People Spots Online
Produced by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries

Involving Others in Ministry

by James W. Moss, Sr.

One pastor can serve about 75 people and do the entire ministry alone if the pastor works very hard. If the church is to go above 75 or be sustained above 75, then it will be necessary to involve others in ministry. The more effective a pastor becomes at this task, the greater the growth potential of the church.

Pouring sand on a square table will result in the forming of a pyramid. The pyramid will grow until it gets as large as the table will support. For the pyramid to grow larger, the table must be extended. The capacity to involve others in ministry is one of those tables that will control how large your ministry will become. The following is a simple six-step process for involving others in ministry.

1. Identify tasks and people. The church requires people to govern and people to be involved in ministry. Frankly, a person could be a good board member and not very good in ministry or vice versa. The skills to do those varied tasks are very different. For years we have tried to force people good at governing to do ministry with very mixed results. In fact some good council people quit serving because they felt they couldn’t do the ministry tasks assigned to them. List various ministry jobs that are available for your people. Identify those that have the potential to make a difference in the lives of others. Then list by name the people who have the potential to do those jobs.
2. Motivate people to function. We need to find things for our people to do that really count. Ministry must be found that has the potential to change lives. We sometimes have had difficulty recruiting quality people for ministry tasks because the roles are filled with busy work. We complain that we can’t find help when we are asking people to do jobs that don’t have a great deal of worth. Giving people things to do that have the potential to truly make a difference in the lives of people is a key to motivation.
3. Recruitment is an intentional process. It involves specifically asking people to give their time and energy to very specific tasks. Recruitment highlights the potential good that can be done in this ministry assignment. It also promises training and support that will be forthcoming to insure fulfillment in the job. There are four mistakes to be avoided in recruitment: (1) Never ask for volunteers. (2) Don’t recruit for meaningful ministry tasks by phone. (3) Don’t recruit in front of others where a no would be an embarrassment. (4) Don’t undersell the job. Remember, people are looking for meaningful things to do.
4. Train your people to do their tasks the right way. We assume people know how to function in the church because they have attended for several years. That is a very dangerous assumption. Most people who don’t function in their ministry assignment either don’t know what their assignment is or don’t know how to do it. We can correct those shortcomings through training. Training can be broken into three segments: orientation, continuing education, and on-the-job training. Specifically, pastors should be training their people to do everything they do. Good and self-confident leaders are very secure and willing to work themselves out of a job.
5. Deployment is critical in volunteer ministry. I know some churches that do a good job of training. The people are never deployed in ministry. There is time for training to end and work to begin. To have people involved in meaningful ministry is critical to the recruitment of other people for ministry.
6. Celebration is important in recruitment. You generate what you celebrate. Have a banquet for the volunteers who give special times for ministry. Have a time of dedication in worship for those workers who give of themselves. Honor a volunteer of the year. Do things to lift up and affirm those behaviors you wish to emulate. Praise in public and criticize in private. You generate what you celebrate.

General George B. McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac, was noted for his ability to train and condition an army. McClellan had a problem. He never could be convinced his army was trained well enough to fight. In his mind, further training was always necessary. Even when his enemy was outnumbered three to one, he would back away from a fight. Finally, Lincoln respectfully requested the use of his army. McClellan was removed. The Army of the Potomac undoubtedly benefited from his instruction. But the army didn’t exist to train. It was there ultimately to engage the opposing army.

The church has periodically suffered from McClellan’s Syndrome. We educate, condition, and train our members in the tasks of the kingdom. Churches proclaim that each member is a minister. In spite of the proclamations and training, evidence of work accomplished is sparse. Training that does not end in positive and meaningful ministry has aborted.

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March 6, 2001. Volume 4, Issue 4.  People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants.  It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org.  Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.

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