All church technical leaders experience a volunteer shortage at some point in their ministry. Whether you’re at a big church or a small church, factors like attrition, upgrades, or expansion will cause you to need an influx of volunteers. You may be facing a shortage of volunteers right now as you prepare for the upcoming Christmas season.
Being a good listener is a great way to get people to like you.
Some church technical leaders even face these shortages regularly. One common explanation for the lack of volunteers is being unable to get the need mentioned in announcements from the stage during a worship service. Another explanation is that there are too many churchwide announcements for your essential announcement to get noticed. Finally, another common reason is that there isn’t enough time to be in the lobby or involved in other church activities to try and recruit more volunteers. However, I have noticed another reason why some church technical leaders don’t have enough volunteers, and it’s a problem of self-realization… they aren’t likable people.
Before you dismiss this claim, consider this: Our tribe of engineers and technical creatives is known to be an introverted bunch. We prefer to be behind the scenes instead of downstage center. We also tend to be intense and stressed when things aren’t going to our liking on a Sunday morning or any other time we’re under pressure from church leadership. Have you considered how a volunteer who serves on a Sunday morning every other week observes us when we act this way? Have you considered the environment we create when we allow these circumstances to affect how we treat and lead others on our teams? We can unknowingly become unlikeable, and instead of attracting others to serve, we repel people and develop a reputation of someone who is not pleasant to be around. This is what I mean about how we could be the reason why we can’t get enough volunteers to serve in our technical ministry.
One way to become likable is to understand the power of a smile.
Don’t lose hope! You can learn to be a likable ministry leader who attracts instead of repels people, even when experiencing stress. How is this possible? You learn how to become someone that people want to be around. In the classic book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Dale Carnegie talks about skills you can develop to make people like you. These skills aren’t about learning how to be a fake. It’s quite the opposite. People can see right through you if you are fake. But, if you genuinely learn how to be a likable person and then genuinely practice those skills with people, you and your volunteer team will naturally become recruiting machines, constantly attracting and growing your technical ministry.
One way to become likable is to understand the power of a smile. A smile shows someone you’re friendly and approachable. A smile shows you’re welcoming and accepting. Do you naturally smile at people when you talk to them at church or on your volunteer team? People who smile have an easier time connecting with people. Get people to like you by genuinely putting a smile on your face when you say hello and when you welcome someone to their serving position on a Sunday morning. Smiling sets the tone for how you are perceived as a likable person.
Secondly, be a good listener. When you talk to a volunteer on your ministry team, ask them open-ended questions and then sincerely and intently listen to their response. Then, ask another open-ended question and actively listen to them as they speak. Checking your phone or looking around while they talk shows you’re not an active listener. Be careful of your non-verbal communication so that your body language and eyes show you’re focused on them while they talk. Why? Because this shows that you value them and what they have to say. No one wants to be around someone who’s distracted all the time. Being a good listener is a great way to get people to like you.
… building relationship capital in a person will reap a whirlwind of support when things are tense…
A final way that you can become a likable person is to protect volunteers from your stress. Being a church technical leader is stressful at times. Everyone knows that. But if you transfer that stress and apprehensiveness to your volunteers, you become an unlikeable person that people don’t want to be around. Instead, put effort into preparing yourself and your volunteer team for times of stress.
I can unwittingly cause more stress as a leader if I don’t adequately prepare volunteers for serving by getting to know them, training them, and ensuring they know their job well. By getting to know someone, I know how to put them into situations where I set them up for success so that they can experience joy while serving. Also, building relationship capital in a person will reap a whirlwind of support when things are tense because they will want to bend over backward to help you as you’ve invested and helped them. Be sure to put forth the extra effort in preparing yourself and your team for times of stress.
Being a church technical leader is a gratifying way to serve the Lord. Don’t make things more challenging for yourself by being someone people don’t want to be around. Suppose you’re willing to learn and practice simple skills to be likable. You’ll be pleasantly surprised about your volunteer staffing levels and discover that your team will go above and beyond the call of duty to help you recruit more people for your technical ministry.
