Rock-Solid Volunteers , livre ebook
109
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English
Ebooks
2011
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109
pages
English
Ebook
2011
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Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
01 janvier 2011
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781441266255
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
Publié par
Date de parution
01 janvier 2011
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781441266255
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
PRAISE FOR
ROCK-SOLID VOLUNTEERS
There’s a wealth of great material in this book, from keeping volunteers motivated, to getting families involved in volunteer activities together, to equipping volunteers to share their faith. Larry Fowler has been doing these things for years, and now he’s sharing the wisdom of his experiences with the rest of us.
J IM D ALY , President, Focus on the Family
Larry’s ability to use his writing and storytelling skills to illustrate how Nehemiah motivated, encouraged, guided and inspired volunteers to work for a purpose was absolutely phenomenal. This book is a must-read for any ministry that depends upon volunteers, as it demonstrates how to ignite our volunteer ministries to thrive and survive today and tomorrow.
D R . T ONY E VANS , Senior Pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship President, The Urban Alternative, Dallas, Texas
One of the largest needs in every church is volunteers. But how do you recruit, train and motivate them in the urgent work of children’s ministry? I believe that Rock-Solid Volunteers is going to create a whole new revolution in the way the church looks at volunteers. Get ready for an eye-opening journey with Larry Fowler in this exciting new book. It’s a must-read for every children’s ministry leader!
R YAN F RANK , Executive Director, K! Magazine
The book of Nehemiah has been studied and taught from many viewpoints. However, anyone who leads volunteers in church or in a para-church ministry needs to read this book. Larry Fowler’s biblical viewpoint on how Nehemiah led a group of volunteers to complete a task in miraculous time, to keep the vision in front of their eyes, and to thrive while doing it. In Rock-Solid Volunteers you will discover 10 proven keys that will enable you to lead like Nehemiah and nurture a team of volunteers that will thrive in their work.
C AROLE L EWIS , National Director, First Place 4 Health Author, Give God a Year and Hope 4 You
In Rock-Solid Volunteers , Larry Fowler turns to one of Scripture’s most successful leaders to unearth timeless solutions for recruiting, training, motivating and retaining volunteers. The life lessons my friend and colleague gleans from the first four chapters of Nehemiah are powerful, practical and applicable to any church ministry. By putting these principles and ideas into practice, your ministry team will soon brim with passionate, loyal volunteers who serve with excellence—and stick around.
J ACK E GGAR , President/CEO, Awana ®
I was highly encouraged, challenged and motivated to be a more effective leader by the parallels this book draws between the leadership style of Nehemiah and today’s leadership challenges. This is a book that is full of practical tools that can help every leader in any size church or demographic background. I recommend that Rock-Solid Volunteers be a book on every leader’s read list and in every church staff’s library.
D ENISE K ISSEE , Director of Elementary Education First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia
Using the scriptural foundation of the leader Nehemiah, Larry provides fresh insight into calling people to ministry rather than simply recruiting to fill a position. I found the book full of fresh perspective and new ideas to help every children’s ministry leader. It is obvious that Larry has personally experienced the difficulties of recruiting and caring for volunteers, and he shares from that wealth in a manner that everyone working with volunteers can draw from.
J OHN T IETSORT , T H .M ., National Director, eChuchDepot Chairman of the Board, International Network of Children’s Ministry
I will be forever grateful for all of the volunteers at our local church that mentored and directed my son, Sam Towns, into fulltime Christian service. Without the sacrificial gift of “volunteers,” Sam would not have gone on to finish his doctor’s degree and become one of the great teachers here at Liberty University before he was killed in an automobile accident eight years ago. I fully recommend this book to everyone who works in Awana and everyone who works in a local church. Praise God for all volunteers who serve Christ in the Church.
E LMER L. T OWNS , Co-Founder and Vice President, Liberty University Dean, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
Dean, School of Religion, Lynchburg, Virginia
2010 Larry Fowler
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6625-5
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other version used is NKJV —Scripture taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Awana ® , the Awana ® logo and Rorheim Institute™ are trademarks of Awana Clubs International. Use by permission. All rights reserved.
Written by Larry Fowler, Executive Director of Program and Training, Awana Clubs International. © 2011 Awana Clubs International.
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: Reasons People Quit
Motivation 1: First Response
Motivation 2: Families Involved Together
Motivation 3: Focus, People, Focus
Motivation 4: Personal Meaning
Motivation 5: Equip for Work, Equip for War
Motivation 6: Connections
Motivation 7: Example
PREFACE
“I’m stepping down.”
Can you think of three words dreaded much more by a ministry leader? You probably can, but I’m sure you agree with me—these are right near the top of nearly everyone’s list. Just when you think you have a team in place, you get The Phone Call—the “I’m Stepping Down” Phone Call—and you end up frantically trying to fill a hole at the last minute. Absenteeism in general is a problem, but we really dread the constant challenge of replacing workers who leave their responsibilities, often with little or no advance notice.
Debbie, the children’s ministry director at our church, heard those words this past Sunday. A couple of teachers just didn’t show up. When she called to find out why, one of them said, “Oh, Debbie, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you— I’m stepping down .” Debbie was frustrated about having to find a last-minute substitute (which usually means that she or her husband steps in). She expressed her frustration this way: “You know what I’m doing, Larry? I’m supposed to direct the children’s ministry. But that’s not the way I feel. I’m simply the number one substitute! It seems nearly every week, someone is absent and doesn’t tell me, or someone quits and I have to fill in. I love working with the kids, but this is not what I’m supposed to be doing .” Debbie has to deal with her growing concern over whether or not the teachers are really committed. Her trust in their commitment is weakened. What does she do?
Pastors hear those words. Rick, a pastor friend who also teaches in a seminary, believes God has called him to lead churches from complacency back to vitality. He recently took on a new church located in an upper-middle-class neighborhood that he thought had great potential. It had nice facilities and seemed to be a fairly stable congregation (the previous pastor had retired after a couple of decades). When I asked Rick how ministry was going, his response was one I’ll not soon forget. He took a long breath and let it out slowly. After about a five-second pause, he said, “Well, I’m just trying to keep the church out of the casket.” He traced his discouragement and frustration back to a familiar source. People, he said, were too tired to work, and they were unwilling to start any new outreach. He had never struggled before to motivate people, but this church was really testing his calling. Not only were the people digging in their heels if he suggested anything new, but they were also quitting the ministries that were already going—just punching out and not punching back in. Rick was worn out from hearing those dreaded “I’m stepping down” words. “They’ll support me verbally when I suggest something, but follow through? I can’t get anyone to take any leadership.” Could he have done anything differently?
My friend Jerry hears those words, too. Jerry oversees children’s ministry in a mega-church. Filling slots, covering for absent teachers, and recruiting new workers occupy a majority of his hours. He is frustrated. He wants to do more profitable things in his position, but his time is swallowed up with phone calls and emails about the next week’s ministry responsibilities. Jerry spends a great deal of time just getting acquainted with new staff members, and he worries that he is sacrificing quality because the demand to fill slots is so high. His senior pastor expects to have top-notch programs provided during each of three weekly worship services, and Jerry feels like he’s being stretched on a medieval rack. The turnover of leadership is about to kill him, he says. “I’ve got to find ways to keep people committed to their ministry longer.” What can he do?
I’ve heard those words many times. I work with Awana, a ministry that serves churches by providing programming, training and materials for the purpose of evangelizing and discipling children and youth. We have the pleasu
