Over the past week I had the opportunity to minister on site with a couple of typical churches – small, aging, bordering on decline. In a meeting with leaders from one of these churches on Sunday afternoon, I asked the question, “What challenges or obstacles are standing in the way of making Great Commission ministry happen?” In short, Great Commission ministry happens when a church makes the Great Commission central to both its mission and its strategy, as in,”What is our vision – to go and make disciples,” and “What is our strategy,” to actually go and make disciples.” Much more could be said, of course, but that’s not the thrust of this post.
One gentleman answered that they were having trouble getting people to serve in various ways, such as serving in outreach events. The method that was largely being used for recruiting was an announcement from the platform on Sundays that goes something like this: “We need people to serve in the upcoming event, so if you’re will to help, please sign up on the yellow pad in the foyer after the service.”
This is not a strategy for recruiting people but, in my experience, is actually a strategy for not recruiting people, proven again and again by the blank yellow pad that is collected after everyone has gone home.
There are two main considerations when recruiting and mobilizing: 1. who are you trying to mobilize, and 2. how are you trying to mobilize them? Let’s start with number 2. The most effective way to mobilize people for service in outreach events, or any other ministry for that matter, is to meet with them one-on-one and invite/challenge/encourage/exhort them to serve. Yes, this can be a bit labor intensive, but if the goal is to recruit laborers, it’s a price that you must pay. Don’t try to recruit people with large group announcements and impersonal sign-up sheets. It doesn’t work and you miss the opportunity to meet one-on-one and really cast vision as well as mobilize.
Let’s go back to whom you are trying to mobilize. Naturally, the answer to this question would logically be that you are trying to mobilize people from the congregation. Yes, that’s true, but if we’re talking about a community event of some sort, why not involve the community. Just because folks don’t attend your church doesn’t mean that they don’t have an interest in the community. Get involved with who’s out there and give them a chance to serve the community with you. This greatly increases your pool of potential people, and serves as an outreach itself.
Give the one-on-one recruitment and mobilization of people from the church and the community a try, and keep the yellow pad in a drawer somewhere.
