Recruiting volunteers isn’t easy.  It never goes away and you are never done.  I used to dread when someone would tell me that they were stepping down, because that meant that I would have to go recruit another volunteer to fill their spot. But now I have a new perspective.  Here are some things I learned along the way.

It’s God’s Church, Not My Church

I do not have to carry the burden of “not enough volunteers” because this is God’s ministry and not mine.

Pray

Ok so this could be THE secret, but I’m going to presume that you are already making this step a priority.

Do the Homework

You can’t just sit back and wait for people to come to you.  You need to do your homework.  I use something I call “The Matrix”.  It’s a massive spreadsheet of all the rooms I oversee, with spaces for every volunteer role for every service time.  I fill it in with people’s name who are covering that role, and then I can see visually what I still need.

Start Connecting

Go to other ministry leaders & people groups & start asking questions and meeting new people.  Do they know anyone who isn’t serving? Do things like go to the senior’s lunch, introduce yourself to people, and begin to get to know them.  You will be amazed at who you will meet and what their passion & gifts are.

Relationships

If I were to narrow it down to the best kept secret, I would say that recruiting is all about relationships.  Meeting people, getting to know them, and helping them find a spot that fits for them.  As I look over my volunteer team, most of the people serving are people I have met at events, or they are friends of my volunteers.  People want to serve with and help their friends.  The secret to recruiting?  It’s relationships.

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