Volunteer Job Descriptions?
I want to be clear with people about what I'm asking them to do.
If you lead in a volunteer-run organization (like I do at church) then you’ve probably recruited volunteers into a new role. Maybe you use different language, like “I want to empower you to serve the kingdom in this way…” or “Hey dude, would you open doors for people on Sundays?” Whatever your organizational language is, you probably have volunteer slots to fill. Today I want to suggest something that may seem odd, but I think it works.
I am currently working on building a structure or system to support 100 groups at church by the time I turn 50 (6 years). I’ve realized that I need to be crystal clear about what I need each role to do. So, I’m going to start recruiting volunteers with what I’m suggesting here.
Give Your Volunteers a Job Description
Have a one page document that describes the job you are asking that person to do. Include a time-frame. List all the responsibilities and commitments that are necessary for that specific role. It could be that you want a person who is a hall monitor for the elementary aged kids (to make sure they don’t get into trouble when they leave the room to go to the bathroom). Even in that case, there are expectations like arriving at a specific time, and what to do/say and not do/say. When we communicate our expectations up front, we are preventing future frustrations.
Have them Sign It
I would have a person sign off on the agreement. I know it sounds silly if you have like 2 volunteers. But it can formalize the commitment. There is something about a formal commitment to do something which makes most of us want to keep our word. You might even say it’s biblical (See Matthew 5:7)
Sample Job Description
This is still a work in progress. Even so, I think it will demonstrate what I’m talking about.
I’ve done my best to communicate responsibilities, and also the weekly and monthly duties. I chose to also include benefits because I was asking myself “Why would someone want to do this?”.
What Do You Think?
Please let me know what you think in the comments below. I’m interested in doing my job in the most God honoring way possible, so I would love to hear your feedback.
In other news…
Each month I try to write about ways to improve your discipleship ministry, like this post:
Fall 2024 Digital Playbook for Group Bible Studies
I’ve written about the importance of an onboarding strategy to get people involved in group Bible studies before. This time I want to talk about tools we are using for our Groups ministry this fall.
And I also try to post about teaching people God’s word each month, like this:
College Students and Song of Solomon
I started off the day thinking I would inform you of all the possible ways to read this text and which one I choose, but that’s been done too many times. I think you’ll be more interested to hear how actual college and even seminary students (2 different classes I teach) responded to the text and what they were interested in discussing.
Hey man! I read this one a while ago and wanted to circle back. I'm in the process of writing volunteer descriptions for our men's and women's ministry leaders. Wanted to see if you had any updates and other things you've learned since implementing this practice? Thank you for the idea, by the way!