From the Desk of Pastor Marsha 3.27.25

From the Desk of Pastor Marsha

What’s Happening March 27, 2025

Save this date on your calendar, Sunday, April 27th, from 1 pm to 3:30 pm. We are hosting a Leadership Training Event called “Best Practices for Working with Volunteers.” It is for all committees, their volunteers, and chairs, as well as council leadership. In fact, if you work as a volunteer or with volunteers in any capacity, it would be a great chance to learn a little more about how to best use volunteers in the church.

One of the biggest changes in the life of all congregations is not only the decline in membership, but an even steeper decline in volunteerism. This is not because mothers are working outside of the home more, though there may be a little of that. A good majority of mothers have always worked outside of the home; they were just not part of the middle to upper-middle class families that our society held up as role models.

I think one of the biggest factors has to do with how busy our families are. There are just so many more activities for our children than there were 40 years ago. Our society believes that to have well-rounded, well-prepared children, they need to start getting involved in activities by 3 or 4 years of age, and then keep adding on as they grow. And when a child is involved in an activity, you don’t just drop them off at the door; you, as a parent, are expected to be involved, as well. It is not a question of whether you will volunteer, but where you will volunteer. I have noticed that even grandparents who live near their children end up picking up some of those responsibilities. Attending games, bringing snacks, picking them up, and dropping them off. Talk to any parent of children from age 3 to 18, and you will hear a litany of the activities their children are involved in. Therefore, it isn’t that people aren’t volunteering; they are just volunteering at other places besides the church.

So, when we do get people to volunteer, we want to be well prepared for using the time they generously share with us. We need to be clear about expectations of their ministry, what they are committing to, how much time, what is needed, where the supplies are, etc, etc. When people show up at a committee meeting, we need to organize it in a way that says we value their knowledge and insight into this ministry. We can’t just talk at them, but need to involve them in decision-making. We need to know how to encourage everyone to share in the responsibilities of the committee, not just one or two of the same people every time. We need to have a way to remember what has been done in the past, so we don’t spend time talking about what we think was done. We need to set goals to carry out the ministry for each season, and plan accordingly to carry out those goals. These are just a few of the things we will talk about at our event, “Best Practices for Working with Volunteers.” Please make a point of marking your calendar and attending.

We will also record it if you are unable to attend, and we would like everyone who isn't able to attend to watch the recording. That way we can all be on the same page as we work to being as effective as we can in our ministry efforts here at Zion.