Okay, you’ve gotten the word out and you have some people that are willing to join but they don’t have any previous experience. Now what do you do? It’s not disrespectful to the volunteer to make sure they are plugged into the right serving opportunity. Here at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, we firmly believe that not everyone is suited for every volunteer opportunity. For instance, not everyone enjoys spending a few hours with 10 crying babies and, you know what? That’s completely okay. Same applies to production: not everyone has the eye for lighting or the eye to frame a camera shot in a fast-paced environment. It’s at that point that we have to make a decision. Do we keep someone in a position that they’re just not getting the hang of, or do we find another opportunity that is more to their strengths and allow them to flourish? I personally would choose the latter.
—Chris Thomas, from “Houses of Worship: Training the Volunteer,” PLSN, July 2012
