5 Simple Ways We Can Show Appreciation to Ministry Volunteers

All pastors and church staff depend on volunteers to keep the gears of ministry turning. Only a bad leader thinks volunteers are not necessary; a foolish leader treats them that way.

We love to relate stories of people who have served in the nursery for 50 years because they love those babies. We know, though, such volunteers—blessing they are—are few. Many volunteers are serving for the same reason they ended up coaching their kid’s softball team: no one else was available or no one else would do it.

Today’s ministry volunteers—even among those who genuinely sense a call to lead a Sunday School/LifeGroup—are often faced with already-overflowing calendars before they say “yes” to that last volunteer opportunity we are trying to fill.

I’m personally better at some of these ideas than others, but I’m striving toward the mark because all of them are important. Read More