Structuring Volunteer Teams For Sustainability
In ministry, we can often feel a tension that measurement for growth is unhealthy. However, it is our responsibility to know and grow our numbers to pursue our mission. As we grow, we need well-equipped staff, volunteer leaders, and teams to provide care to the people we disciple.
"Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example." 1 PETER 5:2-3
Here are four things to consider as you design a scalable volunteer team structure:
01 | Set the Structure
Create an organizational chart and team descriptions that explain the vision and scope of each team.
Divide the work into teams to allow for clear responsibilities, collaboration, and reasonable scope of work.
Assign roles that give each person purpose and focus, allowing them to apply and grow in their unique gifts.
Structure teams around the roles people can play, not just the responsibilities to execute. Focusing only on responsibilities can reduce volunteers to "doers," rather than empowering them to develop within the team.
02 | Set a Span of Care for Strong Relationships
Decide on a healthy number of people one leader can effectively care for, and prepare to add more leaders as your team and services grow.
A helpful rule of thumb is to limit teams to 8–12 members per leader.
Assign each leader a reasonable span that enables care, growth, and development. Don’t just use a leadership structure for task delegation; create an ecosystem of relationships and support where each leader can invest in their teams. Matching the size of your teams to the number of people and services that each person can lead will bring confidence to the people who serve.
03 | Commit to a Schedule that Team Members Can Maintain
Establish a realistic serving rhythm that your volunteers can sustain over time.
Build enough leaders and team members to commit to a serve standard, such as serving one service, every other week.
We have found that an every-other-week, “serve one, sit one” service rhythm is the most sustainable for volunteers to serve in the long term. It provides consistency but limits the demand to alleviate “burnout”.
04 | Calculate your weekend volunteer needs using your team structure and schedule
Using your team structure, serving rhythm, and minimum staffing needs, calculate the total number of volunteers and leaders required to deliver a high-quality experience each weekend.
With your team structure, service schedules, and minimum participant numbers set, multiply these to find the total volunteer target for each service. This target guides recruitment, training, and sustainability. Once minimum recruiting is met, expand the teams by a few to cover the seasons of high travel, relocations, and breaks.
Realizing these strategies will take effort and time, but designing and committing to the structure you want will help you progress to a more balanced and intentional volunteer culture.
If you need help designing the best volunteer structure for your church, or recruiting and training volunteers, contact us through the form below to learn how we might help you create a model that works for you.
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