One day Jesus decided to sit and watch people put money in the offering. When an unremarkable, poor woman gave a couple pennies, Jesus honored her above everyone else. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43, NIV).
I wonder how that woman felt about herself. Is it possible she believed that her small gift didn’t really matter? I wonder if the people in her life ever validated her or what she had to offer. Certainly nobody paid much attention to her financial gifts! Most likely, people disregarded her when they looked at what she gave and discounted her because they compared her to all of those who gave so much more. That’s not what Jesus did. He valued both the woman and her gift, when nobody else did.
Let’s take a moment and stop thinking of her gift as financial. What if her gift was in service to the church instead? What if all she could give to the local church was a very small amount of her time? Or what if she was very unskilled and had very little to offer as a volunteer? Would we treat her the same as those who give much?
If we were to dig deep, we would discover millions of stories of people who never reached their potential in ministry because the people around them (and they themselves) didn’t value who they were or what they could contribute. Even more alarming would be those who simply didn’t give anything at all for the same reason.
Ten Reasons Volunteers Don’t Feel Valued
In today’s post, I’d like to briefly consider 8 reasons why volunteers might feel devalued.
1. Assume The Worst
Is it possible there are men & women in your church who could relate to the woman Jesus noticed in the above story? Do they think their leaders assume they have little or nothing to offer because of their skill set, circumstances or personality? Leaders will always micromanage volunteers when they assume they are incapable of doing a task, thinking through a problem or taking initiative. This leaves the volunteer helpless to do more than what they are told.
2. Miss Small Contributions
It’s easy to notice people who volunteer a lot. They are often seen and noticed in the office or working in an area of ministry for hours on end. Their gift of service is seen by all. It’s not so easy to observe those who give small amounts. Their contribution is lost in the shuffle and hubbub of others who give so much more. Leaders should pay close attention to ALL of those who volunteer in the church, no matter how small, so they might later honor & thank them for their service.
3. Lack of Communication
When people don’t know what’s going on, they feel undervalued. The unspoken message they hear is, “I wasn’t important enough to be in the loop on this.” Most of the time, it’s not true, but our inadequate communication will eventually alienate and drive some of our most committed people away.
4. Non-Personal Interaction
It doesn’t matter what size church you lead, people are still people and they are craving personal touch. In particular, they feel valued and important when the people they respect in leadership take the time to connect with them. This can be a huge challenge for christian leaders. Even so, finding ways to give 1 on 1 attention to people through cards, email, social media, personal visits, even a brief chat, will help them know they are a valued part of your team.
5. Responsibility Without Authority
When people are asked to get involved, but aren’t empowered to do it themselves, they feel like wheels in a cog. Systems can add great value to local ministries, but they are meant to serve you and your volunteers, not the other way around. When possible, allow room for some creative liberty to allow volunteers to make decisions on their own.
6. No Opportunity for Buy-In
Announcing change from the pulpit is dangerous. People need time to process what’s going on and how it will impact them personally. If you want to value your volunteers, communicate far in advance of the change to give them lead time so they can process change before it happens.
7. False or Wrong Expectations
One of the easiest ways to hurt feelings and sow discord is to keep expectations vague or confusing. If YOU expect more from your volunteers than they realize, you will be disappointed and they will be discouraged. If THEY expect more from you as a leader, they will be confused or disappointed. Either way, it’s a recipe that can lead to broken relationship.
8. Square Peg, Round Hole
It’s frustrating when leaders delegate tasks to volunteers and then get mad at them because they don’t do a good job. If you ask me to serve as the maintenance man in your church, you’ll be disappointed. I’m not good at fixing things. Instead of pushing me harder to do better, realize I’m a square peg, not a round one, and find a better fit for me.
9. Starved for Feedback
One of the greatest gifts any leader can give their volunteers is the gift of meaningful and regular feedback. When given properly, this will greatly encourage them, empower them for better service and motivate them to continue to give their time and talents to the church. Similarly, volunteers who never hear how they are doing, both good and bad, will be discouraged, disempowered and lack motivation to keep going.
10. Devalue Small Contributions
One of the most obvious reasons volunteers don’t feel valued by leaders is because leaders don’t actually value volunteers who give very little. Jesus valued every contribution others gave, no matter how big or small. He recognized the poor woman’s gift was extravagant because he knew she had nothing else to give, and honored her for it. When he fed the 5,000, he knew a couple of fish would be enough to kick start an amazing miracle, despite how inadequate that gift truly was.
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Invite people to be part of something great, find a good fit for them, and let them serve with the skills, talent & commitment they have to give. Value them and what they give just as much as those who give (or seem to give) so much more.
photo credit: Lawrence OP She Gave All She Had via photopin (license)