Life As A Volunteer

I’ve railed against referring to them as volunteers for years because “volunteer” seems like the lowest possible standard you could set for your team. Once, I even said, “Never stoop to calling them ‘volunteers.’ There’s no honor in that, no vision in that, and no energy or passion in that. Call them team members, musical servants, worshipers, musicians…anything. But volunteers.”

I give up. Go ahead and call them “volunteers.” Many do.

But then, please DEFINE what a volunteer is for your worship and tech ministry context.

Here. Start with ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭10 TPT. Post this on your green room wall:

Hello Volunteer!

We love you and are so glad you serve in this ministry! We want you to know life as a volunteer will be like:

1. As God’s servants, we prove ourselves authentic in every way.

2. We have great endurance in hardships and in persecutions.

3. We don’t lose courage in a time of stress and calamity.

4. We’ve been beaten many times, imprisoned, and found ourselves in the midst of riots.

5. We’ve endured many troubles, had sleepless nights, and gone hungry.

6. We have proved ourselves by our lifestyles of purity, by our spiritual insights, by our patience, and by showing kindness, by the Spirit of holiness and by our uncritical love for you.

7. We commend ourselves to you by our truthful teachings, by the power of God working through us, and with the mighty weapons of righteousness—a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

8. Amid honor or dishonor, slander or praise—even when we are treated as deceivers and imposters—we remain steadfast and true.

9. We are unknown nobodies whom everyone knows.

10. We are frequently at death’s door, yet here we are, still alive!

11. We have been severely punished yet not executed.

12. We may suffer, yet in every season we are always found rejoicing.

13. We may be poor, yet we bestow great riches on many.

14. We seem to have nothing, yet in reality we possess all things.

Welcome to the glorious life of God’s volunteers!

Want a printable poster: Get it here.

-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)

Life As A Volunteer (Nº 440)