The Importance of the Big Event When it Comes to Helping People Get Interested in Serving

I read a Megachurch Attender Survey several years ago. I wasn't shocked to learn that, in the Megachurch anyway, 45% of attendees never volunteer to do anything. I can't say that I was surprised because this is consistent with my experience.

This raises the stakes regarding your volunteer recruitment strategy. We know a few things to be true when motivating an attendee to volunteer. One of those is a "specific need." You can't stand on stage and say, "Hey, everyone, we need some volunteers. Please sign up." Well, you can, but you probably won't get much response.

People need to see a specific need. Enter the importance of the "Big Event." The theme, cause, or purpose behind a big event (such as VBS) is usually enough to compel many people to volunteer. It's not only that the need is specific and compelling. It's also because it's a one-time thing. In other words, attendees who sign up to help make a big event happen are only committed to a few hours once, or in the case of a VBS, a few hours over three half days in July.

But what happens when the new volunteer serves at the big event? They enjoy it and even discover that volunteering isn't a big time commitment and that "serving" is a major, rewarding part of spiritual growth.

So, it is vital to view the big event as a significant part of your overall volunteer recruitment strategy. In other words, view the big event, in part, as a tool in the volunteer recruitment toolkit. Much like the "Event-Based Growth Strategy" leverages the big event to grow average weekly attendance over time, the "Event-Based Volunteer Recruitment Strategy" grows volunteerism.

Your church hosts several major events during the ministry year. Each event is an opportunity to get many attendees involved as volunteers. The important part is that immediately following the big event, a well-thought-out recognition/follow-up process maximizes the number of first-time volunteers who go from experiencing the big event to volunteering once per month on Sunday morning.