The mission of your church, in a practical sense, depends on volunteers’ involvement. It is how all members engage with the mission of God. It is a practical way for Christ followers to make a difference.
Thus it is important to have others involved. Crafting a message to get volunteers involved is an important part of this. Your volunteer structures could be getting in the way of members getting involved. There are also other reasons volunteers don’t engage with your mission.
The way you ask can be a barrier. This means we need great care in crafting a message to get volunteers involved important. Some thoughts on how to craft a great message to get volunteers involved:
You Will!
Nothing puts people off like being pushy. This is usually because of desperation to people involved. Desperation can become your enemy.
A better way can be “you could.” Paint the picture of of the prize of being involved. For example, “join the media team to share the message of Christ in a compelling way.”
Highlight the potential impact of they could make if they served. Put the microphone in the hands of others who decided to serve. Allow other people to share stories of their impact. You’re likely to get a more positive response by encouraging.
Guilt Trip
Guilt can be one way of mobilizing hands. The problem with this is that people will act under duress. When people act under compulsion you’re not going to get the best out of them. Neither are they going to serve for long.
They might even spoil the great attitude of others as they serve with them. Don’t sound like the chain messages we love to hate. You know, ones that sound like, “if you loves Jesus you would be ______.”
Instead tell stories about what it means to serve in _____.
Call To Action
Make sure you’re not just talking about what they could do. Challenge people to actually doing something. Don’t just tell them that it is great to be a part of something bigger; give a battle cry.
Does your own message inspire you? Consider asking for feedback from outside your team. Is your message compelling to other people. Does it grip them enough for them to want to do something.
As you craft your message, think about what exactly you’d like people to do after seeing or hearing it?
Key Phrases
Think of key phrases that can be used a few times in different ways. One of the reasons you remember some ads is because of how catchy they are. Don’t undermine the power of key phrases.
Beyond Church News And Bulletin.
Tell stories beyond your bulletin and church news. Well placed good ol’ posters or banners can be a great way to get your message across. Include key phrases in from your platform communication. Then, of course, there are your social media platforms or channels as well. (That’s for another post.)
What if you gave takeaways. Something useful that keep people exposed to the message you want them to get? Think of messages that fit more than one context.
You
This is probably the golden rule to crafting any message: What would you respond to? What things would put you off? What would you like to know?
Exercise empathy.
Over to you; your thoughts?
Eric Dye says
This is an excellent blueprint for crafting a volunteer message.
Blessing Mpofu says
Thanks Eric; it is something to constantly examine. I hope many find it useful 🙂
Greg Hyatt says
Thanks for this post!
While I try to focus on providing compelling content and asking for volunteers from our local church, the issue isn’t so much trying to get them as much as it is getting them engaged with the item they volunteered for.
I have found that people often times will volunteer and very graciously, but then life seems to happen and they seem to forget what it was they volunteered for. I am hopefully, going to be releasing more compelling content that will focus on this very item in the future and see how it grabs the attention of those who have volunteered.
Great article!
Blessing Mpofu says
Hey Chris;
I’m glad you’ve found the post helpful. It’s encouraging to hear that you have plans to take things further. Keep at it! All the best as you serve, lead and encourage others to do the same.