In a volunteer switching culture, receiving a dreaded Saturday night phone call is a common frustration for ministry leaders. As you answer, you already know how the conversation will go: a kids ministry volunteer is canceling at the last minute. That inevitable text or email starting with “I’m sorry” happens all too frequently, leaving you to manage the fallout of a broken commitment.
The more volunteers you have, the greater the likelihood of someone canceling this weekend, forcing you into a desperate scramble for a substitute. Having experienced this frustration myself, I eventually decided I no longer wanted to spend my weekends picking up the pieces for last-minute cancellations. Instead, I set out to create a culture of switching, not ditching.
To shift the responsibility, we placed the burden on the volunteer to find their own substitute. We developed a system where individuals contact their teammates to request a schedule swap for a future date. Before you dismiss this as a failed experiment, it is important to understand that success depends on a few ground rules that must be established from the very beginning.
1. You need to have a fantastic relationship with all of your volunteers.
They cannot see this strategy as a burden for them. You want them to view it as a wonderful service for them and others. You see, we created a culture instead of adding another task. We created a culture allowing people to see their fellow teammates as willing participants in carrying out the goals of the ministry. A culture of switching, not ditching.
2. Find out what the best means of contact is for each team member.
Do you serve in the preschool ministry? Great! Twelve other people may fit that qualification. Of those 12 people, three would most likely be reached by phone. The others were best reached through a text message. These individuals have a relationship with one another because we as leaders created a culture of relations. So, when Connie, a dynamic volunteer in the preschool ministry had a last-minute schedule change, she knew who to reach out to, via phone or text, on her team and simply posed the question, could this work for you?
Bottom line, my life is made easier when volunteers work out a few details on their own prior to involving me, the director or another associate to solve their problem. These volunteers are more than willing to solve this on their own because of their relationship with the staff and other volunteers. Accommodations are made for fellow teammates. When people aren’t anonymous in your ministry, they understand that people have lives just like they do. They know that at some point they are going to need the favor returned.
Do you want to avoid the painful and problematic last-minute phone calls informing you that somebody isn’t coming? I think you can do this by creating a culture of switching, not ditching.
First published on KidMinScience.com. Used by permission.
