Lessons from Fellowship: Volunteer Retention

People have often said that what you get with me is either 100% on – or sleeping! In other words, I tell it like I see it and do my best to be constructive when criticism is necessary. I’ve been sharing my experiences (good and bad) with Fellowship Church as a volunteer. Many great lessons have been learned from a myriad of staff and volunteers during my six years in a volunteer role.

Volunteer retention has been one spot where I’ve witnessed the most hemorrhaging while at Fellowship. Quite a few very committed volunteer leaders have slipped away (most quietly) over the years and their loss has most assuredly been felt. As with most churches, the reasons are mostly the same: they can’t get behind a leadership position; changes are too frequent without helpful explanation; overworked volunteers.

Following Leadership’s Direction
I don’t always understand the changes that I’ve seen while I’ve been at Fellowship (or at any church, really), but I have to trust the leadership. More often than not, the leadership has a bigger picture plan than I’m aware of and they’re trying to do their best to maximize each ministry area. But sometimes there are changes that simply do not make any logical sense. Sure, there are always issues a volunteer can’t/won’t know about that affect the decisions, but as they say: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

The steady stream of volunteer leaders and volunteers who have exited the Media Ministry has been quietly talked about for years. More recently, I’ve noticed more drastic changes that are not communicated to the volunteer teams. We’re just supposed to accept any changes and not question them. If you know me, that’s one thing I cannot do. There’s a big difference between trust and blind trust. I’ve been in ministry too long to not realize that blind trust is almost always a bad thing. Trust buy verify is a mantra I fully believe.

Change without Explanation
So while there are many, many great things I love about Fellowship, a harsh reality is that even with two great ladies running the volunteer coordination, circumstances beyond their control allow a steady stream of key volunteers to leave the Media Ministry. All of the great work of recruitment and training only holds together a team for so long. The back door is still open and, in my opinion, will continue to open wider until the leadership invests into the volunteers with their time, love and friendship – from the top down. This lesson is valuable for every church: people will follow you as a leader for a long, long way if you invest time into their lives, but they’ll stop following when they think you only want them for their talent or time.

When, not if, change happens, leadership must share the vision and not “spin” the facts to make it nice and rosy. If there has been mismanagement, say so, apologize and show a plan for positive change.

Overworked Volunteers
Let’s face it: if you’re on week in and week out, it’s just a matter of time before you lose your joy, your effectiveness and your team. We must have a rotation of team members who are on one week and off at least two weeks in a row. If you don’t have enough volunteers to pull of that kind of rotation, go back and re-read my Recruitment post!

The best people won’t complain. They’ll keep showing up with a smile on their face and make it happen. But these are the very people we must protect from themselves and from us unintentionally taking advantage of them. Love on your people and show them respect not only when they serve, but respect them enough to give them time off.

Important Note:
As a volunteer at Fellowship, I’ve shared my experiences – both the really good and the not-so-good so that you can learn from a church that I think is doing 75% excellent, 15% good and 10% average. Those percentages are a lot higher than most other churches I know, so please understand I hold the staff at Fellowship in high regard. But I must also be honest with myself and with you by not painting the picture of perfection many people have of these giga-churches. Fellowship is a great church. But they’re not perfect and the lessons I’ve learned there have helped me and I hope they help you, too.

By Anthony D. Coppedge, CTS (http://www.anthonycoppedge.com/)

Anthony Coppedge provides consulting to churches for developing and growing a Media Ministry, building teams, casting vision and even choosing the right equipment. He lives in Bedford, Texas with his wife and two daughters and can be reached at [email protected].