Volunteer Removal Part 1

There’s a lot written about how to fire up volunteers, but not a lot written about how to fire them when they’ve not quite lived up to their commitments. Of course the best way to ensure the ministry gets done is to place the right people in the right positions in the first place. But occasionally you may (1) make a mistake or you may have (2) inherited someone else’s mistake. Before you decide to remove someone, however, begin by taking stock of the situation.

1.Is there a job description and are there leadership expectations for the ministry position? If not, begin here…for every ministry in the church. And don’t forget the number one leadership expectation: The leader must embrace and support without reservation the Mission, Vision, and Values of the church.

2.Is the volunteer able to lead and/or serve the ministry? That is, do they have the necessary skills? Do they have to capability (personality, spiritual gifts, etc.) to lead and/or serve the ministry? Do they meet the leadership expectations? If not, can they, or are they willing, to be trained?

3.Is the volunteer available to effectively lead the ministry? That is, do they have the time to lead the ministry, and equally importantly, do they have the heart (calling, interest, drive, commitment) to lead the ministry? If not, is there another ministry they are better suited for?

Until you’ve engaged in a thoughtful and prayerful evaluation of both the ministry and the ministry volunteer, you are not ready to seriously consider removing anyone from anything.