Sometimes this decision all comes down to one thought: would you rather train for talent or train for culture?
As more churches lean on technology, it creates a greater need for trained people to fill key roles.
Some churches have the ability (and manpower) to build an effective training process and develop previously untrained volunteers to serve in technical roles. However, other churches, where there may be either smaller attendance (and thus, volunteer) numbers or possibly higher expectations, may choose to find external labor and contract them to fill a critical service role.
Neither side is better or worse, but there are certainly pros and cons.
For one, bringing in contract labor can certainly have its pitfalls. Yes, a person may have developed enough prior ability to be able to fill a role with only minimal direction. But “their way” or “the way they’ve always done it” could be contrary to your ministry’s vision, and it may be an issue for that person to then “unlearn” old habits.
In addition, a contract person could be “rough around the edges” or not fully understand your ministry’s intricacies or embrace your vision wholeheartedly. They could also feel compelled to just do the bare minimum of showing up, doing a job, then leaving, since that’s all they may be getting paid to do.
Both volunteer and contract labor each come with an immediate payoff—one that might not be recognized until you get farther down the road.
They may not feel comfortable even trying to train others (who may then take their job someday) or spend extra time on things without being compensated for anything they feel is beyond the original agreement of their contract.
In essence, while bringing in a contractor may provide an expedient solution by filling needed roles with experienced labor, it could also envelop a host of issues. Sometimes, throwing money at a problem doesn't solve it completely.
On the flip side, staying purely in-house with volunteers may not be a great fit either. For one, it could take time to build out a training process and develop people to the point that you (and your ministry leaders) are comfortable with them carrying critical weight. Additionally, they may not have a depth of experience and the critical thinking ability to apply when problems arise, since they’ve only been trained how to function in your specific ministry environment.
But while the skill set may take a longer time to develop, in most cases, volunteers can be a bit more of a known commodity, especially when it comes to church culture and values. They may tend to be people more passionate about serving their “home” ministry and may be more likely to go “above and beyond” the call of duty. They are also more likely to understand the demands or expectations of their role within the context of what the ministry is trying to accomplish.
Sometimes, this decision all comes down to one thought: would I rather train for talent or train for culture?
Both volunteer and contract labor each come with an immediate payoff--one that might not be recognized until you get farther down the road. So which is more important?
Many ministries would probably agree that their preference would be to keep as much in-house as possible, but they may not have the luxury of doing so, due to limited resources to develop a training process, a lack of knowledge about how to develop or train volunteers, or even feeling like there’s not a deep talent pool from which to initially pull.
So if the ultimate goal for most places might be to fill roles with people who are culturally developed but need an investment in technical skill, there are three filters to look through when trying to determine who could be a candidate to step up and fill a key volunteer role.
1-Availability.
Serving in a Production role tends to require more of a level of commitment than many other volunteer teams. There could be earlier call times, later nights, more weekends, etc., and that can inherently restrict a pool of willing applicants.
In fact, this is a reason that many churches feel the need to hire external labor anyway: the workload may be too great and the hours too extensive that there aren’t any volunteers willing to carry the weight.
However, in most environments, there tends to be a person or two that always seem to have time on their hands. They’re the people who are willing to come to the church anytime that the doors are open, and it’s almost a fight to keep them away.
Even if they claim to have no technical aptitude whatsoever, sometimes their passion to simply be around on a regular basis can afford them the opportunity to learn something new.
On the flip side, what if there’s nobody that already seems to be acting like this? Well, what if it’s simply because people don’t feel welcome after hours, or they don’t feel invited, or they don’t know that certain opportunities are even available?
Even if they claim to have no technical aptitude whatsoever, sometimes their passion to simply be around on a regular basis can afford them the opportunity to learn something new.
So, the next time there may be a project, or a late night, or a big rehearsal, there may be wisdom in sending a team-wide email or text to invite everyone to the church to hang out, and just see who shows up. Sometimes the people willing to make themselves available are also the ones willing to step farther out of their comfort zone to be stretched.
2-Aptitude.
This is just talent, whether natural or developed.
Remember, the disciples showed up at Jesus’ doorstep as complete novices that had to be trained in ministry. How often, though, do church leaders look around for fully developed people to fill holes, without first realizing the required investment in training and developing them?
If there seems to be a lack of people with high aptitude, chances are it’s not because they’re unintelligent. It’s likely because there’s no healthy and effective way of training them to get better at something.
Remember, the disciples showed up at Jesus’ doorstep as complete novices that had to be trained in ministry.
So, if the church needs a short-term fix and decides to contract some labor, that’s fine. It just needs to buy time until an effective training process can get implemented. It can’t be seen as a longer-term crutch to lean that glosses over the need to fix the actual problem.
Often, ministry leaders are overwhelmed at the idea of building out a training process because they don’t know how to turn novices into experts. But the good news? They don’t have to! Any leader’s job is simply to take what they know, transfer it to someone else, and help ensure that those people have access to resources to keep growing.
For example, a church tech may not be the greatest lighting person. But he can show a volunteer how to operate the equipment and program services in that local ministry context. He could also shoot simple videos on his phone to explain some technique, and even put together a brief spreadsheet/checklist that helps walk through, step-by-step, how to prep for a Sunday service. Then, he could find a list of YouTube videos and online tutorials to have his trainee watch to grow even more.
Leaders don’t have to be experts in everything. They just need to be willing to teach others what they know.
Leaders don’t have to be experts in everything. They just need to be willing to teach others what they know. And people showing even a basic aptitude can, more often than not, learn even more, if they’re given the chance.
3-Attitude.
This is arguably the most important inherent component of an effective volunteer. People’s aptitude can be developed, and even their availability can be enhanced over time. But if someone doesn’t come equipped with an inquisitive, helpful, positive, “can-do” attitude, it’s hard to really take that person to the next level.
The good news about people with a willing attitude is that there are often limitless possibilities for how they can get plugged in to make a difference. Those are the people that tend to go wherever they’re needed the most, or do whatever it takes to help the team succeed.
With this type of approach, those people can bring immeasurable value to the team, even if they aren’t technical. They can benefit the team in all kinds of behind-the-scenes roles, like scheduling, organizing team outings, or even helping keep storage rooms clean.
The good news about people with a willing attitude is that there are often limitless possibilities for how they can get plugged in to make a difference.
A great attitude often leads to flexibility. So if they start out helping in one particular manner, there may be an open door for them to learn or try other things, just because they’re curious or are willing to jump into other roles as the team needs it.
It can be hard sometimes to try and decide whether to hire for a particular role or whether it’s OK to still focus on volunteer labor. It just takes time to look at the people around us and then focus on helping them grow to the potential inside them.
No one comes fully formed, but instead requires time and patience from others invested in them. And if our team leaders are able to invest time the right way, there’s no telling what diamonds in the rough they may find.
