Turning Pewsitters into PlayersHow to transform members form passive to active.Marlene Wilson| Topics: | Calling, Motivation, Recruiting, Team building, Volunteer care, Volunteer recruitment, Volunteers |
| Filters: | Church staff, Discipleship, Elder, Pastor, Volunteer coordinator |
| Purpose: | Discipleship |
| References: | Ephesians 4:11-12 , 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6 |
| Date Added: | July 12, 2007 |
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A principal economic law at work in the kingdom of God seems to be that the
demand for ministry always exceeds the supply of workers.
Marlene Wilson works on the supply side of this law.
For more than twenty-five years, she has led workshops on how to train
volunteers. For the past ten, she has focused on helping churches develop
volunteer ministries. A Lutheran (elca), Wilson has written The Effective
Management of Volunteer Programs; Survival Skills for Managers;How
to Mobilize Church Volunteers; and You Can Make a Difference.
She has served as faculty director for twenty-five years of the volunteer
management program for the University of Colorado in Boulder.
What motivates a pewsitter to stay in the pew?
Marlene Wilson: Often it is a feeling that ministry is the turf of
the pastor and the present church leadership.
Many people in the church have professional or technical skills of some kind.
Yet I've heard pastors say, "I know what this person does outside the church.
But when she arrives at church, it's as if she doesn't know a thing." That's
because this person feels she is on the pastor's turf; she tends not to want
to usurp power. Unless this person is asked to use her leadership skills
from her job, she will backpedal.
I was a member of one congregation for twenty years and another for about
eight years. Only once in each congregation was I asked to help train volunteers.
I felt a great sadness, because I know training is my gift. But the mind-blowing
thing of the new congregation I've joined is that they've already asked me
to train.
How does a pastor identify and develop skilled people?
I recommend developing an interviewing process for new members. Even
if the church is small, the key is the process of talking.
In the interviews, the first questions to ask are:
"What are your gifts and talents?"
"What do you like to do?"
The next questions are:
"Has your experience with this congregation so far been good or bad?"
"Are there things you'd like to contribute to the church that you've never
been asked to do?"
"Do you want more, less, or different involvement?"
"What are your dreams for this congregation?"
What comes out of these conversations is amazing. People share things they've
never shared before.
Do lay people like being thought of as church leaders?
That depends. Part of their resistance may be the old model of
leadership: They don't want to be at the church every time the doors are
open. Churches need to redefine leadership from "How much have you
done?" to "How many others have you involved?"
Their view of leadership is of someone burning out?
That's what many have experienced. For example, why do churches have
a hard time recruiting small group leaders? Because to many people, leadership
means "I've got to take it all over." They think, I don't have the time.
I want to go somewhere where I can be fed.
Burnout is why a great many people who were pillars somewhere else are now
pewsitters. They're not going to get used up again. They aren't saying yes
to anything.
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