Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing tips and tutorials on using Constant Contact, a church email solution. Much of what we have covered deals with reaching out to church members and attenders. That is one of the most obvious uses for such a powerful platform as Constant Contact. Now, let’s think about a different group of people–church volunteers. Constant Contact is also an incredibly powerful tool for keeping in touch with this group of people. These could be Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, nursery workers, ushers, deacons, maintenance workers, etc. Why is it important to keep in touch with them?
- Your ministry runs on volunteers. They are integral to the life of your church.
- Your volunteers have chosen to be involved in the life of the church.
- Your volunteers want to know that their role is appreciated and recognized.
- Your volunteers need some regular contact with church leadership and administration so the leadership can hear their feedback, and so the leadership can give them instruction or advice.
For this reason, consider using Constant Contact to maintain regular contact with this group of people. Start by collecting the email addresses of each one of your volunteers. Then, sit down to think about what kind of information and contact would be helpful to have with church volunteers. Here are some ideas.
- An occasional “thank you” note for their service to the church.
- Special testimonies from other church members on how the ministry of the volunteers has been meaningful.
- A regular update including a short devotional or encouragement from the Bible.
- Information regarding church news, changes in policy, answers to frequent questions, etc.
- Updates regarding upcoming birthdays or special events of other church volunteers.
Essentially, you can send them a mini-newsletter which would include more ‘insider’ information than the regular churchwide newsletter. Doing so is a way to help your volunteers know that they are included and valued in the ministry of the church. Beyond the occasional email update, you can also send them a survey. We’ve discussed sending surveys churchwide, but there is important information that you can gain from a volunteer-specific survey as well.
- Find out how many hours they spend each week in their volunteer ministry.
- Determine if the church is providing them the resources and instruction that they need for their responsibility.
- Find out what would be most helpful to them in terms of support for their ministry.
- Take suggestions for improving the church ministry in some way.
- Ask them for their input on enhancing their specific area of responsibility (e.g., Sunday School curriculum, more mops for cleanup, a nursery paging system, etc.)
- Rate their level of satisfaction with the volunteer ministry in which they are involved.
It can be easy to overlook this group of people who comprise the ministry core and the essential machinery of the church. Regular email contact is a way to maintain contact and help to sustain their ministry in your church. If you haven’t started your free trial with Constant Contact, get started by clicking here.