From Skeptic to Volunteer
by Ashley Cornelius
posted 8/09/2006
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A few months ago, my husband and I received a gift subscription to Netflix—an online movie rental site. The unlimited, one-at-a-time subscription meant we could have as many movies a month as we like, but only one in our possession at a time.
We had only vague familiarity with this company and site, and weren't very excited about the seemingly troublesome process it likely offered. But we decided to give it a try; after all, it was free.
We navigated our way around the site. And being a diligent skeptic of online offers, I dug deep. I read through the endless fine print of the gift subscription. I discovered we had to enter our credit card information to activate it. I don't like this sort of thing. Then I saw the way out summarized by two little words. If things didn't go well we could "cancel anytime." Thus re-assured, even if still a bit reluctant, my husband and I signed on.
After a couple weeks, watching a movie every few nights became a habit. Though we hadn't been big "movie people," we were hooked. In fact, we eagerly watched the mailbox for our next movie to arrive. I think I watched more movies the first month of our subscription than I had in my whole life.
I would never have considered myself an online video rental person. Certainly I would not have signed-up without the trial period which the gift subscription provided. Now I can't get enough.
The gift subscription was the key.
Do you have a gift subscription program in your children's ministry? A simple, non-threatening trial period? A welcoming way for volunteers to check you out, sure in the knowledge they have the freedom to "cancel anytime"?
Recruiting leaders for children's ministry is one of the hardest tasks we face. There's always a growing need. Always a shortage of people.
When someone new steps forward (or gets cornered!), I want to immediately sign him or her up for long-term duty. And I want to sign him up right now. Urgent need eliminates any desire to get to know him—unless there's potential for a spouse to make this a double win. Familiar feelings, right?
All sorts of desperate measures take place as we strive to capture volunteers for the long haul. Maybe we insist they work every single week. Maybe we throw them into a room full of kids on their first day with little to no real clue as to their talents and proclivities—with little or no orientation. Based on fear they may actually tell us the truth, maybe we fail to follow-up by asking how they're doing, or if they like their position.
Children's ministry volunteers need a "gift subscription". It can be packaged in a lot of different ways—each with the simple goal of providing a taste of volunteering without awkward conversations or the need to make long-term commitments. Here are four ideas:
-One-time sign-ups
Develop opportunities that allow people in your congregation to serve once. Examples include a summer program that gives your regular volunteers a rest or a special one-time event.
-Stick-around programs
Schedule a Parent Day designed for no other reason than to give your ministry awareness. Invite parents to stay in the classroom with their child and experience children's ministry for the day. This will peak parents' interests, many of whom will have had no previous knowledge of the opportunities your ministry affords.
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