Network of volunteerism leaders
I'm proposing a network for people who want to learn from and support each other in the challenging task of helping people serve in the church.
Who is it for?
- church staff with the responsibility of helping people get involved in ministry (assimilation, equipping, etc)
- lay leaders of teams/committees promoting the stewardship of time and talents
- staff and volunteer leaders of ministries that involve many volunteers: DCE's, Sunday school directors, etc.
- anyone who cares about the health of volunteers and volunteerism at any Christian church
What would it look like? What would it do? I don't know. This is new for me, too. A logical place to start would be an online forum but it could also include lists of recommended resources with comments on their use and probably other techno-wonders I haven't thought of.
Who is making this suggestion? I'm Karen Kogler (see more about me), Director of Volunteer Equipping at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois. I'm convinced that when the church helps people serve, by moving from a focus on recruiting for church needs to a focus on helping people serve as God has called them, the church is acting as the body of Christ and setting itself up to fulfill its mission. Since that's my passion, I maintain this website and provide resources and services on church volunteerism. I have much to learn, and we all can learn from each other, so I'm seeing if there is interest is some kind of networking.
Interested? Got ideas? or questions? Email karen@theequipper.org. I will not share your email address or use it for any other purpose than this network.
I hope to create a survey by late September 2008 to gather ideas and input for this possible network.