Identifying, Training, & Mobilizing Volunteer Leaders

It's the age old complaint; "We never have enough volunteers." It's the 80/20 rule; "20% of the people do 80% of the work." It's the burn-out syndrome; "He was doing everything and he just got burnt out." The church has a history of difficulty when it comes to volunteerism. I suffered the same for most of my thirty years in ministry until I became a pastor at a church of 1,700+ congregants and was forced to come up with a solution for my department. The end result is a department of 16 very strong ministries, run on a small budget, led by 31 directors and 126 leaders that minister to over 500 people per month. All of which are ... volunteers.If that were not good enough, these volunteers show no sign of burning out or quitting. They're actually energized and reproducing themselves. The programs are continuing to grow and spread to the point that other churches are requesting our material. What is the secret ingredient? The short answer is simply this: solid curriculum, detailed training, and mobilizing people to do the work of Christ. It's a concept called "discipleship." Jesus came up with it a long time ago and it still works to this day. Exactly how does that happen in our modern society? The long and much more detailed answer is in the remainder of this booklet.