Director of Volunteer Management (October 1, 2008)

Some may be asking "Why does NCC need a Director of Volunteer Management? Here is an attempt to answer that question...

Volunteers are the backbone of every effective church. And service opportunities are one of the primary ways that people get involved and become integrated into a church. People today are in search of connectedness and significance. They desire to live a life that is meaningful to others and makes a difference in this world.

Whether they realize it or not, this is part of the way God spiritually wired us. Helping people fulfill these desires this is a critical aspect of a great evangelical church and is core to Jesus' commands to "love God and love others". Consequently, when we more effectively identify people's gifts and plug them into service opportunities, we more effectively fulfill the church’s mission (‘Big C’) and assimilate people into New Community Church (‘little c’).

Unfortunately, to some extent, our style of managing volunteers has taken the joy out of service. We do not very effectively recruit, equip, schedule, encourage, or celebrate our volunteers. In some cases, there is too much micro-management of the volunteers, which leaves them feeling less than empowered. At times we exert excessive control over the finished product, not allowing for a reasonable number of mistakes through which people grow in their abilities. Exceedingly high standards, along with a lack of equipping, cause people to have a fear of failure and squash their desire to serve. As a result, volunteerism is struggling in some areas and there is a need to re-energize and re-empower volunteers.

The Director of Volunteer Management position was designed to help solve these problems. The Director will be responsible for helping staff and lay ministry leaders define service opportunities and the skill sets they require. The Director will then assist staff and lay ministry leaders in recruiting, training, scheduling, managing, thanking and celebrating volunteers. The Director will assist in all ministry areas including, but not limited to, Women’s Connection, REAL Men, Small Groups, Guest Services, Kid’s Kingdom, Student Ministries, Tech Team, Music, and Missions.

The Director will also assist in the areas of assimilation – helping people get plugged into our church. She/he will do that by helping us to manage our newcomer follow-up process, inventorying skills, and connecting folks with service opportunities that match their skills and interests. He/she will also help to connect people into Small Groups that best fit their needs. The Director of Volunteer Management is a fulltime position that reports to the Executive Pastor.
Fortunately, the people of NCC are phenomenal in their service. Despite our shortcomings in managing volunteers, our people’s huge hearts and extreme desire to serve have motivated unselfish giving for years. To those I say THANK YOU!

Comments can be placed below or sent directly to me at csonger@new-community church.org