Jack, a local businessman, had a passion for outreach, but our church had a hard time finding a place for him to serve. His schedule kept him from committing to any regular responsibility.
Renee was different. She signed up for almost every ministry and time slot on our volunteer registration form. So I plugged her into everything she showed interest in. After a month, her enthusiasm faded.
Figuring out the limits and preferences of volunteers is a challenge even for seasoned pastors. How can we know if we are asking too much or too little of our volunteers? I’ve tried to answer this question by creating spreadsheets and elaborate registration forms for volunteers. But what I’ve found most useful is a metaphor borrowed from running: some volunteers are sprinters and others are marathoners.
Marathon volunteers are in it for the long haul. They prefer to serve over a series of months, if not a year. They pace themselves, serving a few hours each week. Sprinters, on the other hand, concentrate their efforts. They aren’t prepared for a long-term ministry. They will not teach Sunday school every week, but they’ll spend all day Saturday fixing a widow’s home or leading a week of summer camp.
If I ask sprinters to serve in marathoners’ spots, they usually miss many of their weekly obligations, leaving them frustrated and the leaders without help. Meanwhile, a marathoner volunteering in a sprinter’s position will feel overwhelmed by high intensity, short-term activity and may not be able to give it the energy it needs, causing them to feel like failures.
Sprinter support
Typically sprinters are most eager to serve at special all-day events or annual weeklong ministries, rather than committing to ongoing responsibilities in weekly programs, such as a soup kitchen ministry or leading a small group. Leaders will need to plan ahead in order to involve sprinters, keeping in touch informally between special events. Once the event is over, make sure sprinters know about upcoming service opportunities that fit their schedules and preferences.
Our businessman, Jack, was a sprinter. Though Jack didn’t fit into any of our ongoing outreach programs, which required weekly commitments, Jack could arrange his schedule to participate in special outreach days or mission trips each year. Jack enthusiastically led training meetings before these events, cleared his schedule for the special event, and did a great job.
You can usually identify sprinters by asking them about their schedules, how they work best, and how often they see themselves serving. Does a long-term commitment to a weekly ministry, such as greeting guests every Sunday morning, worry them? Then you are most likely speaking with a sprinter. Ask them if they would be more comfortable serving occasionally at an all-day or week-long event, such as a food drive, VBS, or a mission trip.
Marathon training
A marathoner prefers to serve on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis and will require a regular schedule. Typical marathoners thrive as greeters, Sunday school teachers, and participants in weekly ministries.
Renee was a marathoner. During a phone conversation, I asked her if we could reduce her participation to one or two small projects per week. I worried that she would feel rejected, but she welcomed my suggestion. As it turned out, she dropped in two or three times per week to work on small, ongoing two- to three-hour projects for the following six months.
Often, a marathoner wants to stay in the loop, so make sure to contact them regularly. Marathoners can feel ignored if you don’t communicate with them regularly.
More than anything else, marathoners need a period of reevaluation and rest. Perhaps a month off after five months of volunteering will be sufficient, depending on the frequency of their service. They also need to know they aren’t volunteering until they drop dead, so a yearly recommitment time is essential. It’s important to invest in other volunteers who can fill in as a periodic substitute for a faithful marathoner.
Determining what kind of “runner” a volunteer is requires taking the time to ask them about their preferences and interests. But when leaders help their volunteers serve at the right pace, they prepare them to serve much more effectively.
—Ed Cyzewski has coordinated volunteers in churches and other nonprofits. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life (NavPress, 2008).
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