Why Is It So Hard To Get Volunteers?
Why Is It So Hard to Get Volunteers?
[00:20] Why Is Volunteer Engagement So Difficult?
Volunteer engagement is a challenge for a lot of churches.
Most churches would love to have more people serving, and one of the most common explanations we give for why they aren't is simple:
People are busy.
And that's true. People are busy.
But often the busiest people are also incredibly high-capacity people. We don't want to overload anyone, but when someone sees an invitation to serve as an opportunity rather than a burden, they may choose to make space for it.
Sometimes church leaders decide someone is too busy before we've even asked them.
In doing so, we may actually deny that person the opportunity to decide for themselves whether serving is something they'd love to prioritise.
[01:50] Contribution Creates Belonging
Serving isn't just about filling gaps on a roster.
Contribution is one of the ways people develop a sense of belonging within a community.
When people have an opportunity to contribute something that's meaningful to them, they're no longer simply attending—they're participating.
And everyone contributes differently.
For some people, contribution might look like leadership. For someone else, it could be cooking a meal for another person.
The important thing is recognising that people have something valuable to contribute.
So how might we be unintentionally making it harder for people to serve?
[03:10] 1. Don't Wait for People to Come to You
One of the biggest mistakes churches can make is assuming that people who want to serve will simply put their hand up.
Mel shares how her own first experience of leadership happened because a youth pastor approached her and said:
"I think you'd be awesome at this."
It wasn't a particularly prominent role—she was responsible for managing the order of service—but she took the responsibility incredibly seriously.
Why?
Because someone had seen something in her and personally invited her to contribute.
At the time, Mel didn't even see herself as a leader.
That's why personal invitation can be so powerful.
[04:30] People Don't Always Know They Can Put Their Hand Up
Church leaders can assume everyone understands how church volunteering works.
But someone who has never served in a church before may not realise they're supposed to put their hand up.
Often, people are far more likely to step into serving or leadership when someone personally invites them.
And sometimes that invitation changes how they engage with the church.
A person who hasn't previously attended consistently may respond differently once they're given responsibility and discover that their contribution matters.
It won't happen with everyone—but don't rule people out before they've even had an opportunity to step up.
[05:40] Create a Pathway—and Follow Up
Churches can also create intentional pathways into serving.
Courses, growth programs and other processes can work well—but only when there's genuine follow-up.
It's easy for someone to complete a course, indicate that they're interested in serving... and then never hear from anyone again.
A pathway only works if it actually leads somewhere.
[06:20] 2. Should We Even Call Them "Volunteers"?
The word volunteer can sometimes undersell what's actually happening within a church community.
It primarily tells us one thing:
This person isn't being paid.
But is that really the most important distinction?
Perhaps we need to recover the spiritual idea of service—people using their gifts to contribute to the community of God.
Calling someone a volunteer can also unintentionally reinforce a divide between paid church staff and everyone else.
But being paid doesn't make someone more spiritually valuable.
[07:30] Paid Doesn't Mean More Spiritually Mature
There can sometimes be a pedestal around paid church leadership.
But a pastor isn't necessarily the most spiritually mature person in the congregation.
There may be someone who has faithfully followed Jesus for 50 or 60 years who has never held a paid church position and possesses enormous wisdom and spiritual maturity.
Leadership is about calling and gifting.
It's not evidence of spiritual superiority.
So if we're going to create healthy cultures of service, we need to honour the contribution and maturity of people regardless of whether they're on the payroll.
[09:00] 3. People Respond to the Perceived Value of Their Role
Do people who serve actually feel valued?
Not just at the annual volunteer celebration.
Do we give them a voice?
Do we check in with them?
Do we know what's happening in their lives?
Sometimes the same faithful person serves week after week and nobody ever stops to ask how they're actually doing.
Valuing someone's contribution starts with valuing the person apart from their role.
But we also need to consider whether the role itself is treated as valuable.
[10:00] What Does the Role Communicate?
Connect Group leadership is a good example.
These leaders may spend every week caring for and leading people, yet their contribution can be almost invisible on Sundays.
So how does your church communicate that their role matters?
Even the process through which someone enters a ministry can communicate value.
A thoughtful recruitment process, clear expectations and intentional preparation all say:
"What you're about to do matters."
[11:00] Give People a Clear Win
Whenever Mel has led departments involving people who serve, she's tried to make the expectations of each role clear.
What are the key things this person is actually trying to accomplish?
What does success look like?
If someone can identify three things they need to do well, for example, they can finish serving knowing whether they've been faithful to what was asked of them.
That's particularly important in roles where people can't control the outcome.
Someone on a welcome team can't control whether a visitor fills out a connect card.
But they can control whether they faithfully did the things they were asked to do.
Make the win clear.
[12:10] Equip People to Succeed
Good preparation communicates value.
Give people the information they need.
Who should they contact if they have questions?
What systems do they need to use?
What exactly are they responsible for?
Clear expectations also create healthy boundaries.
Instead of someone wondering whether their role might eventually expand into 50 different responsibilities, they know exactly what they're agreeing to.
It communicates:
"We value you. We value this role. And we want to give you the best possible chance of succeeding."
[13:20] Support Should Match the Person
Support matters too.
Throwing a brand-new leader into a role tomorrow with no preparation doesn't honour their commitment.
There may eventually be a point where a leader needs to step into the deep end and discover that making mistakes is okay.
But before that, there should be a season of walking alongside them.
And support doesn't need to look identical for everyone.
A brand-new leader will need something different from someone who has been serving for years.
Healthy support is tailored to the person.
[14:30] Communication Communicates Value
Communication is often one of the weakest areas in church life.
And yet it's one of the simplest ways we communicate that someone's contribution matters.
Keep people informed.
Respond to their emails.
Reply to their texts.
Make it possible for them to reach you.
When Mel was overseeing around 75 Connect Groups, she had to think creatively about how to remain available to her leaders.
Once a term, she would make herself available at the church café for several hours early in the morning. Leaders could simply come and talk to her.
Sometimes they wanted advice about someone in their group.
Sometimes they simply needed an opportunity to talk through something they'd been thinking about.
The point was to create space where leaders knew:
"This time is available for you."
[16:40] 4. People Respond to Opportunities That Are Meaningful
People are more likely to serve when the opportunity feels meaningful.
Some ministries naturally communicate their meaning very clearly.
Youth ministry is a good example.
People can immediately see the significance of investing in young people as they navigate formative years, encounter Jesus and develop their faith.
But what about the roles whose significance isn't as obvious?
[18:00] Every Part Has Significance
First Corinthians 12 gives us a picture of a body in which every part matters.
Yet churches can unintentionally create a hierarchy of ministry.
Some roles appear highly spiritual and significant.
Others can be treated as jobs that simply need to get done.
Hospitality is a classic example.
"We need food for this event. Call someone who can organise it."
But hospitality isn't necessarily less meaningful than preaching.
If church culture communicates that certain contributions matter more than others, we can also inadvertently communicate that certain people's callings matter less than others.
Every role can have meaning.
[19:30] Honour the Contributions That Aren't on Stage
Our wider culture often attaches value to status, education, income or visibility.
Churches shouldn't simply reproduce that hierarchy.
A person who cleans, prepares food, maintains a building or does another seemingly ordinary task can make an enormously valuable contribution to a community.
The question isn't simply whether lots of people could perform the task.
Someone has chosen to use their time and energy to bless other people.
That's worth honouring.
[21:00] Get More Creative About Serving
Churches can also become too narrow in the opportunities we offer.
We create a handful of predetermined categories and then try to fit everybody into them.
But perhaps serving opportunities could be smaller and more creative.
Maybe someone simply looks after the plants.
Maybe another person contributes something completely different.
Not every ministry opportunity needs to become an enormous role.
Sometimes meaningful contribution can be surprisingly simple.
[21:40] Ask People How They Want to Contribute
If people respond to roles they value and opportunities they find meaningful, why not ask them:
"What would a meaningful contribution look like for you?"
Structure is still useful—particularly as churches grow.
But one-size-fits-all serving pathways won't necessarily work for everyone.
An experienced professional with decades of expertise may see meaningful contribution very differently from a young person taking their first steps into leadership.
So rather than only asking people to fill the roles we've already created, perhaps we can also ask:
"How would you like to contribute?"
[23:00] See What God Has Put in People
Ultimately, this comes back to discipleship.
Seeing what God has placed within people takes time and relationship.
Sometimes people have gifts they don't recognise in themselves.
Sometimes they know exactly what they could contribute but haven't been given an opportunity to say it.
And sometimes their passion even appears first as a complaint.
Instead of immediately dismissing the complaint, perhaps we can listen for what's underneath it.
Maybe they're noticing something because they care deeply about it.
Maybe they could even become part of the solution.
If we want more people serving, perhaps the answer isn't simply asking:
"How do we fill our volunteer vacancies?"
Perhaps we need to start asking:
"How do we help people discover and make the contribution God has uniquely equipped them to make?"