What To Do If Church Volunteers Don’t Come Back For A While

There are widespread concerns among pastors and church leaders that some of our regular church members may not be in a hurry to come back after pandemic restrictions are lifted. Some not for a while, some not ever.

Here’s an expression of that concern from my friend and fellow small-church encourager, Dale Sellers in a recent tweet:

There’s a strong possibility that some of your key volunteers may not return immediately. . . This deeply concerns me because most small church leaders will just pick up the slack created by this void. . . It’s highly likely that they won’t put it back down in the future!

Dale Sellers, of 95Network

Lately, I’ve written three articles about post-pandemic church attendance, here, here and here. But what about Dale’s concern? What if the people who aren’t coming back are the volunteers you’re relying on to get things up and running again? And how can we respond to that without burning ourselves out?

Here are some of my thoughts based on previous experience I’ve had with absent volunteers and burned out pastors. Please feel free to add your ideas in the comments, below. Read More