54
So number one principle: design the ministry you’re doing to fit within your God-given capacity. Here’s your step to do this: Close your eyes right now, unless you’re driving. And I want you to imagine where in your ministry people are stressed, things aren’t going well. There’s frustration and failure, where you’re trying to do more than your capacity. Imagine that place and make a change there. In that one place, make a change. Now, if you’re thinking nursery, just as an example, that that’s the place where we are overstretched, we are beyond our capacity, and your pastor says we have to have a nursery, or your children’s director says you have to have a nursery, then that’s not in your authority to make the change.
But you do have authority over your service and where you are overstretched. You do have the authority to say no, to redesign your job to fit within your capacity. Keeping yourself healthy and working within your capacity will make a change in your culture, in your church culture. It’s not overnight, but it does set an example and it is beautiful, and you will feel healthier. And by the way, feel free to share this podcast episode with people that you are thinking of right now who are stretched beyond capacity. So designing your ministry to fit within the capacity of your church, of your ministry area, absolutely affects volunteers and potential volunteers. If you are overstretched, this is not an environment people want to join, because they see you stressed and overstretched and they don’t want to be there.
Laurie Graham 17:33
Okay. The second thing, designing the best volunteer environment, is having backups and contingency plans for when people are sick, on vacation, or they need a break. Second element. It’s simple: having a backup plan or a contingency plan when people are sick, on vacation, or need a break. And I just want to say it hurts me to say this. Most small churches do not have this. Most, the vast majority, I would say honestly, almost all. Please change this. This is absolutely essential in your healthy volunteer environment. People get sick, people sometimes are late, their cars break down. They have migraines. People also get distracted, overwhelmed, they need breaks. This is not a lack of commitment or being irresponsible. This is human. Straight up, it is human. Can we just plan for humanity? Can we make allowance for being human? So, “I have a migraine this morning. What do I do? I’m supposed to be in the church nursery.” What’s my plan? Have a plan for volunteers. Put it in writing when you recruit people. Can you imagine recruiting people and saying, “Hey, if you ever have a migraine, this is what you’ll do. Hey, if you’re on vacation, this is what you’ll do.” When you develop teams, shout it from the rooftop. “By the way, if you have to be gone, this is how you get a replacement.” Or, “If you have to be gone, the kids will simply join the main service,” removing this piece of guilt and shame because there is a plan.
Now, I’m not saying that we all just don’t show up and we don’t feel like it. This is not what it’s about. We can absolutely build healthy teams, teach leadership, great responsibility. But it is not healthy, wise, or even reasonable to not have a backup plan. This is also true for your pastoral family. Do you know how many pastors have woken up sick, physically ill, even with serious heart symptoms, stroke symptoms, high fevers? I know pastors like this. I’ve heard many stories, and they show up to preach. And as soon as they’re done preaching, they get rushed to the hospital. Why is this? Please stop this. This is not just for pastors and staff. This is for everyone serving, and I would say us especially for volunteers. Now, if you can’t figure out a backup plan, like a person to replace the person, the backup plan can simply be canceling a class, not having a sermon that day, not running the live stream. That can be the backup plan. You’re still offering a step. “If you can’t be there, if something goes wrong, this is what we will do.” Removing the guilt and shame. Here’s your step for number two: consider where you serve in your ministry area, your position.
Laurie Graham 20:31
What is your backup plan for just the one thing that you’re thinking of right now, where you serve? What is your backup plan? If you don’t have one, write it down, publicize it, share it, get approval from a ministry leader if necessary. If you have somebody above you, you definitely want to be in communication and be a team. If you do lead a team, consider the backup plans for the people who serve with you. Now, if you can’t figure out a backup plan, I need to defer to step number one, to element number one: Design the ministry for what’s within your capacity. If you cannot figure out a backup plan, you’re doing ministry beyond your capacity, because the backup plan is part of your capacity.
Laurie Graham 21:15
The third element essential for a great volunteer environment: set your volunteers up to succeed. Know what they need to know to be successful, what they need to have access to to be successful, what they need to love their job, and set them up to succeed. Whether this is training or equipment, or a church key, or a certain knowledge base, you’ve got to not only consider this and make a plan, but it also needs to be a conversation, because every volunteer may need something different.
Laurie Graham 21:48
Take something as simple as making the coffee and bringing the snacks. We just say, “Hey, can you make coffee and bring the snacks? Sign up right here.” Okay, but let’s be real. We think everybody can do this. But there are unspoken expectations, especially in a church kitchen. Can we really consider this? What would it truly take for this person to not only be successful, but feel successful? To love their job? Where is the coffee? Who orders more when it’s out? How do I get in? What if the kitchen is locked? How many snacks do I need? Who cleans up? Do you know how often people related to a church kitchen get irritated or frustrated because something isn’t done or isn’t done the way I thought it should be done?
Laurie Graham 22:35
So part of setting up volunteers to succeed is having those SOPs—those Standard Operating Procedures. Now, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It could be a little list hung above the sink that says, “Hey, put your dishes in the dishwasher when you’re done,” right? But are we setting up volunteers to succeed? Because most often, we are not. We are throwing people into positions, volunteer positions, with no clear standards, no job descriptions. We don’t communicate well. Sometimes things are chosen or not chosen, unspoken or spoken. But we’re not on the same page. This is why it needs to be a conversation.
Laurie Graham 23:14
So in this element number three of setting people up to succeed, having this conversation first starts with writing it down. How do we know if it’s a good job that’s done? What do we need to know? What do we need to have? What do we need to learn? And asking people, “What do you need?” Now, if you cannot do this, if you don’t have the time or capacity to make a list or to set volunteers up to succeed, can I again just defer to step number one: We need to design ministry that does fit within our capacity. If we don’t have the capacity to set volunteers up to succeed, we need to stop recruiting volunteers. In my mind, in my experience, this is not optional.
Laurie Graham 24:04
Design a ministry that fits within your capacity. The second element was backup plans and contingencies for everything and everyone because we are human. The third element is setting them up to succeed with clear desired results written down. Because let’s face it, people do not remember what is said, and it’s kind of like the scene of an accident. We all think we said something different than the other person remembers us saying. That’s why we write things down. Not because we’re wanting to fill everything with red tape or micromanage people. It’s just a step in clear communication. So set people up to succeed.
Laurie Graham 24:40
Okay, number four. I can’t really think of a great word for this. But I’m going to say, always have an upline or a helper. This could be a boss or a supervisor, but that’s not really what I mean. I mean, always have somebody assigned, someone communicate, who this volunteer can go to for support. Who do you ask when you need help? This is part of a great volunteer environment: volunteers know where to go when they need help. None of us were meant to do this alone. And we all need help sometimes. So who do we ask? Too often, we’re on our own. I don’t know if you’ve felt like that. I feel like that often. In small churches, “I’m just on my own. I’ve got to figure this out.” No, no, no.
Laurie Graham 25:26
Now, this does not mean that you have to have a big organization or organizational structure, or ministry leaders and team leaders over everyone all the time. But Robert, who’s teaching Sunday school, might have a question. Who does he ask? Or Carlyne might need a church key because maybe a toilet just overflowed, and she knows how to fix this and get to stuff in the supply closet. But she doesn’t have a key. Who does she ask now? If there’s not someone set up to ask, do you know who everyone asks? Usually the pastor, sometimes on a Sunday morning, while he or she is walking up the aisle to preach. I see it happen. This is why we need somebody who’s actually assigned or in line or available. “If you need help, ask this person.”
Laurie Graham 26:19
So with each element, I’m giving you an action step you can do today. And here’s your action step: Consider who they do ask for this position. If you’re in charge of volunteers, or you work on a team, consider the people that you’re thinking of right now in their volunteer roles. Who do they ask? Maybe you already have it set. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re super structured. Maybe we’ve never thought about this and we are always running to a core volunteer, or a pastor saying, “What do we do?” So figure out who that person is to ask. If you don’t know who it is, have a discussion with your leaders, with people around you, who could this be, and make sure you write it down and communicate it to whoever’s involved.
Laurie Graham 27:03
Okay, drumroll please. We’re headed to number five. The number five element for amazing volunteer environments is to require, and I do mean require, ministry Sabbaths and breaks. This is an amazing element in a volunteer environment. And by require, I do mean require; they’re not optional. It is so important to have ministry breaks. They are healthy, they keep us in perspective. They help prevent burnout. They also work against pride, and an imbalance of feeling that our worth is in our doing and that the church cannot survive without us. Or this program will not survive without us. Ministry Sabbaths and breaks allow us to refresh. They create space for creativity, for new ideas, for more spiritual health.
Laurie Graham 28:02
Build in ministry Sabbaths and breaks as a norm for your worship team. Yes. For your pastoral staff. Yes. For Sunday school teachers. Yes. For nursery workers. Yes. For council members, for hospitality, for ushers, for people who serve in the kitchen. Even for people who say, “I don’t need a break. My joy is in serving,” require it anyway. Now, I don’t care how long your breaks are or how often they are when they’re required, but build it into your culture.
Laurie Graham 28:36
Personally, for me, I believe that for somebody serving on a Sunday morning, just as an example, and this is what I would kind of institute if I were in charge of a team: For somebody serving on a Sunday morning, I would say one weekend off every quarter. This is minimum. One weekend off every quarter, and two full weeks off a year, minimum. Sunday school teachers should not be teaching 52 weeks out of the year. And if you’re going to say we shouldn’t have a break from serving and Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he absolutely did. But he also pulled away for times of rest and times of refreshment.
So one weekend off a quarter, two full weeks off a year, minimum. I believe your pastor probably could use a full month off, four Sundays in a row, every year, minimum. Now this has nothing to do with rewarding service or earning time off. This has to do with taking care of ourselves and each other, of being human, of knowing that we need breaks, that we function better when we are refreshed spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally. And having a Sunday off now and then does give us refreshment as well as great perspective of the Church, of who God has called us to be, of the fact He delights in us, and that our worth is not based on what we do.
Laurie Graham 30:06
So in this element number five, what you can do today is this: Pull out your personal calendar, unless you’re driving, then do it afterwards. And mark off time, mark off one weekend a quarter and two weeks a year. Maybe you’re not taking a vacation to Hawaii. Maybe you’re not even leaving your town, but two weeks off of ministry. There is nothing that is unhealthy about that, and it will only lead to good. Having breaks is good.
Laurie Graham 30:38
After you mark your time off, communicate this with your ministry partners, or have the conversation if you need to ask permission from a ministry leader, if this is new in your culture. If there’s some pushback, please share this podcast and have the conversation. What do we think about this? Is this something that we see could cause more health, could bring more health in our volunteer culture?
Laurie Graham 31:03
Now, if you’re going to push back and say you cannot take time off because there is no one who’s willing to do what you can do, I once again defer to element number one. A healthy church culture, a healthy volunteer environment, absolutely needs us doing ministry that’s within our capacity, not overstretching. And please remember, I really believe this: limits are not limitations, limits are gifts. Limits are gifts from God. It has to do with serving in the gifts that He has for us. When we are trying to run this ministry that is overstretched, and we are not experiencing the joy and even the effectiveness or the impact that God has for us, because we’re doing things that He doesn’t even have planned for us.
Laurie Graham 31:53
Can you imagine if we shut down our church nursery—sorry, I keep going back to this as an example, but it is an example that gets brought up a lot and I get asked questions about church nurseries a lot—can you imagine if we shut down a church nursery and shutting down the church nursery actually necessitated families sitting with kids and us trying to figure out how to help them? And a certain one family was drawn to a deeper place in their relationship and service because they were partnered with this grandparent who was sitting by them and they learned new parenting skills, or this child has grown in connection, or we’re hearing two-year-olds worship with adults and singing these songs from Jesus that they didn’t get out of the nursery. Now, I’m not saying the nursery is bad, but what I’m saying is what God has for us is within our capacity.
Laurie Graham 32:46
The reality is, by and large, most small churches are trying to do ministry beyond their capacity, because we’re modeling our churches not after what God has for us, but what we see other churches doing. Serving over capacity with our ministry areas leads to burnout and frustration, ineffective ministries, volunteers and staff feeling resentful, bitter, judgmental of others, and an imbalance of service where we are doing ministry to and for people, instead of functioning as a community that has more balance.
Remember, God did not call us to program the church, but to be the church. This is a community. This culture that we create of overserving or serving overcapacity, or designing ministry that is stretching everybody thin, I want to tell you the truth: it is repelling future volunteers. Because nobody wants to join a culture that’s full of stress and anxiety and failure and strained relationships, and ineffectiveness and rush and strain, and overworking and individualism and pride and pressure, and no rest in sight. Is that an environment that you would be drawn to? This is not what the church is supposed to be.
Laurie Graham 34:14
I don’t know if you remember this old show. It popped through my mind as I was preparing this podcast. It was called Fantasy Island. Now I have to say, I didn’t like the show. I think it was late 70s. It was kind of creepy to me. I know, I’m dating myself. But there was this beautiful island and people who came there on vacation. And again, there was kind of some creepy and darkness to it. But this is what I’m remembering.
There was a guy named Tattoo, who would announce excitedly when the plane was coming to land on the island. He’d be like, “The plane! The plane!” The guests are arriving and he’d ring this bell to say, “They’re coming, they’re coming.” There was no dread. There was no rush. We were prepared. We were ready. “I’m already in my white tux.” And Mr. Roarke, the guy who ran the island or whatever, would say, “Smiles, everyone, smiles,” and not in some weird fake way, like we have to pretend or we’re the staff at Disneyland. But literally, we are prepared and we are ready. And we are serving out of our capacity that God has given. We are community and we are a family.
Laurie Graham 35:21
Wouldn’t it be great if church was more like that? “The plane! The plane!” We are ready for you. We are waiting. We are not rushing. We are not stressed. We are not annoyed. We are not exhausted. We are ready to welcome everyone into the beautiful place, not just visitors or guests, but our volunteers, our family. This doesn’t have to be a perfect morning. There’s no show. It doesn’t have to be overkill. It doesn’t have to be slick. But more of a “welcome home, come and bring your stories and your hopes and your hurts. Let’s be the church together.” I think this would really please Jesus a lot, in fact.
Laurie Graham 36:07
So let’s do it. Let’s create volunteer environments that are beautiful and healthy and best. First thing, let’s do what’s in our capacity. Again, limits are not limitations. They set us up for health. The second thing is having backup plans for everything and everyone. “What happens if I can’t?” removing blame and guilt and shame, just being human. The third element I mentioned was setting people up to succeed. Clear desired results, write it down. We’re all on the same page. We’re setting people up to succeed. The fourth thing I mentioned was having an upline, somebody to help you. “What do I do when I need support? What do I do when I need help?” And the fifth aspect I talked about was requiring Sabbath breaks from ministry. Now that’s a volunteer culture that I personally would love to be part of. How about you? We really can create this with easy steps. Sometimes we just need to lay down our will and say, “Okay, God, I’m going to surrender what I thought church was supposed to look like and take a new look.”
Laurie Graham 37:20
All right, before I go, I just want to thank Nanny Rachel, that was the name left on the review, for leaving this review on Apple Podcasts this week. And I want to share her encouragement with you. She said this: “She said every time I listen to an episode, I have new hope and anticipation for what our small church can accomplish with the Lord. More churches need to hear Lori’s perspective on what being small actually means and what it doesn’t.” Thank you, Rachel, you have no idea how much your words really encouraged me to keep speaking this truth. And listening now, we all need to share this hope. Small church ministry is not less ministry, but it is very different. So let’s get the word out there.
Laurie Graham 38:05
If you have found hope and help with this podcast, two things I would ask: one, super quick, leave a review. Not only does it mean the world to me to hear what you are loving and where you are finding help from this podcast, but it really does help others find us. Reviews kind of change the rankings of podcasts and more people will see it. It’s kind of an algorithm thing. The second thing I want you to consider is, can you think of one person in your church who would also be encouraged by this episode, or one person in your church that you’d like to just talk about what you heard on this episode? Even having a conversation around these thoughts can be a part of developing healthier ministries and healthier cultures, and even just awareness of what we’re doing and why instead of being on autopilot. So do those two things for me today if you could: leave a review, and also think of one person in your church you can share this episode with. Okay, that’s all I got for today. Until next week, be a light.
Hey, this is Laurie Graham. Welcome to the Small Church Ministry podcast.
Laurie Graham 0:14
Welcome to the Small Church Ministry Podcast. We are the only podcast dedicated to volunteers and ministry leaders all over the world in small churches. I really need to talk about this now and then because it is so important. And I think one of the things that makes our ministry so incredible, and unique, and also so impactful. Because if you would look at help out there for churches, especially for small churches, first off, there’s hardly anything for small churches.
But what is out there, by and large, is about helping the pastor, which is totally great. I’m married to a pastor, and pastors need help and support. That’s all good. But I just want you to think about your church. Maybe there are 100 people and maybe more, maybe there’s less. How many pastors do you have? Usually one, maybe there are two. So how many other people are there in the church? That’s who I want to help most of all. You are my heartbeat.
Laurie Graham 1:12
I have served in very large churches, medium-sized churches, small churches, and you know what they all have in common? There are a whole lot more volunteers who are powering the church than the people who are working full-time or part-time or on staff, or the pastors. Because you know who shows up to do yard work and teach Sunday school and sit on council and help make decisions, start ministries, work in outreaches? Most of us have full-time jobs or part-time jobs where we’re helping family members and committed to other things in our schools and in our communities. And at the same time, we are a huge part of our churches. So no matter if you’ve got one pastor or a few on staff, think of how many other people are powering the church. So I am here for you, we exist for you.
We want to help volunteers and ministry leaders find more joy and effectiveness. Realize your gifts, step into your influence to be the church, the priesthood of believers, the community that God calls us to be with each of us doing our part, and contribute like crazy and find our joy in it. Not just serving out of obligation or signing up on a sign-up sheet because we know we’re needed. But literally finding our influence and our joy in it. I really believe this is what Christ calls community to be. So if you are the volunteer, or a ministry leader, or the one who said, “I’ll try it,” or “I’ll do it,” or “I see a need,” you are totally in the right place. If you are the pastor or paid staff, you are so welcome to hang out with us, to learn with us. We love you, we want to support you and be on your team as well. But I fully believe the best training does not just belong to the pastor. Let’s get equipped, let’s grow in skill and delight in ministry so that we can experience the joy and the impact that God created us to have.
Laurie Graham 3:12
So today, we are talking about setting up the best environments for volunteers. So whether you are the volunteer or you lead a team of volunteers, or you wish you had more volunteers, this is totally for you.
Laurie Graham 3:28
Now, as soon as I say environment, what do you picture? For me, I picture our church Welcome Center. That’s the first thing I just pictured right now. I picture these two leather-ish chairs sitting over against the one wall with a little table in between. When I think of environment, I also think of my backyard, which is currently a mess. It’s not a place I want to hang out. It used to be until my dog chewed up all my irrigation. Environment could mean a landscape, like being out on a hillside, we think of that as environment, a room. Maybe it’s a room you want to be in, maybe it’s a place you don’t.
Laurie Graham 4:06
Now, why I’m talking about environments is I believe they are very important. They’re not just physical. They’re also mood. They’re also mental and emotional and social. But I am a big fan of being intentional about our environments. When I talk about connecting with Jesus, I often talk about lighting a candle, setting up a place, because I know that environment matters. It matters a lot. Environments can call us to come or actually repel us. Oh my goodness, can you imagine a house or a room or a yard that you don’t want to go into? Maybe that’s actually easier to envision. It doesn’t even matter what’s happening in that environment. We don’t want to be there because that environment alone can make us want to run and hide. And I would like to suggest that in many churches, sometimes our volunteer environment is actually making people want to run and hide and repel them.
Laurie Graham 5:04
So by the end of this episode, you’re going to hear five specific, I would say, requirements, essentials, for the best volunteer environment. All of these elements are totally within your reach. There is nothing that I will share today that requires a certain budget or expertise, or number of people. We can thank the good Lord for that, right? Especially if you’re struggling with numbers, these five doable things will make a positive impact on recruiting volunteers, finding them, keeping them, building healthy teams. And if you do them, these will make a change.
Laurie Graham 5:43
Before I jump into the five things, I want to just share a little scene. I think analogies or metaphors or pictures are really a beautiful way to learn things. Because sometimes it’s easier to confront our issues or even raise our awareness when something’s a little bit removed. So as we jump in, I just want you to picture a restaurant. If you were going to open a restaurant, how much time do you think you would spend setting it up, imagining it, putting things in place, before you actually hired your first employee? Would you pick the menu? Would you do some taste testing? Would you set the hours that your restaurant is going to be open before you found an employee? Would you make sure things are even legal and on the up and up? Would you consider responsibility yours and theirs? Would you kind of imagine the standards or the culture or what kind of vibe you want? This is one of my favorite things about restaurants is just that vibe, that feeling, that culture that’s in certain restaurants, certain places. All restaurants have different personalities.
I remember when I lived in the Twin Cities, I loved the Caribou Coffee chain. Caribou just had a really different feel. You would walk in, it felt really organic. The ones I went to had a children’s play area, right in the middle of a coffee shop. It was set up for young moms, there was this area. There’s a restaurant I used to love to go to in Tucson. It was on the east side of town, it was called Risky Business. It was kind of funky, and fun, and a little bit like an old-fashioned diner, but with really good food. I just loved that place. Another restaurant I love the food in in Tucson, one of the best Indian restaurants in town is called Spice Garden. It also has a completely different vibe. And then, of course, Chick-fil-A. I don’t know if you’ve been to Chick-fil-A lately, but they are always adding more and more customer service, even outside, right?
Laurie Graham 7:41
So think of these different vibes, different cultures that restaurants have. Do you think that was set up before they started hiring people? Because it certainly was. Think of all the we call them SOPs in our business, Standard Operating Procedures, but we write them for almost everything we do at Small Church Ministry, because we know that we’re going to bring other people in, that we kind of share jobs now and then. And so, if you were setting up a restaurant, would you have SOPs for emergencies? Or conflicts? Or sickness? If there’s an accident or a mishap? Or if the food doesn’t get delivered? Or if it does, like what are the next steps? These are all things we would do if we were going to open a restaurant.
Laurie Graham 8:27
Now, I would just like to say, if you decided to start a restaurant and didn’t do these things, and just said, “Hey, who wants to join me? I’m going to hire all you to do stuff.” Can you imagine what would happen? Now, I think this is what we do often in small churches and big churches too, but we’re talking to small churches here. “We need this, we want this, come help us.” And then we wonder why it is so hard? Or why people get frustrated? Or why volunteers quit? Or why they don’t sign up? Or why relationships are strained? Or why people don’t get along? Or why it’s not working? Or why it’s not working like we thought it would? It’s kind of like we’re trying to run an organization without setting up the organization.
Laurie Graham 9:14
And honestly, I think what most of us are actually doing is worse than starting a restaurant from scratch without organization. Because it seems like a lot of us today, at least, are instead of starting a restaurant from scratch, we’re trying to keep this restaurant afloat that has seen its day or is going under or has issues or we’re limping along with something that used to work that doesn’t anymore, but we’re trying to keep it going with the dysfunction and people running around trying to do what they used to do. And instead of stopping and figuring out what’s not working and why, or doing a rebrand or a refresh, instead of taking a break and doing some troubleshooting or problem solving, we keep inviting people to join the team that’s hobbling around and not working.
Laurie Graham 10:10
Now, if you resonate with that at all, keep listening. And you’re not alone, by the way. Or maybe you are totally blessed to be starting something new. And you’re part of a church plant. And you saw the title of this episode about best volunteer environments, and you’re like, “I want that.” That is great, keep listening.
Laurie Graham 10:30
No matter where you’re coming in from, you are not alone. And I personally think this is the opportunity, the church opportunity of our day, to grab on to new things that God is doing. Or we’re going to keep complaining about people not being committed or our culture that’s going to hell in a handbasket. And by the way, culture has always been like that. It’s not like in the day when Jesus was walking around that he didn’t have obstacles, or people surrounding him with priorities other than God. We can either focus on blaming our culture for not having volunteers and people being not as responsible or not as committed, or we can learn some new things and find some new joy in ministry. Because I know we can start fresh because we see it, we teach it, and we see it. So wherever you’re at today, in your small church, or in your ministry area, I’ve got great stuff for you that you can start putting in place even today, if you are willing to just take a breath, maybe take a break from how you’re doing things and reimagine a little bit. But specific steps that can get you going in a healthier direction that really does set up volunteers well, and an environment that draws them in instead of repelling them.
Laurie Graham 11:50
So let’s talk environment. Now, if you’re game for something new, here are my top five things I have for you today.
Laurie Graham 11:58
Number one, the first element in setting up a volunteer environment that is the best ever and draws people in: Design the ministry you’re doing to actually fit within your capacity. It might seem obvious, but I want to say most people are not doing this. Design the ministry you’re doing and maybe change the ministry you’re doing to fit within your capacity. So quit doing all the things that are leading to burnout. If you don’t have plenty of people to staff a nursery, don’t have a nursery. Come up with a creative way to meet the needs of people with little ones that fits your capacity. If you don’t have plenty of people to run the live stream, and you don’t have money to hire it out, please just stop live streaming.
We need to design ministry that fits within our capacity. This is not rocket science. This is simple math. We are not called to do things that we don’t have the capacity to do. Limits are limits, we have limits. But we’ve got to stop thinking that limits are limitations. Like our limits mean we’re doing less or being ineffective, or not doing as good of ministry. Limits are limits. Limits are also gifts. They are guidelines that keep us healthy and safe if we follow them. Instead of thinking of limits as limitations, let’s redefine this as limits are gifts. Think of the speed limit on the highway. Maybe it’s 65 by you, maybe it’s 75. Is this a limitation? Does it make life less? Or is it a gift? Now I personally would like to stay alive on the highways in Tucson. So I’m going to say that speed limit is a gift. If you have 10 people serving on Sunday mornings, that is a limit. But it doesn’t need to be a limitation. It absolutely can be a gift if you are designing your ministry around your actual capacity.
As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, what do you call a church without a nursery? A church. What do you call a church without a song leader? It’s still a church. What do you call a church without a live stream? It is a church. And when we design ministry around our capacities, God-given limits that are gifts, something changes and we will talk more and more throughout this entire episode about how much joy we can find. Because when your ministry responsibilities are actually within your capacity, it can be super joyful, really fun, and it has a feeling of freedom. When ministry responsibilities and tasks and goals are beyond our capacity, you know what we’re left with? An environment that is stressful and hard, often crabby. I judge mental, passing judgment on those who are not helping or doing their part.
We see a lot of people being passive-aggressive, like trying to suck it up and be happy serving. But they are stretched beyond capacity. We get mad when people are not serving, because please hear this, because we are doing too much. It’s not that we’re angry because they’re not serving. We’re angry because we are doing too much. And we need help. So stop doing too much. You can expand your ministry as you have the capacity to do so. I think that is very God-led and God-driven and within the laws of how he created humanity to be. Again, picture the restaurant: if you’re trying to serve 100 people and a five-course meal, when you have a diner the size of a coffee shop and a staff of two, that is just not smart.
Laurie Graham 15:54
So number one principle: design the ministry you’re doing to fit within your God-given capacity. Here’s your step to do this: Close your eyes right now, unless you’re driving. And I want you to imagine where in your ministry people are stressed, things aren’t going well. There’s frustration and failure, where you’re trying to do more than your capacity. Imagine that place and make a change there. In that one place, make a change. Now, if you’re thinking nursery, just as an example, that that’s the place where we are overstretched, we are beyond our capacity, and your pastor says we have to have a nursery, or your children’s director says you have to have a nursery, then that’s not in your authority to make the change.
But you do have authority over your service and where you are overstretched. You do have the authority to say no, to redesign your job to fit within your capacity. Keeping yourself healthy and working within your capacity will make a change in your culture, in your church culture. It’s not overnight, but it does set an example and it is beautiful, and you will feel healthier. And by the way, feel free to share this podcast episode with people that you are thinking of right now who are stretched beyond capacity. So designing your ministry to fit within the capacity of your church, of your ministry area, absolutely affects volunteers and potential volunteers. If you are overstretched, this is not an environment people want to join, because they see you stressed and overstretched and they don’t want to be there.
Laurie Graham 17:33
Okay. The second thing, designing the best volunteer environment, is having backups and contingency plans for when people are sick, on vacation, or they need a break. Second element. It’s simple: having a backup plan or a contingency plan when people are sick, on vacation, or need a break. And I just want to say it hurts me to say this. Most small churches do not have this. Most, the vast majority, I would say honestly, almost all. Please change this. This is absolutely essential in your healthy volunteer environment. People get sick, people sometimes are late, their cars break down. They have migraines. People also get distracted, overwhelmed, they need breaks. This is not a lack of commitment or being irresponsible. This is human. Straight up, it is human. Can we just plan for humanity? Can we make allowance for being human? So, “I have a migraine this morning. What do I do? I’m supposed to be in the church nursery.” What’s my plan? Have a plan for volunteers. Put it in writing when you recruit people. Can you imagine recruiting people and saying, “Hey, if you ever have a migraine, this is what you’ll do. Hey, if you’re on vacation, this is what you’ll do.” When you develop teams, shout it from the rooftop. “By the way, if you have to be gone, this is how you get a replacement.” Or, “If you have to be gone, the kids will simply join the main service,” removing this piece of guilt and shame because there is a plan.
Now, I’m not saying that we all just don’t show up and we don’t feel like it. This is not what it’s about. We can absolutely build healthy teams, teach leadership, great responsibility. But it is not healthy, wise, or even reasonable to not have a backup plan. This is also true for your pastoral family. Do you know how many pastors have woken up sick, physically ill, even with serious heart symptoms, stroke symptoms, high fevers? I know pastors like this. I’ve heard many stories, and they show up to preach. And as soon as they’re done preaching, they get rushed to the hospital. Why is this? Please stop this. This is not just for pastors and staff. This is for everyone serving, and I would say us especially for volunteers. Now, if you can’t figure out a backup plan, like a person to replace the person, the backup plan can simply be canceling a class, not having a sermon that day, not running the live stream. That can be the backup plan. You’re still offering a step. “If you can’t be there, if something goes wrong, this is what we will do.” Removing the guilt and shame. Here’s your step for number two: consider where you serve in your ministry area, your position.
Laurie Graham 20:31
What is your backup plan for just the one thing that you’re thinking of right now, where you serve? What is your backup plan? If you don’t have one, write it down, publicize it, share it, get approval from a ministry leader if necessary. If you have somebody above you, you definitely want to be in communication and be a team. If you do lead a team, consider the backup plans for the people who serve with you. Now, if you can’t figure out a backup plan, I need to defer to step number one, to element number one: Design the ministry for what’s within your capacity. If you cannot figure out a backup plan, you’re doing ministry beyond your capacity, because the backup plan is part of your capacity.
Laurie Graham 21:15
The third element essential for a great volunteer environment: set your volunteers up to succeed. Know what they need to know to be successful, what they need to have access to to be successful, what they need to love their job, and set them up to succeed. Whether this is training or equipment, or a church key, or a certain knowledge base, you’ve got to not only consider this and make a plan, but it also needs to be a conversation, because every volunteer may need something different.
Laurie Graham 21:48
Take something as simple as making the coffee and bringing the snacks. We just say, “Hey, can you make coffee and bring the snacks? Sign up right here.” Okay, but let’s be real. We think everybody can do this. But there are unspoken expectations, especially in a church kitchen. Can we really consider this? What would it truly take for this person to not only be successful, but feel successful? To love their job? Where is the coffee? Who orders more when it’s out? How do I get in? What if the kitchen is locked? How many snacks do I need? Who cleans up? Do you know how often people related to a church kitchen get irritated or frustrated because something isn’t done or isn’t done the way I thought it should be done?
Laurie Graham 22:35
So part of setting up volunteers to succeed is having those SOPs—those Standard Operating Procedures. Now, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It could be a little list hung above the sink that says, “Hey, put your dishes in the dishwasher when you’re done,” right? But are we setting up volunteers to succeed? Because most often, we are not. We are throwing people into positions, volunteer positions, with no clear standards, no job descriptions. We don’t communicate well. Sometimes things are chosen or not chosen, unspoken or spoken. But we’re not on the same page. This is why it needs to be a conversation.
Laurie Graham 23:14
So in this element number three of setting people up to succeed, having this conversation first starts with writing it down. How do we know if it’s a good job that’s done? What do we need to know? What do we need to have? What do we need to learn? And asking people, “What do you need?” Now, if you cannot do this, if you don’t have the time or capacity to make a list or to set volunteers up to succeed, can I again just defer to step number one: We need to design ministry that does fit within our capacity. If we don’t have the capacity to set volunteers up to succeed, we need to stop recruiting volunteers. In my mind, in my experience, this is not optional.
Laurie Graham 24:04
Design a ministry that fits within your capacity. The second element was backup plans and contingencies for everything and everyone because we are human. The third element is setting them up to succeed with clear desired results written down. Because let’s face it, people do not remember what is said, and it’s kind of like the scene of an accident. We all think we said something different than the other person remembers us saying. That’s why we write things down. Not because we’re wanting to fill everything with red tape or micromanage people. It’s just a step in clear communication. So set people up to succeed.
Laurie Graham 24:40
Okay, number four. I can’t really think of a great word for this. But I’m going to say, always have an upline or a helper. This could be a boss or a supervisor, but that’s not really what I mean. I mean, always have somebody assigned, someone communicate, who this volunteer can go to for support. Who do you ask when you need help? This is part of a great volunteer environment: volunteers know where to go when they need help. None of us were meant to do this alone. And we all need help sometimes. So who do we ask? Too often, we’re on our own. I don’t know if you’ve felt like that. I feel like that often. In small churches, “I’m just on my own. I’ve got to figure this out.” No, no, no.
Laurie Graham 25:26
Now, this does not mean that you have to have a big organization or organizational structure, or ministry leaders and team leaders over everyone all the time. But Robert, who’s teaching Sunday school, might have a question. Who does he ask? Or Carlyne might need a church key because maybe a toilet just overflowed, and she knows how to fix this and get to stuff in the supply closet. But she doesn’t have a key. Who does she ask now? If there’s not someone set up to ask, do you know who everyone asks? Usually the pastor, sometimes on a Sunday morning, while he or she is walking up the aisle to preach. I see it happen. This is why we need somebody who’s actually assigned or in line or available. “If you need help, ask this person.”
Laurie Graham 26:19
So with each element, I’m giving you an action step you can do today. And here’s your action step: Consider who they do ask for this position. If you’re in charge of volunteers, or you work on a team, consider the people that you’re thinking of right now in their volunteer roles. Who do they ask? Maybe you already have it set. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re super structured. Maybe we’ve never thought about this and we are always running to a core volunteer, or a pastor saying, “What do we do?” So figure out who that person is to ask. If you don’t know who it is, have a discussion with your leaders, with people around you, who could this be, and make sure you write it down and communicate it to whoever’s involved.
Laurie Graham 27:03
Okay, drumroll please. We’re headed to number five. The number five element for amazing volunteer environments is to require, and I do mean require, ministry Sabbaths and breaks. This is an amazing element in a volunteer environment. And by require, I do mean require; they’re not optional. It is so important to have ministry breaks. They are healthy, they keep us in perspective. They help prevent burnout. They also work against pride, and an imbalance of feeling that our worth is in our doing and that the church cannot survive without us. Or this program will not survive without us. Ministry Sabbaths and breaks allow us to refresh. They create space for creativity, for new ideas, for more spiritual health.
Laurie Graham 28:02
Build in ministry Sabbaths and breaks as a norm for your worship team. Yes. For your pastoral staff. Yes. For Sunday school teachers. Yes. For nursery workers. Yes. For council members, for hospitality, for ushers, for people who serve in the kitchen. Even for people who say, “I don’t need a break. My joy is in serving,” require it anyway. Now, I don’t care how long your breaks are or how often they are when they’re required, but build it into your culture.
Laurie Graham 28:36
Personally, for me, I believe that for somebody serving on a Sunday morning, just as an example, and this is what I would kind of institute if I were in charge of a team: For somebody serving on a Sunday morning, I would say one weekend off every quarter. This is minimum. One weekend off every quarter, and two full weeks off a year, minimum. Sunday school teachers should not be teaching 52 weeks out of the year. And if you’re going to say we shouldn’t have a break from serving and Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he absolutely did. But he also pulled away for times of rest and times of refreshment.
So one weekend off a quarter, two full weeks off a year, minimum. I believe your pastor probably could use a full month off, four Sundays in a row, every year, minimum. Now this has nothing to do with rewarding service or earning time off. This has to do with taking care of ourselves and each other, of being human, of knowing that we need breaks, that we function better when we are refreshed spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally. And having a Sunday off now and then does give us refreshment as well as great perspective of the Church, of who God has called us to be, of the fact He delights in us, and that our worth is not based on what we do.
Laurie Graham 30:06
So in this element number five, what you can do today is this: Pull out your personal calendar, unless you’re driving, then do it afterwards. And mark off time, mark off one weekend a quarter and two weeks a year. Maybe you’re not taking a vacation to Hawaii. Maybe you’re not even leaving your town, but two weeks off of ministry. There is nothing that is unhealthy about that, and it will only lead to good. Having breaks is good.
Laurie Graham 30:38
After you mark your time off, communicate this with your ministry partners, or have the conversation if you need to ask permission from a ministry leader, if this is new in your culture. If there’s some pushback, please share this podcast and have the conversation. What do we think about this? Is this something that we see could cause more health, could bring more health in our volunteer culture?
Laurie Graham 31:03
Now, if you’re going to push back and say you cannot take time off because there is no one who’s willing to do what you can do, I once again defer to element number one. A healthy church culture, a healthy volunteer environment, absolutely needs us doing ministry that’s within our capacity, not overstretching. And please remember, I really believe this: limits are not limitations, limits are gifts. Limits are gifts from God. It has to do with serving in the gifts that He has for us. When we are trying to run this ministry that is overstretched, and we are not experiencing the joy and even the effectiveness or the impact that God has for us, because we’re doing things that He doesn’t even have planned for us.
Laurie Graham 31:53
Can you imagine if we shut down our church nursery—sorry, I keep going back to this as an example, but it is an example that gets brought up a lot and I get asked questions about church nurseries a lot—can you imagine if we shut down a church nursery and shutting down the church nursery actually necessitated families sitting with kids and us trying to figure out how to help them? And a certain one family was drawn to a deeper place in their relationship and service because they were partnered with this grandparent who was sitting by them and they learned new parenting skills, or this child has grown in connection, or we’re hearing two-year-olds worship with adults and singing these songs from Jesus that they didn’t get out of the nursery. Now, I’m not saying the nursery is bad, but what I’m saying is what God has for us is within our capacity.
Laurie Graham 32:46
The reality is, by and large, most small churches are trying to do ministry beyond their capacity, because we’re modeling our churches not after what God has for us, but what we see other churches doing. Serving over capacity with our ministry areas leads to burnout and frustration, ineffective ministries, volunteers and staff feeling resentful, bitter, judgmental of others, and an imbalance of service where we are doing ministry to and for people, instead of functioning as a community that has more balance.
Remember, God did not call us to program the church, but to be the church. This is a community. This culture that we create of overserving or serving overcapacity, or designing ministry that is stretching everybody thin, I want to tell you the truth: it is repelling future volunteers. Because nobody wants to join a culture that’s full of stress and anxiety and failure and strained relationships, and ineffectiveness and rush and strain, and overworking and individualism and pride and pressure, and no rest in sight. Is that an environment that you would be drawn to? This is not what the church is supposed to be.
Laurie Graham 34:14
I don’t know if you remember this old show. It popped through my mind as I was preparing this podcast. It was called Fantasy Island. Now I have to say, I didn’t like the show. I think it was late 70s. It was kind of creepy to me. I know, I’m dating myself. But there was this beautiful island and people who came there on vacation. And again, there was kind of some creepy and darkness to it. But this is what I’m remembering.
There was a guy named Tattoo, who would announce excitedly when the plane was coming to land on the island. He’d be like, “The plane! The plane!” The guests are arriving and he’d ring this bell to say, “They’re coming, they’re coming.” There was no dread. There was no rush. We were prepared. We were ready. “I’m already in my white tux.” And Mr. Roarke, the guy who ran the island or whatever, would say, “Smiles, everyone, smiles,” and not in some weird fake way, like we have to pretend or we’re the staff at Disneyland. But literally, we are prepared and we are ready. And we are serving out of our capacity that God has given. We are community and we are a family.
Laurie Graham 35:21
Wouldn’t it be great if church was more like that? “The plane! The plane!” We are ready for you. We are waiting. We are not rushing. We are not stressed. We are not annoyed. We are not exhausted. We are ready to welcome everyone into the beautiful place, not just visitors or guests, but our volunteers, our family. This doesn’t have to be a perfect morning. There’s no show. It doesn’t have to be overkill. It doesn’t have to be slick. But more of a “welcome home, come and bring your stories and your hopes and your hurts. Let’s be the church together.” I think this would really please Jesus a lot, in fact.
Laurie Graham 36:07
So let’s do it. Let’s create volunteer environments that are beautiful and healthy and best. First thing, let’s do what’s in our capacity. Again, limits are not limitations. They set us up for health. The second thing is having backup plans for everything and everyone. “What happens if I can’t?” removing blame and guilt and shame, just being human. The third element I mentioned was setting people up to succeed. Clear desired results, write it down. We’re all on the same page. We’re setting people up to succeed. The fourth thing I mentioned was having an upline, somebody to help you. “What do I do when I need support? What do I do when I need help?” And the fifth aspect I talked about was requiring Sabbath breaks from ministry. Now that’s a volunteer culture that I personally would love to be part of. How about you? We really can create this with easy steps. Sometimes we just need to lay down our will and say, “Okay, God, I’m going to surrender what I thought church was supposed to look like and take a new look.”
Laurie Graham 37:20
All right, before I go, I just want to thank Nanny Rachel, that was the name left on the review, for leaving this review on Apple Podcasts this week. And I want to share her encouragement with you. She said this: “She said every time I listen to an episode, I have new hope and anticipation for what our small church can accomplish with the Lord. More churches need to hear Lori’s perspective on what being small actually means and what it doesn’t.” Thank you, Rachel, you have no idea how much your words really encouraged me to keep speaking this truth. And listening now, we all need to share this hope. Small church ministry is not less ministry, but it is very different. So let’s get the word out there.
Laurie Graham 38:05
If you have found hope and help with this podcast, two things I would ask: one, super quick, leave a review. Not only does it mean the world to me to hear what you are loving and where you are finding help from this podcast, but it really does help others find us. Reviews kind of change the rankings of podcasts and more people will see it. It’s kind of an algorithm thing. The second thing I want you to consider is, can you think of one person in your church who would also be encouraged by this episode, or one person in your church that you’d like to just talk about what you heard on this episode? Even having a conversation around these thoughts can be a part of developing healthier ministries and healthier cultures, and even just awareness of what we’re doing and why instead of being on autopilot. So do those two things for me today if you could: leave a review, and also think of one person in your church you can share this episode with. Okay, that’s all I got for today. Until next week, be a light.