Volunteers are essential to every church. Without them, running your church will be very difficult.
Despite the role they play in church maintenance and growth, they can sometimes be underappreciated.
In most churches, there is no reward system in place for their volunteers. What we should understand is that the services that they offer are sacrificial. This is why we must find ways to appreciate them. In this post, we will discuss five ways you can reward volunteers in your church. Let’s begin.
Rewarding Volunteers in the Church
Rewarding your volunteers is a crucial aspect of congregation management. When you create a reward system for your volunteers, you attract more volunteers. People want to be appreciated especially when they are making sacrifices. The truth is that rewarding your volunteers brings a lot of benefits to your ministry.
Here are some ways to reward volunteers at your church:
Dedicate special services to volunteers
Most of the work volunteers do in church is behind the scenes. This doesn’t refute the fact that they do some work that gets them into the limelight. However, it will be great to dedicate special services to your volunteers every year.
For example, you may celebrate the teachers in the children church and teenage church on a particular Sunday. During another service, you can focus on your media team and those that handle church accounting. The idea is to celebrate in public what these individuals do in private.
In some churches, these departments take over the complete service to showcase what they do in their departments. As such, the congregants can appreciate their efforts more. You can spice things up by giving awards to each volunteer during such services.
Appreciate volunteers while they work
Some of the work these volunteers do in church is very tasking. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to walk around sometimes while working to give them a pat on the back. Doing this at the moment makes it feel more special. This is because they now know that you can see their efforts and appreciate everything they do.
Appreciating your volunteers while they work may require extra planning and implementation, especially if you have a large church. You must create a list of all the departments and know when they meet. This will help you draw up a plan of when to visit and what to do or say during your visit.
Organize a special event just for volunteers
This is one of the easiest ways to reward volunteers at your church. Of course, these sorts of events shouldn’t be to discuss church progress or ideas. They are basically to celebrate each volunteer and tell them that you truly care about them.
If you are a small church, you must be wondering how you can cope since organizing events cost money. Well, you don’t have to overspend to organize such an event. You could make it a love feast for your volunteers so that each person brings something to the table.
It is the motive behind the event that counts. Your volunteers just want to know that you recognize their work and that they are appreciated. If you have enough funds, a volunteers’ dinner or gala wouldn’t be a bad idea. Another thing you can do is have the ministers or paid staff serve your volunteers at such events.
Referrals
Volunteering at your church should expose each individual to a world of opportunities. One way to appreciate your volunteers is by providing them with referrals. When you find job openings that suit their skill set, you can recommend them for such jobs.
What if they find a job by themselves? Great question. In this case, you can write them a reference letter. Such letters should recommend the individual for the role stating his work experience at your church. Talk about their dedication, hard work, and the sacrifices they have made in the recent past.
Another way of providing referrals is through your church announcements. You can ask church members who run businesses to reach out to the church first if they have openings. Getting another job doesn’t mean that the volunteer will stop being dedicated at church. Instead, it gives them more reasons to intensify their service.
Training and Seminars
While you consider providing referrals to your volunteers, remember that they need to develop the right skillset. After all, these volunteers wouldn’t just be accepted to work at any business because they are spirit-filled. Without the right skill set, the referrals will be in vain.
Here’s what you can do. Invest in training and seminars to help your volunteers become better in the work environment, from project management to time management, human resource training to event planning, and leadership development.
Leverage the relationships that you have developed in ministry to invite seasoned speakers to train your volunteers. The good news is that you don’t have to bear the whole cost yourself. Your volunteers will still appreciate a price slash. As we mentioned earlier, it is the motive that counts, not just the action.
Why You Should Reward Volunteers
If you are new to this idea, you must be wondering why you should reward volunteers in the church. After all, they are doing the Lord’s work. Well, here are some reasons:
- Rewarding volunteers help them to offer better service. Put yourself in their shoes when you are appreciated. Don’t you want to give more? That’s precisely the point.
- A volunteer reward system attracts more volunteers.
- It gives your church a better reputation. Whether you like it or not, people are watching. Rewarding your volunteers is right, and when people see this, they have a better perspective about your church.
Conclusion
We have explained several ways to reward your church volunteers in this post. This is an essential aspect of congregation management.
