Setting Goals and Meeting Expectations with a Volunteer Staff

I have heard it said that the closest vocational parallels to pastoral ministry are that of a hospital administrator and a school principal.  This is primarily because schools and hospitals are usually run by a staff of paid employees and a group of volunteers.  Working with both adults and students, I visit both hospitals and schools frequently, so I can confidently say that while I see a few similarities, pastoral ministry is unlike anything else.  I recognize that the helpful woman at the hospital reception desk is most likely a volunteer or the man working the concession stand at the basketball game is part of the booster club, but not much is asked of them, the job is pretty self-explanatory, and the expectations are pretty low.

At the church I serve we estimate that it takes sixty people to “make a Sunday morning happen.”  This is everyone from the guy who unlocks the doors to the man who makes the coffee to those who teach and preach God’s Word.  Now, before you go and say something like, “Hey, I thought this was Average Church that sounds pretty big to me,” don’t worry.  We are not a large church.  It just takes a lot more man-power than most people ever realize to do many of the things that happen at a church.  For us, of our sixty people, only six of them are paid anything to do what they do.  Like you, we depend on volunteers and lay leaders.  Our “staffs” are made up of people with a limited amount of time, varying commitment levels, differing skills and abilities, and wide range of ideas about what success looks like.

All of this leads me to ask the question, “How do you set goals and have expectations when the majority of people working and serving alongside you are volunteers?”  In attempting to answer this question, I will break it into two categories.  First, we will discuss the kinds of expectations we should have for our volunteers and the goals we should set for them.  Secondly, we will see how those expectations and goals translate into ministry and the stewardship of the Gospel.

Expectations and Goals for Volunteers

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

- 1 Timothy1:12-17

The expectations I place on my volunteers and the goals I have for them are simple: be faithful and be teachable.  Whether your context is children, students, or adults, a volunteer that is faithful to the Lord and faithful to their commitment in ministry is essential.  While calls to faithfulness are abundant in the Scriptures, I wanted to draw your attention to the above Scripture for two reasons.  First, Paul clearly states that his call to ministry was a result of Christ deeming him faithful despite his horrific background.  Through my years of ministry I have learned a good lesson.  The best ministers are the ones who are faithful to God and who show up.  I have known several great teachers and youth workers who could captivate an audience, but rarely demonstrated a steadiness in ministry.  I have learned to rely on perseverance and steadfastness much more than talent and ability.

The second reason I believe that Scripture is important is it points to Paul’s own teachability.  He admits that he was once far from God.  He defamed the name of Christ and denied the grace of God, but through a miracle of mercy and grace Paul was restored to a right relationship with God.  Paul was extremely teachable.  Where he once gave his whole life to a wrong idea about who God was and how He loved His people, Paul was given a glimpse of God’s grace and immediately changed his life.  He was open to God and because of his teachability, the Lord used Paul in mighty ways.

I am sure there are other goals and expectations that are healthy and Godly for our volunteers, but I believe most of them can be boiled down to these two ideas.  If you have a group of men and women that are willing to learn and faithful to show up, your ministry has already been blessed.

Expectations and Goals for Ministry with Volunteers

The simplest way I know how to express my thoughts in this area is this: I believe our expectations and goals ought to be set high for our ministries and our volunteers.  Through His grace, Jesus has high expectations of us.  Through His mercy, God has high expectations of His Church.  To set our goals any lower is an offense to God’s grace and all He has entrusted to us.  Ephesians 3:10 says “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known.”  Colossians 1:18 says “he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”  Hebrews 12:23 says the Church are “all those who are enrolled in heaven.”  If the Church makes God known, is lead by Christ, and is made up of those who will live with God forever, shouldn’t our goals and expectations be nothing short of ultimate glory to God and the declaration of the supremacy of Jesus Christ?

Unfortunately, I rarely see goals and expectations formed by those types of ideas in churches.  Practicality and, supposed, reality seem to rule the hearts and minds of many leaders.  The pressure of budgets, attendance figures, and “realistic” expectations overrun and overrule our pursuit of God and His glory.  I want to challenge all of us to make our goal for ministry the righteousness of Christ and the grandeur of His name.  And that not only goes for us as pastors, but for our leaders as well.  As they teach, lead, plan, disciple, serve, and give let us set high expectations for them, because that is what God has done for His Church.  May we bring God glory and may we and those we lead give our lives to magnifying the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord!