Recruiting When No One Wants the JobCreative ways for enlisting people in ministry.Mark H. Senter III| Topics: | Delegation, Motivation, Planning, Recruiting, Volunteer recruitment, Volunteers |
| Filters: | Children's ministry, Church staff, Discipleship, Elder, Nursery, Pastor, Volunteer coordinator |
| Purpose: | Discipleship |
| References: | Matthew 9:38 , Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6 |
| Date Added: | July 12, 2007 |
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 For a short time Frances contemplated combining two departments but had rejected the idea because of the dramatic developmental differences between a 2-year-old and 5-year-old. The only other option was to pay someone, but with the church strapped by payments on the new building, the idea wasn't realistic.
Frances had tried or considered every option she knew. When the traditional recruitment strategies fail, what then?
Key Questions
Before throwing up their hands in despair, both Jeff Thompson and Frances Clancy need to ask themselves several questions. While the questions may not solve the crisis, they will provide new perspectives on it.
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Drop? What would be the impact of discontinuing the program? From time to time, each ministry should be reexamined. A lack of workers, especially when such a shortage becomes chronic, may indicate the ministry has outlived its usefulness.
Released-time classes for children from Lowell Elementary School had been held at Abel Memorial Church for over forty years. Spurred by the slogan, "By God's grace we're able," the church viewed the prospect of discontinuing the classes as a concession of spiritual defeat. The fact that a majority of the children were Hispanic and none of the parishioners was conversant in Spanish was not considered significant. Yet the language problem hindered the church from securing parents' permission for their children to attend, and classes had dwindled to only five or six children per week.
When surgery put the teacher, who had faithfully been instructing the children for twelve years, on the disabled list, the Christian education board had to ask, "What would be the impact of discontinuing the program?" The conclusion, honestly stated, was that they would have a bruised self-perception and nothing more. The released-time program had been seen as the church's effort to evangelize a changing neighborhood, despite the lack of enthusiastic response by the Hispanic children. To drop the class might even force the church to become more realistic about its relationship to the neighborhood.
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Harm? What would be harmed by continuing the existing program without the staff we feel we need? Unfortunately, this question frequently is answered by adults who have not spent an hour in an inadequately staffed Sunday school class, club program, or youth group meeting. Seldom do adults consider the negative attitudes children may develop through poorly supervised situations.
Bellwood Community Church had tripled in size in four years. One key to the church's growth was the dynamic Sunday morning adult Bible classes. They were so meaningful, however, that few adults wanted to leave to teach the children. And the rapid growth of the church necessitated placing in each room twice as many children as the fire code allowed. Had the church asked the harm question, the board might have shut down an adult class or two until appropriate staff and space were found for the children.
There is a time when the short-term harm is an acceptable risk — when, for example, greater harm may be inflicted by rushing into leadership adults who are spiritually or socially immature. But the emphasis is on short term. If there is long-term risk, it may be wiser to discontinue a program.
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