Did you know Thanksgiving is a year-round holiday? That's right; we're called to continually give thanks. We have so much to be thankful for—life, health, family, and, of course, salvation offered through Jesus Christ. The list goes on and on. With all of these great things, why don't we say thank you more often—to God, and to others in our lives?
Besides giving thanks to God for his many blessings, I'd also like to encourage you to stop and give thanks for the many people involved in your media ministry that make your church multimedia a reality. We all need to be appreciated and encouraged from time to time, whether we're fulltime church staff or once-a-week volunteers. This action (you have to be proactive) can be public, private, big, or small. The point is to intentionally let people know that you love them, care for each of them as a person (and not just for what they do), and appreciate what each of them contributes to the team.
Saying "thanks" should take place in various forms and at various times throughout the year. As you recruit more and more people, you'll have to work to keep them. The people you recruit aren't robots; they're real people with real feelings and very busy lives. They have enough going on without their involvement in the church, and you'll find if they feel unappreciated or unneeded, they will eventually disappear.
I mentioned that even paid staff members need to be thanked from time to time; however, for this article, I want to focus on volunteers. Most churches work with a team of volunteers. This is true whether you're a small, medium, or large church (and keep in mind, the majority of churches in America are under 200 people). It's easy to imagine utilizing volunteers in a small setting, but even megachurches rely on volunteers for lots of ministries—including media work.
So after you've done all of the hard work of creating a media team, setting some concrete goals for serving your church, and actively recruiting people to join your team, how do you go about keeping up morale and maintaining your team of volunteers? Here are a few ideas to make them feel appreciated:
Publicly thank your team. The best way to do this is within the context of a church service. Consider making an announcement, or ask the pastor to do so during the message. You also might want to bring your volunteers up to the front of the church and recognize them in front of the whole congregation. Another great way to honor your media team is to create a video that gets the "thank you" message across.
Send out a weekly team e-mail. In this e-mail, try to include things such as the monthly schedule, the week's schedule, a devotional thought, and a brief word on how you appreciate each and every member of the team.
Send out personal e-mails. From time to time, stop and send an e-mail to each member of your team (especially your team leaders). Thank them for their contribution to the ministry and ask them how they're doing personally. If you're aware of a specific prayer request, ask them how that situation is going.
Pick up the phone. In this wired world, a phone call seems ancient, but it works. Keep a list of each team member's phone number and start calling one or two per week.
Write a letter to the team. Send out a monthly or quarterly team letter where you give your team vision, give updates, share stories of changed lives, and let the team know how much you care for and appreciate them. Consider specifically highlighting the accomplishments of a person or two in each letter.
Write a personal letter. I keep a stash of greeting cards—small, personal "thank you" cards—that I periodically send to people on my team. Whether you go alphabetically down a list or pick someone as you feel led, the recipient will know you cared enough to send a handwritten note. It's a refreshing change from a typed up and printed out letter.
Reward them. This is especially appropriate when you've just finished a particularly busy time of year (Christmas production, Easter Passion play, VBS, or any of the myriad things that crop up in a given season). Include money in your ministry budget to buy something nice for each team member. I usually give gift cards to a nice restaurant, but I'm sure there are more creative things to purchase to show your appreciation, such as flowers, chocolate, books, or other things your team might find especially meaningful.
Host an appreciation banquet. Once or twice a year, hold an event to honor volunteers at your church or at a restaurant. If you really want to shake things up, have your fulltime church staff serve your volunteers. It emphasizes the value of your volunteers, and shows them they're integral members of a team even though they're not paid.
Invite them to dinner. Once a year (or more), invite your team (or, if you have a large team, just your team leaders) over to your house for dinner. Serve them and treat them like kings and queens. Go out of your way to make them feel special.
Tell them. Finally, just look them in the eyes and say, "Thank you for your ministry here. I appreciate you." It seems simple, but it's needed and won't go unnoticed. Who knows, you might just make someone's day!
Whatever method you decide to use, just remember to let your team know that you appreciate them. You'll not only keep team morale high, you'll also make each person feel a part of something valuable. Regardless of the season, make sure to remember to say "thanks."
Greg Atkinson lives in Dallas with his wife and their three small children. Greg served previously as the Director of WorshipHouse Media, after having served as a worship pastor for 11 years. Greg is now the Technical Arts Director at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and continues to consult, teach, and write about worship, media, and creative communication. You can connect with him through his daily blog, Church Video Ideas, his podcast, Creative Synergy, or his e-mail: greg@churchvideoideas.com.
© 2007—Greg Atkinson (www.churchvideoideas.com)Used by permission from author. All rights reserved by author.
