Volunteers & Leadership

I'm looking at our volunteer group text and it's literally just me barking orders at people. "VBS meeting Tuesday." "Someone grab construction paper." "Who's covering for Jessica?" Like I'm their boss or something. No wonder nobody

Staring at my computer screen right now wondering how I created this monster. It's supposed to be a volunteer schedule. Started as simple spreadsheet with names and dates. Now it has seventeen tabs, color coding I can't remember the meaning of, and formulas that break if

Emma's mom ambushed me in the parking lot Sunday. Not literally ambushed, but you know when someone's been waiting to corner you? That's what happened. "Emma wants to help with kids ministry," she says, blocking my path to my car. Emma. Who&

Sarah's been weird lately. Not like dramatic weird. Just... off. Used to text me back immediately when I asked nursery questions. Now takes her hours to respond, if she responds at all. Used to hang around after service chatting about how things went. Now she's gone

So I called this volunteer meeting for Thursday night. Had all these grand ideas about team building and vision casting and whatever else leadership books say you're supposed to do. Seven people showed up. Seven. I invited twenty-three volunteers. Got seven. Including Tom who left after twenty minutes

Linda quit today. Just walked into my office and said she was done. No dramatic buildup or anything. Just sat down and dropped the bomb. Been staring at my computer screen for an hour trying to figure out how I let this happen. Linda's the one who makes

So this woman comes up to me after service last week. Nice lady, new to church, wants to get involved. "I'd love to help with children's ministry," she says. "Great!" I say. "We always need people to help with kids."

Been thinking about what makes some volunteers amazing while others just kinda exist. Sarah's been helping two years. Kids love her. Parents trust her. I never worry when she's around. Tom started same time. Shows up but that's about it. Kids barely know his

Been trying figure out how thank volunteers without spending money we don't have. Our budget's basically nothing. Maybe fifty bucks month if we're lucky. Can't do fancy dinners or expensive gifts like big churches. But volunteers work their butts off. Sarah shows