Challenge of finding volunteers in the smaller church

 About now Nominating Committees in many churches will begin seeking people to fill the various slots their church has decided is important to the life of the church. In many cases the committee will only need to ask some people if they wish to continue doing what they are doing, and the answer is often yes. Then the hard work begins. Now they have to find people for the remaining positions. This is when we begin to hear comments like "Please, accept this position. If you do, you really don't have to do anything," and "This committee hasn't met in years, but we need to have it filled just in case we need them to meet," and other ridiculous statements.

If you look at the list of names who are filling the positions in most smaller churches you will find the same people listed numerous times. I was working with one church in a conflict situation when one member told me she held six different positions in the church. Although it was overwhelming she said it could be worse because two of the committees she was on never met. I asked why they had those positions if they never met. Her only answer was that their constitution called for that committee.

As I've told countless churches and pastors, maybe it's time we rewrote some things in our constitutions and eliminate some positions that may have made sense at one time but aren't really needed today. Much of committee and board work is maintenance work. Some of this is necessary, but much of it isn't. Maintenance work keeps people from doing ministry, and ministry is what leads to transformed lives and growing churches.

The reality is that the largest group of volunteers in many churches has been the Builder Generation, a generation that is quickly becoming smaller and smaller. The Boomer Generation has stepped up some, but the generations following have been less likely to accept long-term positions in the church. Those who are willing to serve are often asked to fill too many slots, and eventually they begin to back off. Eliminating unnecessary positions is the easiest way to solve this challenge.

Another option that some churches are doing is asking people to serve for limited times. Instead of asking someone to teach a class for a year they are asking for a three-month or six-month commitment. If the person chooses to go beyond that they are certainly welcome to do so, but it becomes their choice at the time.

The problem of finding volunteers to fill all the positions that may have been necessary when the church was larger is not one that is going away soon. Churches must find better ways of using the people resources it has in order to do the most effective ministry.