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Invigorating Volunteers; Developing Disciples
We’re good at telling little children the church is not a building, but people. The larger danger may not be that we will view the church as a building, but as a bureaucracy. It is people who are primary, not bricks and flow charts.
So, how do we get people to take their appropriate place in the family or community we call the church? Here are some suggested resources for you.
The Volunteer Leadership Series
(Group)
This wonderful series deals with using volunteers in the church. The church is unique in its need to serve people and use people in the same organization. This series consists of six volumes with the following titles: Creating a Volunteer-Friendly Church Culture; How to Energize Your Volunteer Ministry; Volunteer Job Descriptions and Action Plans; Volunteer Recruitment, Interviewing, and Placement; Volunteer Orientation and Training; and Volunteer Encouragement, Evaluations, and Accountability.
There is no other resource quite like it for developing a volunteer program in the church, including the execution of an effective volunteer training program. It is advisable to buy the entire series. It is edited by Marlene Wilson with several contributors sharing their expertise in the individual manuals.
Membership Matters
By Chuck Lawless (Zondervan)
Perhaps the problem is that many in the contemporary church aren’t even convinced they need to be a genuine part of the community. This book might be exactly what you need. The subtitle is Insights from Effective Churches
on New Member Classes and Assim-ilation.
This book shines the spotlight on how to start and conduct a new members’ class. It relies on insights from churches that have conducted successful programs. Lawless is a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The book is based on research done under the auspices of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth.
The research survey asked simple questions, among them: Does the church have a membership class? Is it required? Who teaches the class? What curriculum is used? What obstacles did the church face in starting a membership class? Who attends the class? The respondents were weighted heavily to churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, but that should not affect the usefulness of the research.
Spiritual Leadership
By J. Oswald Sanders (Moody)
Some people may need individual instruction to help them discover how important their offering of leadership is or how to be a more effective Christian leader. For this, why not consider a golden oldie, the classic Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders.
Sanders was a New Zealander who lived more than 90 years. He was best known as the consulting
director of Overseas Missionary Fellow-ship. This classic book is as valuable today as when it was first published in 1967. Sanders weaves together practical spiritual and biblical ideas. Some chapters are practical like "The Leaders and Time" and "The Art of Delegation." Some chapters are spiritual like "Prayer and Leadership" and "Natural and Spiritual Leadership." Still others are biblical like "Insight on Leadership from Paul" and "Insights on Leadership from Peter."
These resources will prove to be valuable, for we all know that no program will work if the people don’t.
Mike Shannon is dean at Cincinnati (Ohio) Bible Seminary.
PREVIOUS COLUMNS:
January 18, 2006 - Dealing With the Dark Side
January 4, 2006 - Libraries Without Walls
December 21, 2005 - Communication Concepts from Secular Circles
December 7, 2005 - Words of Wisdom for Women's Ministry
November 23, 2005 - Magnificent Help from the Magazine Rack
October 26, 2005 - Overcoming Overwhelm
October 12, 2005 - Big Ideas for Smaller Churches
September 28, 2005 - For You and Youth
September 14, 2005 - A Potpourri of Books
August 31, 2005 - A Potpourri of Web Sites
August 17, 2005 - Hart-to-Heart Talks
August 3, 2005 - Ken Can Help
July 20, 2005 - Easum Has Some Advice
July 6, 2005 - Finding Illustration Gold Mines
June 22, 2005 - Get Real with Bobb Biehl
June 9, 2005 - Let Len Lend a Hand
May 29, 2005 - A New Angle on Church Growth
May 15, 2005 - It's Your Turn
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