This weekend at churches all around the world people will gather together to worship God. Music will be played. Microphones will be used. Computers will be booted. Lyrics will be projected. And unused potential will sit in the seats while one or two overworked technicians do everything behind the scenes.
The technical department is not a glamorous one. Most people will never pay attention to the “knob turners” until something goes wrong. Then it's YOUR fault! But we don't do it for the glory. We do it because we enjoy feeling needed, and needed we are! Without us there is no sound, video or lights.
Although techies may lurk in the shadows and hidden rooms there are others just sitting in the pews wishing that they could be doing what you are doing.
The problem that we face is that we are not always known for our relational skills and we would often rather do things ourselves than get out of our comfort zones and recruit and train up new volunteers. However, in my opinion, this is where true ministry happens. Not in the “doing” but in the “equipping.”
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT) Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
So Christ gives certain gifts to the church, and I am guessing that if the Apostle Paul was here today he would add “production team” to that list. The interesting thing is that their responsibility is not simply to use their gifts to serve the church, but to use their gifts to equip the church to do the work.
Would you approach your ministry any differently if your goal was to do less “ministering” and more “equipping?”
Often times this is not an easy thing to do. In order to equip someone we must put time into people, we must train them and ultimately we must disciple them. But isn't this what God would have us use our gifts for? Of course everyone in any form of production ministry realizes that they serve the congregation as a whole, but what if ministry is also serving those that serve with us.
So with that in mind here are a few tips that can help you to begin the process of recruiting, equipping and mentoring others in serving the church with their gifts.
The Invitation
This is probably one of the hardest steps for anyone to do. We would all love for people to simply approach us about getting involved, or maybe put a small invitation in the bulletin and have hoards of people join. Unfortunately those methods usually don't work very well, and honestly it doesn't always attract the highest quality volunteers. It attracts the people that already volunteer for everything.
You will get much better results by actually talking to people...by being social. Try to be intentional at each service to make some time to just hang out and chat with people. There are hundreds of things to occupy your time before and after a service, so you should plan in advance to take at least a few minutes to wander around and say “hi” to people.
As you strike up a conversation you will most likely find yourself talking about the ministry that you are involved with. If the person you are talking to doesn't show interest, that's fine. Hopefully you made a new friend. If they do show interest it's time to give them a taste of what you actually do and ask them if they would like to try it out sometime.
Don't ask for commitment. Don't tell them that they will have to serve every weekend for the rest of their lives until they are totally burnt out. Don't try to make yourself look smart by making it seem so technical. Just ask if they'd be interested in trying it out. That's it!
Keep it Simple
The problem that I have seen is that most people think that these kinds of ministries are very complex and that they could never do it. While that may be true in some cases, often times people don't realize that they can learn many of these skills.
You need to start by breaking down your ministry into the most simple steps possible. Imagine trying to teach a five-year old how to do it. This is where checklists come in handy. Before you get together with potential team members go through your system and write down each and every step possible. Don't use complex terms, just write in plain simple English.
Go step-by-step on how to bring your system online, whether it is sound, video, lights, and etc. This will be a valuable resource for the person you will be working with. It may be intuitive to you, but at this level you can't assume that it is intuitive for this person. In fact, they may be the most technical-minded person in the world, but they have not met your system yet and they will still need to be walked through it.
Once your checklist has been created print off several copies to give to your team members and make sure that you post them nearby for future reference.
The Trial Run
When the day comes that your new recruit will be trying out the ministry make sure that you arrive on time. There's nothing worse that having someone show up to volunteer and the leader is not there.
It is also important that you go into this trial with the mindset that you want to give them a good experience. You aren't trying to blow them away with the complexity of your ministry. You want them to have fun. The goal should be that they feel needed and see how this ministry plays an important role in the church.
As you go through it let the person actually do some of the tasks. If you are mixing sound let them play with the sliders during rehearsal and show them the basics of creating a good mix. If you are running the video then let them control a camera or learn how to cut shots together.
Now is not the time to freak out if they make a mistake. Remember, you are trying to give them a good experience, not a bad one. If they see the ministry as too uptight and stressful they will be less likely to commit to serving with any regularity. You want to demonstrate that you are striving for excellence but having fun in the process.
If they seem to be picking things up you can let them run your system live during the service, with your help of course. Don't take off to grab a coffee. Make sure that you are there so you can fix any issues that may come up.
The Debrief
This is probably one of the most neglected aspects of recruiting someone, but it is one of the most important. Once your time of serving in the ministry is over make sure that you sit down and chat for a few minutes with the prospective team member. Don't just send them on their way.
Ask them some basic question about their trial serve, such as:
•How did you like it?
•Do you feel like you understand the process?
•Was anything too complicated for you?
•If this something you can see yourself getting involved with?
Depending on how they answer and how quickly they picked things up you will probably have a good idea whether or not they have the skills necessary for this ministry. If they were continually struggling then your area of ministry may not be a good fit. That's OK.
Hopefully they are excited about the ministry and ask when they can serve again. If that is the case, then you can discuss their availability, training and so on. Congratulations! You have a new team member to equip for ministry.
If they don't feel like this ministry is for them, that's OK too! Thank them for trying it out and reassure them that this ministry is not for everyone. But don't just leave it at that, turn it back around and ask them what kinds of things they are interested in. If they say that they are interested in youth ministry, let them know that you will help them get in contact with that appropriate person.
This is what being a team player is all about. Maybe they are not a good fit for your area of ministry, but they are a good fit for something. Make it your goal to get this person plugged in even if it is not your specific area.
The more you do this process, the easier and more streamlined it will become. You will certainly not get everyone into your ministry, but hopefully you will have built new relationships and helped them to find their area of passion. Don't forget that our ultimate goal should be to equip God's people to do the work of the ministry.