Managing Volunteer Ministry in Church
Part of LifeandLeadership.com ministry resources on Church Leadership and Renewal, Church Administration, and Involvement and Spiritual Gifts in Church Ministry.
- Introduction to Volunteer Ministry
- Web-Based Resources on Volunteer Ministry
- Books on Volunteer Ministry
- Related Ministry Resources
Introduction to Volunteer Ministry
All churches, regardless of size, depend on members working together in ministry. Most of this is unpaid, or “volunteer.” Most ministry leaders commendably prefer to elevate their congregations beyond the volunteer culture into more formational expressions of discipleship and stewardship. Even with this, churches still experience all the dynamics of volunteer management.
Follow the links to the resources below for more detailed summaries. See also the list at the bottom of the page for related ministry resources.
Web-based Resources on Volunteer Ministry
- Church Volunteer Central – Sponsored by Group Publishing. It is a growing and accessible collection of excellent volunteer management tools.
- Energize, Inc., Volunteerism Resources for Directors of Volunteers — Not focused on church ministries. Very helpful information.
Books on Managing Volunteer Ministry
First Read:
- Jonathan McKee and Thomas W. McKee, The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer – This is probably the best one book on the subject, though it is difficult to choose between this and the volumes by Marlene Wilson listed below.
Other Helpful Volumes:
- Laurie Beshore, Love Without Walls: Learning to Be a Church in the World for the World (Leadership Network Innovation Series) – Though the author’s focus is not on managing volunteers, she demonstrates how the Mariner’s Church in Irvine, California reaches their community through what has grown into a team of over 7,000 compassionate volunteers.
- Denise Locker, The Volunteer Book: A Guide for Churches and Nonprofits – A comprehensive guide to implementing a “volunteer program” in a church, including recruitment, training, motivating, etc.
- Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens, Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People for Ministry – An excellent anthology of short, well-written, field-tested articles presenting 99 ideas on how to lead volunteers.
- Daniel Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – This best-seller provides an interesting look at what “drives” people to want to make a difference. Helpful in recruiting and empowering volunteers
- Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson, Connect: How to Double Your Number of Volunteers – Lays out four clear steps for creating an effective ministry system.
- Marlene Wilson, Group Publishing’s Volunteer Leadership Series — Wilson has trained on volunteer issues for 35 years. More than 250,000 people from churches and volunteer organizations have attended Marlene’s workshops.
Related Ministry Resources:
- Gift-Based Ministry, Involvement
- Greeting and New Member Integration
- Congregational Ministry Teams
- Spiritual Gifts
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Christian Ministry: