During the year that Emily Wolfe was called upon by her church to help lead the young married couples Sunday School class, she said it was far more taxing than the times she’s worked with children’s ministry.
“God helped me but it would take me all week to study the lesson and it wore me out,” said the former schoolteacher, who is now a stay-at-home mother. “Teaching kids was more simple and natural for me.”
Although Wolfe, a member of McElwain Baptist Church in Birmingham, said she didn’t mind ministering in this capacity, she said didn’t feel like teaching adults was her calling. “I’m definitely more gifted in teaching children,” she said. “God’s put it on my life to help kids and I enjoy working with them.”
Discover members’ interests
Dennis Blythe, executive pastor of NorthPark Baptist Church in Trussville, agrees that ministry is often more effective if a church member volunteers for a position instead of being recruited by a staff member. “Sometimes we badly misplace someone because we ask him to serve in an area that he isn’t passionate about,” he said. “Serving ought to be energizing for a Christian and shouldn’t lead to burnout.”
Edwin Jenkins, director of the office of leadership and church growth and the Alabama Baptist Center for Leadership Development for the State Board of Missions, said it’s up to the pastor to equip his members for ministry.
“Pastors do this by leading them to the understanding of their gifting from God,” he said. “Instead of recruiting people you literally ask them what they feel called to do. Find out where they feel gifted then help them look for an opportunity to find a place to serve.”
Jenkins, who served as a pastor for 24 years, said this philosophy helped turn his church around when it came to service. “A believer senses his calling and when the church backs this calling up by affirmation, that’s when he moves from merely being recruited to seeing it as a calling from God,” he said.
Blythe said the best way he has found to recruit is to ask one on one. “Sit across from a person and look them in the eye,” he said. “Cast a vision and show how the person can be valuable and important to the ministry.”
Jenkins said he believes that every church member is called to ministry according to Ephesians 4:1–16. “Believers in Jesus Christ are called to serve. It’s not whether you will serve, it’s where. It is a nonoption for a believer.”
Blythe said finding volunteers is like a puzzle. “Each person fills different positions and just because someone has a pulse doesn’t mean they are a good fit. Don’t press them into the wrong spot in the puzzle.”
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